OUCH!!!

[BalloonzForU]

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later but that hurt more than I thought it would!!

Ok, here's how my afternoon went. I was cleaning all the geckos and the snakes that are in 6 quarts. After cleaning it's time to feed. So I feed the geckos, all are eating, now on to the snakes. I feed the newest ones in the old hatchling rack all goes well (no one ate...LOL all in shed). Now I move on to my other rack, pull out the tub for Persephone and the tub for the Female Albino, go to the mouse tank and pull out two plump mice one for each of them. I drop one in each tub and push the tubs in. I hear this commotion from one of the tubs and I decided to check to make sure Persephone has the mouse and it's not biting her (I feed Live). No sooner do I have the tub pulled out about 1.5-2 inches a snake head comes flying out and bites me on the hand.... OUCH!!!!

Here's the little demon child that bit me, with her prize.....

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame this little girl at all, it was a normal response to food and she was being fed. It was completely my own fault just like any bite I get from any other animal I have.


And my boo boo since Ken insisted since there was blood I had to take a pic.

It's kind of turned black and blue and the muscle between the thumb and finger has swelled just a bit. At least the burning from the bite has finally stopped!!!

 

[KiKi]

omg felicia that looks like a bad bite hope it gets better quick,glad it wasnt a worse bite,next dont investigate the noise

 

[techgirl]

Dang of all places to get nailed. That's going to smart for awhile. Better take the ring off in case it swells a little too much. Hope it heals quickly. Do some warm water soaks with a little betadine in it. Has always worked for me to keep infection at bay.

 

[BalloonzForU]

lol Ok it really wasn't that bad, not like she's full grown, she's only 150g. There is a little bit of swelling but nothing much at all and I think the brusing is because of the force that she hit my hand with. She came flying out of that tub, and went back in as fast as she came out.

I've had one leopard gecko bite that was far worse than this girl gave me.

This is from Strongbad, a male Bell Albino that I got from Kelli last year. It finally stopped bleeding after about 20 or so min of applying preasure. That bite left a scar, and the one from the snake you can't even see the teeth marks anymore.

 

[KiKi]

damn i guess your reptiles think you taste good

 

[ssscales]

Consider those love taps...

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

Rub a little dirt on it, Fe! That really is a pretty insignificant bite, IMO. You just have to remember to let them let go, and not pull your hand away.

On another note... I'm surprised that, with the size of your investment, you're feeding live. You are aware of the dangers involved, I expect?

 

[ssscales]

On another note... I'm surprised that, with the size of your investment, you're feeding live. You are aware of the dangers involved, I expect?

That's the thing with Ball pythons, most require live prey to get a rise out of them. Even then some are finicky eaters or go weeks/months without feeding, that's just Ball pythons. I've got some BP's that will take F/T without hesitating every time, but by far most that I own and BP's in general prefer live to say the least. Believe me, I would prefer all my Ball pythons took F/T which would save me the trouble of buying and feeding live, but if you are careful and use common sense feeding live isn't that much of a big deal.

Snake eat live prey in the wild and it's what they are built for, now if you leave a hungry rat with a not so hungry snake overnight, you might have a problem in the morning! I make sure any un-eaten rat in any tub after 20-30 minutes is taken out and offered again 5-7 days later.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

I have been keeping snakes for quite some time. One of the snakes I have now is a ball python, and I've never had a pickier eater. And still, I'd never even consider giving it a live mouse/rat. When it's ready, it eats. And I just keep trying until it does. If I end up throwing away feeders, then so be it.

Please don't give me that "in 20 to 30 minutes I take it out" story either. If the snake has a bad day and the rodent a good one, the snake can end up with a gaping hole. I hate to think what would happen to my A. dumerilli if I fed it a live jumbo rat and she ended up getting bit.

I wasn't critisizing, but meerly asking a question. I leave the choice to the individual. I made my choice regarding this subject, and I'm quite comfortable with it. To each their own. :main_yes:

 

[ssscales]

I've also kept and bred Dumerils and once they are on F/T, like all Boas they will feed regularly on F/T without hesitating. There is no need to even offer a live rat to a Boa unless it's a newborn reluctant feeder that needs to get started after refusing F/T a number of times.

I've got a few Boas myself and all are and have always been on F/T. I've got a cooler full to the brim with Frozen rats and is absolutely my 1st choice in feeding any snake. Most baby boas take F/T from birth, except for a few that require that live feeder to get them started, but quickly switch and stick to F/T. If any of my BP's accepts F/T I'm more than happy to offer them F/T, but I won't hesitate to feed them live either if this is what they prefer and need.

To each their own. :main_yes:

Exactly...:main_thumbsup

 

[paulnj]

Fe, welcome to the snake owners club I can't tell you how many times I have been bit by balls or hatchlings, but when a 19' retic gets you .... you will not mind those hand nips

I see the natural reaction of jerking away is still with you, try to learn not to pull away and it will hurt and bleed far less

 

[eyelids]

I see the natural reaction of jerking away is still with you, try to learn not to pull away and it will hurt and bleed far less

Not to mention the damage that could be done to the snakes teeth/jaw... I saw a person get tagged by a 13' Burm, they jerked away and along came part of the snakes mouth...

