Biting and latching on?

[alittleFREE]

Okay, well, to make a long story short, my 5 or so month old pastel male bit my sister on Wednesday. She asked if she could hold him, and she holds him all the time so I said sure. About two or three minutes after she got him out, she screamed that he bit her, and of course I rushed to put him up, thinking it was just a defensive bite. Only to find that he had latched on and was trying to wrap around her hand. I think he confused her thumb for a mouse - he usually eats on Fridays, so he may have started to get hungry. It was all really hectic/traumatic at the time, because she's only 8, and my mom pretty much freaked out since he wouldn't get off.. But I remembered that water trick, and he immediately let go when I did it. My sis has a nice battle wound though - I took some pictures which I will poster later.

I fed him on Thursday and he ate with no problem... I was actually scared the whole ordeal may have freaked him out, but he's been acting fine..

Anyway.. I'm just a little nervous about holding him now, which I know is silly. I think it was just a freak thing considering that he's pretty mellow and has never even struck at me before, but I can't help from being a little scared to get him out.

I'm sure some of you have had your BP's do this... can you give me any advice? Did they continue to do it? I know it's ridiculous, but I guess I'm just paranoid that he's going to think I'm food every time I hold him now. :/

[alittleFREE]

Also, I forgot to mention - I upped his prey size for this last meal (I ran out of mice and had to go get more), because I thought that may have been why he was hungry enough to think my sister was food.. he's now on 'medium' mice.

[mainbutter]

I've yet to feel a feeding-response bite, but sooner or later I'm sure one of my hatchling carpets is going to eat me, because the sure is super interested in my arm when I'm performing terrarium maintenance.. lol

Glad your snake let go easy w/water.

[JLC]

Any chance your sister had handled a mouse or hamster or other pet rodent? That might have set him off. Or maybe her thumb just wriggled in just the right way in front of the snake's face to set off a feeding response. Such bites from ball pythons are pretty rare, but of course they can happen, as they can with any snake. Usually a SFE (Stupid Feeding Error) is the catalyst...but as often as not, the triggers that set them off are a mystery.

I do believe they are purely instinctual creatures and once that feeding response is fully triggered, instinct kicks in and they are helpless to do anything but grab and coil....and it may take several minutes for their tiny little brains to register the error and go "oops!" and then they'll let go. Tricks like water in the face can also help with some snakes (but not all). My thought is that they suddenly feel threatened, and the "flight" instinct is stronger than the feeding one because they don't want to get caught by a predator with prey halfway down their throat.

[seclark]

I have noticed when holding my snakes that you don't really want to tempt them with a hand in front of the face. Especially with my little guy if they become interested in my hand or a finger I move them out of the way I don't want to take any chances because neither of mine have bitten me and I want to be able to tell people that when they hold them. As far as him bitting you again if you don't hold him than he won't ever become comfortable with it and he will bite because he isn't use to you. Just be careful for a little while and hold him for a few minutes each day and slowly increase the amount of time you hold him. Plus if you hold him after he has been fed (waiting at least 48 hours) he will be more docile than close to feeding day.

[j_h_smith]

I too believe you sister had a scent on her for your snake to latch on. Usually they will bite (even when hungry) but realize by the scent that a thumb is not a prey item. Hard to tell, from here. I was looking away when it happened and didn't see it for myself.

Don't worry about getting tagged. It will happen again, probably more than once. It's a part of the job that kind of sucks!

Jim Smith

[alittleFREE]

Thanks for the responses.

As for my sister having a scent on her - I, too, thought that may have been a factor, especially considering that we have a pet rabbit. I asked her after it happened if she had held the bunny that day and she said no. However, I know for a fact that she did not wash her hands before holding the snake - something I usually remind her to do - so I think it's probable that she had touched the rabbit earlier in the day and forgotten about it (either that, or not wanted to tell me).

Well, we took him out today for a few minutes to clean his cage. I had gloves on because I was paranoid but he acted okay - a little flighty, but he never tried to eat anyone so that was great lol. I didn't keep him out very long at all, though.

[Muddyredneck]

because neither of mine have bitten me and I want to be able to tell people that when they hold them.

i only let my little brother and cousin hold him but..
my favorite response is a simple "no not normally, but is capable of a bite when hungry or stressed, i mean think about it anything with a mouth CAN bite"

then ill let em ponder for a min and fomulate an oppinion and reassure them and say something like "dont worry iv never been bitten and i have a higher chance cause im holding him"

[shelliebear]

What is it about ball pythons biting younger sisters?
My BP bit my sis, but didn't latch on. He hasn't bitten anyone since, so I don't think I'd worry. Probably a freak accident.
Remind her that all pets bite or scratch.

[seclark]

i only let my little brother and cousin hold him but..
my favorite response is a simple "no not normally, but is capable of a bite when hungry or stressed, i mean think about it anything with a mouth CAN bite"

then ill let em ponder for a min and fomulate an oppinion and reassure them and say something like "dont worry iv never been bitten and i have a higher chance cause im holding him"

I always tell people they can bite but they haven't ever bitten me. I have been struck at though my girl just never got me