Alcohol and BP's

[Clienterror]

No I'm not getting my cute BP drunk lol. I have heard that if a constrictor snake "attacks" you (AKA feeding response to people who actually know about herps) if you put basically any type of alcohol on it's nose/face it will let go in a few seconds because it's so irritating. Obviously this is more aimed at large/very large constricting snakes because it's not like any sized BP is really going to kill you lol. But anyways my question is when I feed my BP out of the tank I wash my hands like 5 times, or pretty much any time I get within a foot of the mouse. Is it ok to use the water free hand soap/wash stuff? I know it's an alcohol base and I didn't know if that would upset my BP when I handle him after using it. Anyone have any experience or ideas with this? I'm sorry if this has been discussed but I haven't seen anything about it. If it's somewhere on here you can all call me a noob and punish me

[2kdime]

Just feed in the enclosure

Bada bing bada boom

Theres no need to worry about your hand sanitizer or him biting you if you do it this way.


With the large snakes, stepping into a hot shower with it can get em off and I've heard vodka does the trick.

[illini4x4]

I use the hand sanitizer and havent seen a difference in behavior with my snakes when handling them with or without it on my hands. Obviously i let it dry before handling tho.

[Karbon]

Pretty sure it's safe.

Every reptile convention I go to now has hand sanitizer at every breeder table.

Can't be bad for them if everyone is using it and handling the snakes!

[BPelizabeth]

granted haven't been doing this long but I hand sanitize before handling each snake....they seem fine

[Clienterror]

Ok cool thanks for all the responses so fast! I'll pick some up. I just wasn't 100% on it and I could see it possibly being an issue, so when in doubt ask the pros . I also think I'll feed him in the tank, it's getting annoying feeding him a fuzzy then waiting 2 hours then feeding another. I'd rather just let him chillax some

[Kaorte]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding in the home enclosure. You will probably notice it is a lot easier. No moving the snake, no frantically washing hands etc etc.

You also don't need to wait 2 hours if you are feeding two prey items. Once the first one is down and the snake has yawned and is moving around a bit, you can offer the second. You also might want to think about offering one adult mouse instead of two fuzzys. Hatchlings are usually started on hoppers (bigger than fuzzies) and move to adult mice after a few feedings.

[Clienterror]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding in the home enclosure. You will probably notice it is a lot easier. No moving the snake, no frantically washing hands etc etc.

You also don't need to wait 2 hours if you are feeding two prey items. Once the first one is down and the snake has yawned and is moving around a bit, you can offer the second. You also might want to think about offering one adult mouse instead of two fuzzys. Hatchlings are usually started on hoppers (bigger than fuzzies) and move to adult mice after a few feedings.

Ah ok cool thanks I'll grab a couple hoppers this week and try them out. I'm sure he can handle them I'm just over cautious feeding him. He does have a nice size mid section. He's not fat, just big boned or at least that's what I tell him