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Thread: Fake Bites

  1. #1
    Registered User YungRasputin's Avatar
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    Fake Bites

    primarily starting this thread because i wanted to see how frequent this behavior is in big snakes in general but here’s the thing - tho i don’t live in Australia, i am also a member of Australian snake keeping forums and when i have seen scrub python keeping discussed it has been a common thing to talk about the size of their fangs (which are p extreme ngl) and “litres of blood” referencing the outcomes of being bitten and i have elsewhere seen them described as “guided missiles with fangs” and while every snake is an individual all of this is the direct opposite of my own experiences with my Southern Scrub Python, Irwin and i have actually noticed something extremely interesting which is this fake biting thing

    ordinarily Irwin is extremely docile but also extremely active, reactive, curious and like hyper-intelligent and there have been 2 times he has “tagged” me - once on my right hand when i had eaten egg rolls prior to holding him without washing my hands and the other i was trying to adjust and stabilize his climbing perch and he again “tagged” my right hand but in both instances what I’ve noticed is it seems like he is make conscious decision to strike but to not use his teeth because in both instances if he truly wanted to bite me for real he absolutely could have but didn’t - it reminds me v much of observations in shark research where sharks are said to ram or bite out of curiosity so i was wondering if this was the case with big snakes, it’s frequency and is this a widely observed behavior and so on
    het for nothing but groovy

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Fake bites do not just happen with big snakes- some rat snakes I know first hand have done that- either with me or with a close friend. Rather like a reflexive warning, then suddenly they realize "oops, I know you" & they really don't want to bite us.

    A 'late' friend of mine had a Gonyosoma oxycephalum* (red-tailed green rat snake), a species known to be nippy, & on more than one occasion it would stop, barely touching it's teeth to my friend's hand rather than landing a bite. Of course, maybe he just didn't taste good, haha.
    *For a quick look- https://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/sn...iled-racer.htm

    But really, snakes aren't as dumb as most people want to think- just like with rattlesnakes that do dry bites instead of wasting venom on the inedible annoyance.

    And I've had rat snakes that will "politely" take a fuzzy from between my fingers without biting me, & refuse it altogether when it was on my flat palm, presumably because my scent was all around it, unlike when it was protruding from between my fingers. Now that's excellent self-control for a snake.

    Then again, I've seen rosy boas (normally very docile) that nudge their noses into someone's hand repeatedly before deciding "Yup, it's edible! I got this!" So that keeps it interesting- not all snakes are the same- some are smarter than others, just like anything else.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 08-09-2022 at 02:02 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  4. #3
    Registered User Wanik4's Avatar
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    Re: Fake Bites

    I personally don't think any snake should be hand fed, but that's my two cents....couldn't say that more with giant pythons. Outside of my 8-foot carpet, which I don't really consider giant because she's a sweet baby who lacks any temperament whatsoever, I've taken every precaution with my half dwarf burmese. I sanitize before every handling, tap every time before I handle him, and simply leave his food around in different parts of the cage for him to hunt it out. He's eaten every time, no question, never nipped me once, and is hopefully being shaped into what I hope is a gentle and very handleable big guy.

    Point is, snakes don't give a hoot about us as far as I understand, so why associate the one thing they do care about with our hands? Just my rant, not an attack on you. Enjoy your .

    Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 08-17-2022 at 01:38 PM. Reason: reworded for family-friendly forum

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  6. #4
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Fake Bites

    Quote Originally Posted by Wanik4 View Post
    I personally don't think any snake should be hand fed, but that's my two cents....
    I mostly agree with you- I did that experimentally for a short time only with a very mellow type of rat snake with which I'm VERY familiar (Trans Pecos-aka Bogertophis subocularis) and I only mentioned it here to illustrate a point, NOT to suggest a method for routine feeding. But when learning about creatures, sometimes you have to push a few boundaries to see just how much they understand- or at least, I do. And by the way, rat snakes are NOT like pythons & boas, & I was clearly NOT talking about giant pythons, but in the sense that this thread is in the "giant pythons" forum, sorry for any confusion. I did NOT mean to imply that hand-feeding is a "good idea" to be copied for any or all snakes. Not if you like your hands as they are...
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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