Dwarf/Super Dwarf Retic Questions!

[Rae]

I've heard that alcohol is a good way to get a snake that latches on to let go. I'm not sure if that'll help much with the constricting part, but I imagine if you could get the head off, you could lead the rest off. (All just guesses, though! As I've said before, I have zero experience with giant snakes!) I don't doubt for a second though that if one of these snakes wanted to kill you, it could without trying. I would guess a good way to deal with the constricting part is to try and prevent it from wrapping around you in the first place? These are all just guess/questions, though....

Alcohol works well with getting snakes off of you, but so does Listerine and hot water... Hot water is probably the safest to use, but not all snakes react the same to hot water/listerine/alcohol.
Hot water's worked the best for me, though.

[Pampho85]

I don't know how exactly to protect against such a large snake constricting you so I won't take a guess. You should try handling some large retics first before you dive head in without knowing what you're truly getting into. Retics are smart, fast and strong. Nothing like Burms and Balls.

[Konotashi]

Listerine (aside from the alcohol free) is high in alcohol.

I also heard hydrogen peroxide is another way to let a snake let go.

Wouldn't hot water be more dangerous for a snake? (Risk of burn?) I'm not sure how much alcohol/Listerine/hydrogen peroxide a snake would need for it to be considered dangerous (or why, exactly?), but it seems like hot water could possibly cause more long term damage?

I know snakes are an entirely different kind of animal, but I've given my dog hydrogen peroxide in an emergency to induce vomiting when he ingested some pieces of plastic off of a diving ring. The main drawback I could see with hydrogen peroxide is that after it's opened, if it's not used within a certain period of time, it oxidizes and turns into water. (Making it entirely useless if you need to go use it if it's been sitting there for a while).

[Mike41793]

Alcohol works well with getting snakes off of you, but so does Listerine and hot water... Hot water is probably the safest to use, but not all snakes react the same to hot water/listerine/alcohol.
Hot water's worked the best for me, though.

Listerine works because of the alcohol in it. Its not like the minty fresh feeling bugs the snakes lol

[Konotashi]

I don't know how exactly to protect against such a large snake constricting you so I won't take a guess. You should try handling some large retics first before you dive head in without knowing what you're truly getting into. Retics are smart, fast and strong. Nothing like Burms and Balls.

Definitely not going to go in head-first. I'll see if I can visit some shows (or reptile stores, even) and find some retics and see if I can handle/interact with some. Or heck, even just seeing them in person. It's really difficult to get a real feel for something through photos and videos.

This isn't a species I'm taking lightly, as far as wanting to own. As much as I do want to have one, I know they require a lot of respect and planning, simply given their size and the power they possess because of it. Add their intelligence and speed on top of that....

[reptileexperts]

Yeah, you got the answers you need - retics are fast, nothing to be thought light of. I've had a few close calls but thanks to safety approaches nothing bad has happeend at this point.

Getting large constrictors off is a tricky thing if you are by yourself. I don't always have people in the same room, but definitely within a shouting distance if I needed to yell for help. More than once I've yelled from a bite from a larger snake and had someone in the room within a few seconds (Boa to the face, and ball python adult that worked its way down my thumb, that was more of a shock factor than pain though). Nevertheless - Mouthwash with alcohol works fine, bucket of any water IF you can submerse the head (used this one before worked great) and as a last resort before anything lethal, get a hold of the tail and make it into a U, then grip it tight breaking the tail. The snake will be in too much discomfort to continue the attack and let go of the bite usually, giving one an opportunity to escape.

Knives or guns in your pocket is just a risk to yourself. If a snake grabs on hand and then wraps you, there is no guarentee you will be able to reach into your pockets for anything. I use to keep a knife next to the cage I was working in when I first started working with larger snakes, but realized it was a foolsih thing to think I could do. Best to use experience, common sense, and safety tools like 40" tongs, python hooks, and in extreme cases handling gloves as needed.

[Mike41793]

This is a serious question:
Would biting it back make it let go? If a retic latched on as a last resort I'm sure the thought to bite it would occur to me.

[reptileexperts]

Depends on where you bite it I'd be willing to bet. but I'm not sure that it would do deep enough damage. Think about when two snakes fight biting one another. . . its not always an immediate let go, in fact, they usually start biting one another more. . .

[Mike41793]

I fight dirty, i'd go for the junk!

[reptileexperts]

In order to keep this family friendly I will refrain from pointing out what you just put together . . . regarding biting and going for the junk . . .