First Bite

[Bogertophis]

I got bit for the first time last night and it really surprised me. It was an adult female that I have had for over a year now. She has always been good before this and I even let my children handle her with me on a regular basis. But last night I slid her tub out to check on her and she struck as soon as the tub was out a couple inches and bit me right on the hand that was opening the tub. So I waited till she calmed down and slid it back closed.

it didn’t hurt all that bad, but it did bleed for a little while. I am mostly concerned about why it would happen, because I would hate for someone in my family to get bitten.

Good chance for YOU to learn...this had nothing to do with her "calming down"- she's a snake, & snakes do not identify us visually as you apparently expected her to.
She was aware of "warm & wiggling" heading her way (or being within reach) so she assumed "dinner" until proven otherwise by the disappointing taste of human, bleah!

Most bites are avoidable...but you & your family need to remember to communicate by scent &/or touch so that your snake is not confused. They don't want to mistake
us for food, it happens when WE forget how they perceive us, & we force them to remind us. This is why many "hook train" their snakes, using touch to let them
know it's not lunch time. Some snakes respond easily to scent (especially those that aren't using heat-sensing pits), but either way, it's your job to "show your I.D."