Do you all jump on feeding day when they strike?

No matter how many times I feed my pythons f/t rats I cannot get used to them hitting the prey. I jump out of my shorts everytime they strike. :8:

My Blood being the worst of the 2 snakes I own. That animal hits with a fury. I have 24 inch hemostats that I use to offer the prey but I still flinch. I can't help it.

I have 9 inch, and the ball is the only one that can make me nervous, she is fast and strikes with a force! Only a real man can admit that....:8:

I dont have a blood (I want to get one soon) but for my BPs I just hold the rat by the tail. I dont usually flinch unless it misses the rat and gets dangerously close to my hand. Thats when I pull back really FAST!!! I know eventually one is going to hit me instead of the rat but so far so good...

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Originally Posted by stangs13

I have 9 inch, and the ball is the only one that can make me nervous, she is fast and strikes with a force! Only a real man can admit that....:8:

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My wife says I'm a big sissy. She doesn't flinch when she feeds them.

I know it's sad, but it's true. :weirdface

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Originally Posted by Earl

My wife says I'm a big sissy. She doesn't flinch when she feeds them.

I know it's sad, but it's true. :weirdface

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Thats when you decide to sneak up behind her and grab her as the snake strikes!

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Originally Posted by Corrupter

Thats when you decide to sneak up behind her and grab her as the snake strikes!

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HAHA! I gotta try that.

She might hate you, but only for a second :gj:

the first time i fed my snake i peed my pants. no joke! i thought that they just opened there mouth and started to swallow. it scared the crap out of me.

I don't, but I approach feeding them very carefully. My black blood's cage is about waist high, and due to her cage location and when she is fed, she is typically very eager by the time I get to her. The garbage can is fairly close to her cage (so delicious rat smelling plastic bags waft by) and she may actually see other rats being taken out to be feed to the other snakes (she gets a larger rat, so it takes longer to thaw)...she's been so eager before she hit the plexiglass for somebody else's rat. I use curved hemostats, which I think are 12 or 18 inches to feed everbody. I had a longer pair that was straight just for her, but I found that with my small hands trying to use them to pick up the rat was too clumsy.

I'm just doing my best to avoid getting bit by one of them. Just the force of the strike is going to hurt. The first short tail I started out with was a 2 week old baby, which wasn't too bad, but the next one I picked up was an adult...that was wild the first time.

It's the prescenting that gets them all ready to snap. My snakes used to be rather casual about accepting prey, just drop the rat in front of them and they'll pick it up.

But if you prescent that room...WHACK!

lol I can understand some of the jumpy people here when I 1st started feeding Pythons I used to flinch every time.

I think after 20 years plus keeping snakes I am just so used to it now I never flinch I just focus on trying to get the head hit 1st lol

I remember showing a cousin some of my snakes a couple of years ago which was funny as I brought various Ball Pythons out and one of the adult bloods and he was scared to death, then I come in the room wearing elbow length gloves holding a baby female blood.

He was like how come you never wore gloves for all those other snakes and you do with that little fat thing. At which point the little fat thing sprung off my gloved hand onto his chest just missing his nose with a very fast strike.:D

He understood why then , hehe ...though that same female which is called Jaws because of its attitude back then is much tamer now.:)

i dont flinch....
YET.
all mine are too small haha

but im waiting for the day :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by stangs13

I have 9 inch, and the ball is the only one that can make me nervous, she is fast and strikes with a force! Only a real man can admit that....:8:

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how big is the ball?
i was bit by a 6ft boa, i dont ever jump, unless she snaps at me... strikes, naw, but for some reason the noise she makes when she snaps her mouth at me makes me jump more than a strike... even more then a strike at me...

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Originally Posted by Earl

My wife says I'm a big sissy. She doesn't flinch when she feeds them.

I know it's sad, but it's true. :weirdface

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must be a woman thing, i dont flinch when i feed them, =] ever

my parents do tho...

I don't flinch - usually. I use hemostats and hold f/t by the back of the neck, but my bp is just over 2 feet, so not very big yet.

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Originally Posted by ChicaPiton519

must be a woman thing, i dont flinch when i feed them, =] ever

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She also can't drive a car. I always figured that was a personal problem for her but since you bring up the woman thing...;)

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Originally Posted by Earl

She also can't drive a car. I always figured that was a personal problem for her but since you bring up the woman thing...;)

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Man I wasn't gonna go there haha. Glad somebody else said it so I didn't have to!

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Originally Posted by Earl

She also can't drive a car. I always figured that was a personal problem for her but since you bring up the woman thing...;)

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i am a good driver....
so in that case.... lol.
so it must be a personal problem for her... =]

ahaha

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Originally Posted by ChicaPiton519

i am a good driver....

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She says that to. I think there might just be something to this "woman thing". :P

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Originally Posted by Earl

She says that to. I think there might just be something to this "woman thing". :P

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no im serious, coming from my dad... im a good driver... lol

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Originally Posted by ChicaPiton519

no im serious, coming from my dad... im a good driver... lol

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I'm sure you are. I'm just being silly. :rolleye2:

I typically don't flinch when they strike at the rat its when I got to get the rat out and they launch up at me that I tend to get a little light on my feet. :D I have had them hit the tub right by my head as I am working and that doesn't even bother me. The little ones are quick but the big ones are just down right fast. get bit a few times by a 2500 gram girl and see if your reflexes don't improve.

I should make a video of me feeding them just for the laugh.