Address the myth

[cinderbird]

ive never been bitten due to the result of a mistaken feeding response. I did used to feed outside the enclosure, i no longer do and have not for some time.

Every time i've been bitten (4 or 5 times) i KNEW i was going to be bitten and kept messing with the animals anyway. A few baby BPs tagged me during the KPB book shoots (and i had to handle them and keep handling them because i needed them to stay on the table where they were safe and in my range of view). They didn't like me messing with them. I heard hissing and just took the bite anyway.

The other times i've been bitten or stuck at was while handling some nervous animals at snows (corns, carpets, etc).

And the final time was not a mistaken feeding response, it was a fear responce. One big girl I had could not stand the scent of my cats and she would take that out on me, I assume because I was the immediate threat. As soon as this snake was rehomed, she did a 180 degree personality change and is back to being a sweet, docile bp. I also had a carpet python who would do something similar. That animal was also rehomed and the behavior has stopped completely.

With any of my other snakes or geckos (10 total), I can pick up my cats, let them walk on my head, etc. and then get any of those reptiles and I won't get bitten for having cat scent on me. Snakes are all individuals.

[kc261]

I can't believe anyone would say that someone who has been bitten 4 times must have aggressive snakes. I think I got bitten 4 times in one day, at a show (I don't think any of the biters were BPs). Jay Bunny has been a member of this forum for over 3 years, so I would assume she's had snakes at least close to that long. An average of just over 1 bite per year really isn't much at all for someone who has multiple snakes.

The worst problem I've had with an "aggressive" snake was one of my corns. She is the only one I feed in a separate container, because she is kept on aspen and I'd rather avoid the possible ingestion of the aspen. Several months ago, I went through a period of a few months where a lot of other things were really taking up a lot of my time, and my snakes got handled very little beyond the bare minimum required for cage maintenance. So this corn began to associate being taken out of her enclosure with feeding time, and pretty much every time I took her out, she tagged me or at least tried to. Now that I'm back on a more regular schedule, she is being handled more regularly again, and the behavior has pretty much disappeared.

I think whether you feed in or out of the enclosure, if the only time you do anything with your snake is feeding time, there is the chance that they'll associate you with feeding time, and that will make bites more likely. They'll still be feeding response type of bites, which IMHO is different than true aggression anyway. On the other hand, whether you feed in or out of the enclosure, if you regularly go into your snake's enclosure to clean, replace the water, and handle the snake, the snake will not associate you with feeding time, and the chance of "mistaken identity" type bites is greatly reduced. The only difference is that if you feed outside of the enclosure, you are required to handle the snake, increasing the opportunities for it to bite you.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Why do ppl get tagged?

• Feeding mistake
  
• Scent of another animal on the person
  
• Stress
  
• Handling an animal while in feeding mode.
  
• Defensive bites from younger individuals.
  
• Aggressive individual (Rare but it happens)
  
• The person heat's signature being higher than other people making them more susceptible to bites. This is my case and I am a bite magnet .
  
  Snakes will literally launch at me while being held by another person simply because I walk by or sit by them. (A few people have witness this)

[p3titexburial]

Lol... well.. I got tagged by a feeding response after having fed outside their enclosure for months. I put my male in his feeding tank and as I was withdrawing my hand, BAM, he got me.

It probably had to do with the fact that I had unknowingly prescented the room by thawing the mouse on my heater and he was really excited so the first heat signature he got was the one he went after. It was a pain to get him off, he constricted my hand like there was no tomorrow and I had to dunk him in water.

(on the plus side I found that prescenting gives me a really aggressive feeding response which helps because my female is a tricky feeder.)

After that I just fed them in their enclosures and left them alone for a few days.

Remember, they're wild animals that lack the basic genetics that give them the kind of social bond we and some other animals have, and instinct to them always comes first.

[Evilme5229]

I have 9 bps haven't gotten tagged once. If I ever get tagged I'm sure it has to do with something I did wrong. lol

I guess the main thing is do what you already doing if you haven't gotten tagged. But my system works. So unless I get tagged I don't see any reason to change. :-) If its not broke don't fix it.

[kc261]

I guess the main thing is do what you already doing if you haven't gotten tagged. But my system works. So unless I get tagged I don't see any reason to change. :-) If its not broke don't fix it.

I frequently say things like "do what works for you and your snake," but I'm usually talking about what gets the snake to eat, not what keeps the keeper from being bit. While it is nice if the keeper isn't being bit, and obviously I try to avoid it and doing things that makes it likely that a snake will strike at me, it isn't the highest priority.

[cweimer4]

I am a newcomer. Ive had my male since Christmas. I feed in a different enclosure then where he is kept. When i first got him he didnt eat for 4 weeks then he finally did. Then he went another 3 weeks without feeding so I tried to feed him in his tank and he ate instantly. So I tried in a different enclosure again and ever since ive had a huge feeding response and its been fine ever since. Hes eaten every time. Instead of him eating in a clear container I feed him in a dark one where he feels secure and cant see out of. Its not clear. I heat the feeding bin up with a heat lamp about a half hour before so its warm in there and I put a half log in there so he feels secure. A completely different kind of hide then what is in his cage so he knows the difference. I do things consistently so he knows the difference between feeding time and me just handling daily. I am also a big advocate of leaving him alone for 48+ hours after feeding and even though its been 3 months Ive had no aggression towards me or any of my family members who handle him.

[Freakie_frog]

• The person heat's signature being higher than other people making them more susceptible to bites. This is my case and I am a bite magnet .
  
  Snakes will literally launch at me while being held by another person simply because I walk by or sit by them. (A few people have witness this)

This is fun cause I'm the same way, My wife hates it cause 45 degrees is comfortable for me in a short sleeve shirt.. My standard body temp is 99 degrees. So if your snake hasn't bitten it just hasn't be held by me yet..

We're fun to be at shows with nothing like walking up to a table and having a snake reach out for you from across the table is it Deb..