 

[paulnj]

OH SNAP!

 

[BalloonzForU]

I feed all my Balls live mice and/or rats. I don't just throw the mice or rat in there and leave them. I make sure they kill it before I leave them. That is why I got bit, I was making sure she was ok. I keep my tongs ready to put in the mouse/rat's mouth to block a bite to the snake if needed. I do this with each and every snake, and there are now 10.29. Feeding f/t would take a lot less time and be much cheaper for me to do, as the cost of keeping this many live feeders on hand is not cheap at all. I feel feeding fresh rodents are healthier than f/t and would rather feed them f/k, but most will not fall for the dead mouse/rat dance for me.

Not to mention the damage that could be done to the snakes teeth/jaw... I saw a person get tagged by a 13' Burm, they jerked away and along came part of the snakes mouth...

OUCH!



Actually she didn't hold on, she let go as soon as she bit. It was very fast and I didn't even have time to react.

 

[ssscales]

I feed all my Balls live mice and/or rats. I don't just throw the mice or rat in there and leave them. I make sure they kill it before I leave them. That is why I got bit, I was making sure she was ok. I keep my tongs ready to put in the mouse/rat's mouth to block a bite to the snake if needed. I do this with each and every snake, and there are now 10.29. Feeding f/t would take a lot less time and be much cheaper for me to do, as the cost of keeping this many live feeders on hand is not cheap at all. I feel feeding fresh rodents are healthier than f/t and would rather feed them f/k, but most will not fall for the dead mouse/rat dance for me.

I hear you, we've currently got 6.20 BP's and about 6-7 will eat anything whether it's live, p/k or f/t, these just took to it. Very rarely do they not take a F/T rat and when they do, a live rat will get them every time. The rest won't take to the heated rat dance no matter what, and some won't feed period unless it's after dark and you actually leave the room. You could stand there in the dark 5-10 minutes and nothing, the second you leave the room and close that door behind, wam!

I've even started breeding my own rats to keep a steady/low cost supply of live feeders on hand. Thankfully, thank God we have no mice feeders, all are on rats. I would much much rather feed 100% f/t out of a cooler, just much more convenient.

 

[BalloonzForU]

LOL I have one that I've had for about a month now and up till last night only ate once for me. However she had killed her mice a few times and just left it there. Turns out she doesn't mind me in the room for the kill, but she won't eat if I'm in the room, so she's the last one to get fed. I watched her to make sure she's got her mouse in a good grip and just before it's really dead I left the room and came back later to a chunky snake and no mouse!! lol


Maurice, I understand where you're coming from. The debate over live vs f/t or p/k is an ongoing one and very much like the sand debate when talking about geckos.

If you were here at feeding time you would understand that I'm very anal about the safety of my snakes. I keep all my rodents full of food and water so they do not have a reason to attack the snakes and I don't leave them alone with the snake till they are dead. The snakes also have to show me some interest in the meal or the rodent is removed within minutes of being placed in the tub, again the rodents are never left alone in a tub. There are times that I have to close the tub so the rodent doesn't get out, but then again there is much attention kept on the snakes safety, and the cause of me getting bit.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

I keep all my rodents full of food and water so they do not have a reason to attack the snakes...

Huh? I don't think the mouse/rat is out to eat the snake. The rodent would most likely be defending itself. If the rodent can't jump out of the way, their only other option would be to bite.

I only asked you a question, which you've answered. It wasn't a direct answer, but an answer none the less. Like I said, I'm not here to critisize.

Everybody should be entitled to their own choice, and I'm not excluding myself in that statement.

 

[ssscales]

Huh? I don't think the mouse/rat is out to eat the snake. The rodent would most likely be defending itself. If the rodent can't jump out of the way, their only other option would be to bite.

I only asked you a question, which you've answered. It wasn't a direct answer, but an answer none the less. Like I said, I'm not here to critisize.

Everybody should be entitled to their own choice, and I'm not excluding myself in that statement.

Actually, the more common or what you can consider common attacks on snakes by rodents, occur when they are left for long periods of time with the snake. Like leaving a hungry rat or mouse overnight with the snake where the rodent has no food source. At that point, the snake becomes a food source and the rat will literally eat at the snake. Hense why you see pictures of snakes with 1/2 their face missing or tail eaten.

Which is why we stated that you should remove the rat relatively quickly if the snake shows no interest in feeding. I give them roughly 20-30 minutes max, but 90% of the time the rat is usually coiled within seconds of it hitting the tub. Some as I mentioned require a little privacy and time alone to get in the mood.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

Actually, the more common or what you can consider common attacks on snakes by rodents, occur when they are left for long periods of time with the snake.

I am extremely happy to say that I don't have, and never will have, any experience with this.

And with that, I'm done with this subject! :main_yes:

Fe, sorry for the unnecessary crosstalk in your thread. I really was asking you the questions.

 

[ReptileMan27]

LOL, the first of many , welcome to the club lol