She bit me

[mozbink]

Well Last night it had been 48 hours after I had fed my new Ball python. So I went to take her out of the tub. As soon as my hand went in she went into an S shape and watched me closely. I slowly removed her hide.

I then touched her on her body and she tensed but kept in the S shape. I should of just picked her up but instead I took my hand away and in doing so it went in front of her face and she struck me. Broke the skin and a little blood came out.

After striking me she put her head in an S but layed it on the bottom of the tub. She did not curl over the top of it. So I touched her body and picked her up from underneath. She was stiff in my hands for about 20 seconds but then started to roam all over my hands back and forth. I held her for 10 minutes and put her back.

I assumed she struck me because of me moving my hand to close to her face in a quick manner.

So tonight I wanted to go and pick her up. This time I could not get my hand near her hide without her almost shaking as soon as it was close. I am pretty sure she was about to strike. Problem is my kids were in the room and I did not want them to be freaked out seeing the snake bite daddy. So I left her alone.

I am not experienced so I cannot tell if she is about to shed. I have looked at pictures on the net but her eyes are not blue but I do think her skin may be dull in appearance.

I do not know if it is because she was underfed. She is supposed to be near a year old. Her girth is such that the person I got her from suggested rat pups would be appropriate. The last meal I gave her consisted of two "large" mice that were definitly smaller than her girth. Those were fed three days ago. They were F/T, her first ones ever as she had only ever eaten live before then. She hammered them.

She is housed in a 28 qrt sterilite tub. Cool side drops to 76.7 at night and 81 during most of the day. Warm is pegged to 93 and stays there. Humidity is currently at 62.


No urates, liquid urine, or defacation since I got her 10+ days ago.

She only started using her hide about 4 days ago. Used to at night she would roam around the tub. Now she only puts about 4 inch of her head and neck outside the door of the hide. I have not seen her voluntarily come all the way out since she was fed.

Somewhere this post was going to be a question but it now looks like some kind of blog.

I have ordered some snake handling gloves as I am worried that if she strikes me and I pull back she will hurt her teeth. Her bite certainly did not hurt. It felt like sand paper being mildly raked accross my pinky. But pulling my hand away is kind of a visceral reaction to a wild animal with awesome speed striking you.

So what would you do in my situation. I am hoping she mellows out as my kids are big animal lovers and while they are too young to handle the snake, I would like them to be able to pet her when I am handling her. If this can be safely done.

[Jeremy78]

Typical behaviour. After It eats it'll chill in the hot hide digesting for a while. Don't forget, they're cold blooded. Without heat, digestion doesn't happen.

About the biting, if you can remove the tub or w/e she is in from the rack do so. If it's in an aquarium remove the hide from the back so she can't tag you. Once you get the hide up gve her a sec to understand that it's not feeding time and shell start to roam or ball up. Wash your hands before you handle your snake. Then grab her from the back.

If she starts tensing up in your hands a lite tap on the nose will tell her "no". But then again, it can make them head shy too... If she's tense, get ready for a bite. If sha roaming you're generally ok. The gloves would be good to get her use to people.

Hope this helps, Jeremy.

[jxk]

I like the thorough post.

Only time I've been lunged at was when underfed. I have a 1-yo eating small rats but probably ready for a medium. Sounds like yours might be a bit hungry.

I wouldn't recommend approaching or touching her face when handling, though since it's only been a couple weeks you might wanna leave her be for a bit yet if she's still aggressive.

The turtle-like hiding is completely normal. She's using the hide as a home which means she's feeling secure.

[stevepoppers]

If she's young and/or not used to handling, you should expect this. Snakes aren't people pets, but they can become tolerant. Make sure your hands don't smell like rodents or anything. The gloves seem like a good idea if you think you might hurt her like that. Don't back off if she gets defensive. She needs to learn it does no good. And the kids should know that snakes do bite, imo. No reason to get complacent.

[j_h_smith]

Let the snake tag you a couple of times. It will get used to you and you will get used to getting tagged. It will scare you more than it will hurt. Most of the times, it will be a quick strike and that will be all.

Might as well get used to it, it's going to happen throughout your time as a snake owner.

Be careful with the gloves, sometime you can't feel too well and you may injure the snake, particularly if it's a young snake.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[Zenllama]

You said that it is a new snake. How long did you let it settle into it's new home before interacting with it? I have found that it can take 1 to 2 weeks sometimes. Especially if it had a very stressful shipping experience. It may just be under fed too. But I have had more strikes when a snake feels unsettled than any other time. Think about it, you just get moved into a new house, new sounds at night, your unsure of what to expect from the neighborhood, and then someone comes to your door unexpectedly. aren't you a bit more defensive than you would be at your old house where you were used to your surroundings? The fact that it is turtleing in it's hide is normal, but could also mean that it's just not quite sure of it's new home yet.

Wish you the best of luck.

[stratus_020202]

I would definately bump her food up a size or two. Have you ever weighed her? She should be getting 10-15% of her body weight.

As for the striking; I have a little hatchling about a month old. She hasn't been handled much, as I'm waiting for one more shed, but she wants to eat everything that comes into her tub. What I do is take the lid of her tub and touch it too her nose, this pulls her out of feeding mode. I can then move her around and do some cleaning. Don't bop her, but just a slight touch with something other than your hand, will let her know it's not food time.

You can also move your hand behind her, and come right up over her head. She won't strike at something that close and if you come from behind, she won't even see it.

I wouldn't worry too much about her teeth, they grow back. Good Luck!

[MikeV]

I love these threads!

Becuase now I can relate

Anyway, as said before probably the best way to pick up aggresive snakes is to cover thier head with something then pick them up with a lot of support

Personally, what I did was (but, keep in mind I have a blood who is EXTREMELY agrresive. although she is small) I went into the tank. Took her hide off

then I went away for a minute or 2

Came back and gently rubbed her back in a slow motion. then I picked her up from the middle and let her head go free, then I put my right hand under her tail. that way all her body was supported besides her head.

Now also keep in mind that before she was getting agressive at EVERYTHING. even if you opened the lid to the tank she would curl up into an S shape

Another good thing to do, dunno if its been mention is to wash your hands before you try to hold him/her

[Kaorte]

It was probably a combination of being very hungry and scared. You are a big scary monster to this tiny snake!

Give her some time to relax. Wait til she has a few meals in her before handling her again. Hopefully by then she will have a full belly and be a little more calm for you.

[Wh00h0069]

I suggest buying a snake hook. Get her out, or at least start to pick her up, with the hook. Once she realizes that you are handling her, she will most likely calm down. Then transfer her to your hands. I hook train all of my snakes, and never get bit. Good luck.