Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
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."
I appreciate the feedback, and I don’t want to come across as argumentative but I don’t understand what I could have done differently to identify my self. She struck as soon as there was enough room for her to come out of the tub and my hand was still 2 inches above and 1 inch over from the opening. Even if she was hook trained, I couldn’t have used it to tap her before she bit me, and I don’t know how I could have gotten her to smell me first, maybe by putting my hand up to a vent hole first?

i had already opened the tub above her to check my male, so I thought that would be enough noise and movement that she shouldn’t have been “surprised” when hers opened. I fed all the snakes on Monday night, so I don’t think she would be exceptionally hungry, but it was around the same time of night I usually feed her, so maybe that’s what it was.

I am am not overly worried about it, but I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to take care of my snakes correctly and not cause them any stress.

thank you to everyone who has replied.