What the heck....python bites baby

[wolfy-hound]

It smells like a AR media hype to me. Remember when they bought a boa and put it somewhere so they could "find" it later and claim there were escaped snakes?

Perhaps a bp got loose but when have any of us seen a BP wrap someone's leg biting? I don't know aout any of you, but my pythons refuse to hit and wrap rats that are too large... and a 1 yr old is WAY larger. Perhaps it was loose and it struck the foot when the kid kicked or stepped near it.. but wrapped? That sounds off to me.

[alittleFREE]

Could a 2 ft Ball Python ACTUALLY have posed any threat to the child?


I had to turn off the video after the Dad was like, "I'm so glad he's going to have another birthday."

What would they have possibly taken him to the hospital for? A bruise?

[Fastjazzy]

I've had my big female bp bite and wrap my arm/hand, but it's not as if she could potentially EAT my arm or anything. Bites happen occasionally, and although they look impressive they're not a big deal whatsoever. Unfortunately the parents didn't know that...

[Clint Bundy]

Same story different paper. I did not see the other post. I can't begin to tell you how many people I worl with called to make sure I knew what had happened and then ask me how safe I thought snakes are now. I told them that I still have 84 snakes and have never been wrapped up by any of them. I also explained that I am a responsible owner and value my pets much more than that. Media hype and the focus on all the negetivity to get a story published sickens me though.

[RetiredJedi]

It's like I said in the other post about this...it doesn't make sense. How many Ball Pythons escape their enclosure and then come out and wrap around a childs leg and bite. Look at all of the discussions on here about people whose BP escaped and can't be found for days or months. Out of those how many found them in the neighbors apartment wrapped around a childs leg? I know it IS possible but it just seems weird. Unless the neighbors let their 1 year old child play with rats with his feet and the BP was starved for a long time...it just seems like there's something missing in this story. It kinda makes you think they did what they could to give the big snakes a bad name now they are working on the smaller ones.

[Clint Bundy]

I feel the same way Jedi. There is just something missing in the story.

[FireStorm]

I dunno...it doesn't seem impossible to me. I've occasionally had BPs strike and wrap my hand. Was the snake trying to eat the child? No. But I'd guess a child's foot is about the same size as a prey item, and probably gave off a similar heat signature.

As for the scratches, snake teeth can cause scratches...

It's terrible for the hobby that this happened. But it also must have been scary for the parents. Put your self in the shoes of someone who is scared of snakes...even though we think their fear is unfounded that doesn't make the experience any easier for them. No member of the general public should have to find an escaped snake in their house, much less attached to their young child. The article is actually less sensationalized than I expected...

[RetiredJedi]

I dunno...it doesn't seem impossible to me. I've occasionally had BPs strike and wrap my hand. Was the snake trying to eat the child? No. But I'd guess a child's foot is about the same size as a prey item, and probably gave off a similar heat signature.

As for the scratches, snake teeth can cause scratches...

It's terrible for the hobby that this happened. But it also must have been scary for the parents. Put your self in the shoes of someone who is scared of snakes...even though we think their fear is unfounded that doesn't make the experience any easier for them. No member of the general public should have to find an escaped snake in their house, much less attached to their young child. The article is actually less sensationalized than I expected...

Not saying that BPs don't strike at people because they obviously do when they feel threatened and have no other choice, but for an animal that loves to hide and in small enclosed spaces it just seems weird (not impossible) that one would climb into a baby crib. As far as the heat goes, it's the smell that gets them going. Ever try to turn a mouse eater into a rat eater? It's not easy because they smell totally different and ball pythons don't hunt for humans regardless of how small they are. Even the ones that don't eat for a while, don't go around looking for human flesh.

[DooLittle]

My first thought to was, "struck & wrapped?????". I don't know. I just really don't see that happening. Maybe the little kid stepped on it and it tagged him, and the rest is bull. Still a crummy story out there, feeding the minds of the clueless, giving them wrong impression.

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[FireStorm]

Not saying that BPs don't strike at people because they obviously do when they feel threatened and have no other choice, but for an animal that loves to hide and in small enclosed spaces it just seems weird (not impossible) that one would climb into a baby crib. As far as the heat goes, it's the smell that gets them going. Ever try to turn a mouse eater into a rat eater? It's not easy because they smell totally different and ball pythons don't hunt for humans regardless of how small they are. Even the ones that don't eat for a while, don't go around looking for human flesh.

I'm not saying the snake was out "looking for human flesh." But a crib could be a reasonable hiding place, depending on how it was set up...toys and blankets could give the snake places to hide. And, I can tell you, heat signature can be enough to trigger a feeding response. I have a collection of around 100 snakes, and I have taken a feeding strike (strike and wrap) to my hand on more than one occasion when I had clean hands and there were no rodents around. It's even more common with my carpets. I have a male JCP who will wrap my hand any time I'm not paying attention (he's still young and overly enthusiastic). So you can tell me that it doesn't happen, and I will still argue that it can, because I've had it happen enough times to be sure.
And yes, I've switched plenty of mouse eaters to rats (every hatchling I've produced), and I'd say 90% of mine switch first go with no scenting needed.

As a hobby, I don't think taking the approach of trying to convince everyone that the story is inaccurate is a very good tactic. It won't get us very far even if the story is exaggerated/made up. We are better off stressing that this unfortunate event happened because the owner didn't take the necessary steps to secure the animal.