2 mice and striking at Moss then eating it.

[Bogertophis]

I used to have a large BCI & rarely, she'd hiss when I wanted to take her out. She'd be coiled up & facing one direction...she didn't turn to try to bite me when I
reached in to stroke her coils, and after a minute or two of touching her, it was as if she'd remember that she knew me...just by my touch, and she'd quit hissing.
At that point I'd pick her up & she was always fine. (And once she was out, she seemed to enjoy it & didn't want to be put back...silly girl!) So don't stress out
over a few hisses. My BCI sounded SO fierce but she was nothing but a big cuddle-muffin.

[HeathBish]

I used to have a large BCI & rarely, she'd hiss when I wanted to take her out. She'd be coiled up & facing one direction...she didn't turn to try to bite me when I
reached in to stroke her coils, and after a minute or two of touching her, it was as if she'd remember that she knew me...just by my touch, and she'd quit hissing.
At that point I'd pick her up & she was always fine. (And once she was out, she seemed to enjoy it & didn't want to be put back...silly girl!) So don't stress out
over a few hisses. My BCI sounded SO fierce but she was nothing but a big cuddle-muffin.

Lol That's so cute.

Let's say she did bite you. What would you have done? Left her be? Picked her anyway? If you choose to let her be, what would you do if she kept biting the times following?

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[Dianne]

Ok. Cool. I'm going to wait until tomorrow, maybe the following day, since he ate last night. I'm excited

So, you think once I have him and I'm sitting he will try and strike at me? Or are they usually pretty calm after being picked up? Sorry for all the questions. It's one of those things that I'm going to be scared to get it until it happens kind of thing. Just want as many facts as I can get. Lol

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I’ve never had an issue with most of my snakes striking or biting once out of the cage. There were a couple of rare exceptions, a wild caught adult female Solomon Island ground boa and a nippy juvenile coastal carpet python. The Solomon Island ground boa never did chill out, striking from the moment I opened her enclosure until I put her back. I handled her with my leather riding gloves. The coastal carpet eventually settled down with hook training and handled well.

Nothing wrong with being prepared and asking for advise. No-one really sets out to experience a bite. Just the longer you keep snakes, and the more different species, the higher the likelihood of it happening.

Lol That's so cute.

Let's say she did bite you. What would you have done? Left her be? Picked her anyway? If you choose to let her be, what would you do if she kept biting the times following?

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For me, this would depend on the snake. The Solomon Island above I handled anyway, at least to move her to a cleaning tub then back to her enclosure. Her bites were strike and release, drew blood but not deep bites, hence the gloves a solution to protect my hands. She was about 2’ long, so not but so scary. My Bci is 7’, so it depends on her body language. If it’s her usual hissing, but no aggressive body language, out she comes. If she starts really blowing and jerking her body away from me, I wait until later or for another day. In the last 25 years, I’ve learned her next warning usually results in me bleeding.

Most defensive bites are either lunges without an actual bite (scare factor) or strike and release, usually over before you can react. That said, I’ve made stupid errors in the past and gotten bites by a large boa and one adult burmese python that each bit and held on. The important thing is not to try to pull your hand out, which is instinctive. This is for two reason: first, recurved teeth will tear your skin making the bite more severe; and second, it can also break the snakes teeth...particularly with smaller snakes. The trick I learned from an old time keeper was to pour a little rubbing alcohol on your hand or arm around their mouth. They spit you out immediately. I’ve tested this a few times, it really does work. And each of these bites was not severe, even from my 13’ burmese...cuts yes, but nothing deep or requiring more than cleaning and some band-aides.

All of this said, calm perseverance is the key. If you are concerned about a bite, cotton or light leather gloves may make you feel more comfortable until you get to know your new addition and vice versa. I highly encourage hook training and use it on all of my snakes, even the hatchling balls. The sooner they learn a touch first means handling, the better for when they are adults and don’t mistake your warm hand for a mouse or rat. As a parting note, the only bp that has ever struck at me was a hatchling back in the mid-90’s, which was probably wild caught. Even she was more bluff than action.

[Bogertophis]

Lol That's so cute.

Let's say she did bite you. What would you have done? Left her be? Picked her anyway? If you choose to let her be, what would you do if she kept biting the times following?

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That BCI came to me as an unwanted yearling that had been re-homed multiple times for biting consistently & scaring everyone. I had never planned to have a
large boa but felt sorry for her situation & figured that at the worst, I'd just re-home her once I calmed her down if she turned out to be larger than I wanted to deal
with. I had no information about her origins to go on. In the 12 years* I had her, I never got even ONE bite: she WANTED to bite me at first, of course, but I didn't
let her...I cuddled her in a towel, until she knew my touch, warmth & scent & felt safe, only then I let her peek out. Snakes aren't blessed with expressions but I swear
she had the look of panic, but nothing had actually changed, only her view, so she calmed down. In about a month or two, & from then on, biting was a non-issue.
Some terrorist she turned out to be. She even did well meeting strangers for over an hour in a strange location (outdoors, on a nice day). (*by age 13, she was
7.5' & still growing, so I re-homed her w/ friends.)

To answer your question though, I'd have felt bad for having scared her into biting me. I'd have tried in any way I could to reassure her. And I'd have thought about
what went wrong, what did I miss? My experience is that snakes bite out of fear or by feeding mistake. Both are preventable...almost always. Most bites happen when
you approach them: humans get most of our information by vision, & it's easy for us to forget that snakes do NOT. To converse with a snake, use their best senses
(scent & touch) and don't rush them, they need time to recognize you (once they know you). It's pretty much just "good manners" to help a snake feel safe with you.

[HeathBish]

Thank you guys! If the hook training is needed then I will have to ask about that when the time comes. I hear it's not to painful so that's not what worries me it's the pulling away out of surprise that does. I don't want to hurt him. I can't wait until I get out of work to go get him out and sit with him.

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[Bogertophis]

In my experience with snakes (& other animals), when you focus on THEM, not on YOU, your head & heart will help you communicate correctly. I've never had
a snake bite me when I've been doing something to help them...not even for an injection. (It's a little tougher for vet techs & vets, as they are usually pushed
for time...)