He bit me!

[Ginevive]

Now, before I go on, I must say that this whole incident was 100% my fault. I was trying to feed Goblin a pretty big fresh-killed rat last night. I was moving it around with the tongs, and for some reason, he was ignoring the rat and focusing upward at my hand. He was just not having anything to do with this rat for some reason; maybe because it was piebald (black and white) and I usualkly feed solid white ones to him?
Anyway, after a half hour of me and my boyfriend alternately moving the thing around in front of him, we gave up and tossed the rat into the freezer. I was replacing Gobby's hidespot into the cage, and WHAM he bites me! It was a "feeding" bite, NOT a defensive one; he had those choppers locked into my skin for a few seconds. Of course I yelled in surprise, but he released his jaws when he realized I was not a rat.
Please don't be dumb like me and assume that your snake won't strike just because it's you, not a rat. Now I have a ton of tiny pinpricks in my left hand! And I must say, each toothmark bled like hell. Not for a long time, but it bled way more than a defensive Bp bite does. Luckily no teeth dislodged.
Looking back, I think that the rat may have been a hair too big for him. I am going to get a smaller one tonight and try again, albeit more cautiously!!
With burning hand, Jen.

[Marla]

Yikes! Well, I'm glad you're okay and that he didn't lose any teeth. At least you know he's hungry, so good luck with tonight.

[gen]

Glad you're both okay! :shock:

[jotay]

Glad your alright !
Goblin is a pretty big bp I am sure that was a "good" bp bite

[mlededee]

ouch! i'm glad the two of you are ok. good to know he wasn't exactly refusing a meal i guess...

[Hoomi]

My guess is your hand smelled like rat, and our body temperature is close enough to a rat's normal body temp.

Nippy nailed my wife a couple of weeks ago, and we're wondering if it had to do with the body oil my wife had on her hands. It is made with a bit of cedar, and we wondered if her previous owner had fed her mice that had been living in cedar bedding. We're not sure, but you never know...

[Ginevive]

Yeah, it hurt and bled more than I thought it would, but the next day it was just a little burning sensation if I touched it. It was funnny though because you could see the outline of Gobby's teeth in my hand! I fed him a more reasonably sized rat eysterday and he ate it, not my hand, which was a good thing for all concerned.

[green_man]

ouchy, goblin is a big boy. That couldnt have felt too good...

[gozetec02]

Silly. You were suposed to wash your hands. No harm no foul. Jojo hit me with his nose once and that left a bruise on the back of my hand when he struck at me and at the last millisecond didnt open his mouth. These guys have an awsome feeding response dont they.