Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hwy guys,

I was just curious on what a snake bite feels like?

Maybe you can compare it to something.

Jay

i can't speak for venamous, but i can speak for burmese pythons. A normal bite from a baby feels like a hundred tiny pin pricks all at once. A normal sub-adult bite feels like a punch and a bunch of sharpened forkes being jamed into you arm or hand etc. A hold (that's what i call it when a constrictor actually does more than bite, he tries to fit a part of you down his throat) starts as a punch with sharpened forkes, then the forks start to rake your hand down, and you can feel your snake's teeth slowly come undone in one part only to be rotated slightly so he can jam his teeth in higher up, the it happens on the other side, the the bottom. so you cant pull away without ripping them all out, and every sound and movement make him dig his teeth in even further, just when you thought he couldnt go any further. and the whole time you can feel his soft well cared for mouth tasting your blood.

Treat every snake with the utmost respect, a bite sucks! and if you do get bit be very careful not to jerk back (as is the natural response) you could rip some of their teeth out. NEVER kill a snake that wont let go, because besides the obvious, it also will hurt you more because it will cause rigor mortis which gives them a death grip on you which is very intense and painful and difficult to get off. the best way to get rid of a hold is to very carefully fill up a tub or something large enough to fit your (body part) and the snakes' head and keep both underwater until the snake lets go, at first the snake will freak out and bite harder, but really this is the safest for both of you.

My female rosy biting feels like getting jabbed with a thumb-tack. Wouldn't be so bad, but she has unerring aim and seems to prefer getting your fingers right at the joint, or at the nail-skin junction!

-P

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1.0.0 Normal corn snake (Frito)
0.1.0 Creamsicle corn (Tang)
0.1.0 Ghost corn (Raynham)
1.1.0 Bay of LA rosy boas (Rivet and Cali)

For most average sized colubrids, it is quick and almost painless. Sometimes they bleed a bit.

Indigos and big milksnakes bite HARD! Their bites can actually hurt, pressure-wise.

Of course, the bigger the snake, the more impressive the bite. Big pythons and boas can leave a bruise and even require stitches if they pull out at an angle.
Some small species have impressive bites - sandboas come to mind.

Here's a bite I got from a wild Mexican (Pine) Gophersnake (Pituophis deppei jani) last week -

I guess I said "ouch", but it wasn't a big deal. I did wash it thoroughly with alcohol gel, however.

Venomous snake bites are a whole different ball game. While some are painless, others can make you feel like the affected area is on fire and won't go out. The pain is quite surprising and it doesn't go away when they administer antivenin. It can hurt like fire for days or weeks.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Everyone's covered pythons and colubrids fairly well- I agree with their assessments, other than to say I keep a small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol near my larger snakes and monitors cages- a small squirt will make just about any of them release if they bite and hold. (No promises regarding turtles, never tried it) I've found bullsnakes to have a fairly painful bite for a nonvenomous species, if they get you just right..or...wrong.
I've been bit twice by western diamondbacks, both times while involved in milking. It was a surprise, actually- the first time I wasn't sure I had been bitten for about 30 minutes, then the pain came...and once the swelling began, the fang entry hole became visible. (He only got me with one) Before the swelling, the entry hole was very hard to see.
Once the venom began to act on my tissues, it hurt badly- and the area around the bite turned black. (I was given antivenin within 1/2 hour or less of the bite- before I was even positive I had BEEN bitten) Felt a bit like someone had filled my hand with lighter fluid and then lit it. Unpleasant.
The second time I knew I had been gotten- in the shin- but this was essentially a dry bite, partly because he hit the shin bone where there is little fat or muscle to inject. They elected not to give me antivenin, and I had little or no reaction...however, about 30 hours later I developed a really bad infection from bacteria, and was hospitalized for 9 days- much worse than the time I was envenomated.
The worst part of either experience? The cost. Few people realize it, but getting snakebit (by a venomous species)is incredibly expensive- the first cost me about $20,000, and I didn't even stay overnight...the second I have no idea- you get so many bills from different departments- but it was well over 20K. These bites occurred in 1986 and 1988, respectively. I doubt antivenin has come down in price...
Still, it beats death or losing a limb, right?

Jamie
Schertz, Tx

I keep a small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol near my larger snakes and monitors cages- a small squirt will make just about any of them release if they bite and hold.

I had a chance to try a derivative of that idea in the field last week. A foolish person had attached an alligator lizard to his ear as a joke. It seems the lizard didn't think it was that funny. To make it let go, I smeared some alcohol gel (waterless hand cleaner stuff) on the lizards mouth and it let go immediately. Should work for snakes as well and it is easier to apply than liquid alcohol.

Here's an actual pic of the event, a few seconds before the alcohol was applied.
.
.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Chris,
Just out of curiosity--how old was this person? Also, was there a reason given as to the why for this choice of behavior?
Other than use the photo as a screen saver, I can't imagine...

rgds,
althea

>>Just out of curiosity--how old was this person?

The person in question is actually a PhD student who will go unnamed. He put the lizard on his ear as a joke when we were joking about how unpleasant a bite to a sensitive area would be.

The lizard was unharmed in the process, the ear was not.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Chris
Thank your unnamed PhD candidate for the laugh- not Texas A&M by any chance...? (Sounds like an Aggie joke, somehow) (UT grad here, of course) Working with herps and raptors for the last quarter century or so, I've seen- and shamefully, done- my share of "stupid pet tricks", but I do love the alligator lizard earing idea. Those little guys can chomp pretty hard, good thinking using the gel!
I believe it's the fumes from the alcohol that herps dislike so much, so any alcohol or alcohol-based product should work- I use the spray bottle because it's faster and easier to apply myself in odd positions- although I don't like to contemplate what those positions might be, or why I'd be in them... :*)

Enjoyed the pic- glad El Studente survived, as well as the Gerrhonotus liocephalus !

JJ

We are deeply grateful that he did not put it down his trousers in search of "a sensitive area."

Well, if he did put the lizard down his trousers, it would certainly be a case of where one met one. (LOL)

rgds,
althea

Closest thing I'd say is just little needles going into you, of course it depends on the species/size, etc. Not pleasant but never anything like a dog or cat unless you're dealing with something big. Mammals tend to bite much harder. Now my Argentine Tegu? That's a different story.
Link

Adult Western diamond-backed rattler:
1. large pinprick
2. almost instantaneous brick slammed on your finger/car door slammed on finger
3. burning sensation as if hand set on fire
full blown envenomation BTW
4. slow to moderate feeling of warmth/pain creeping up to armpit
5. VERY painful swelling of lymph node in armpit
6. necrosis of bite area
7. removal of digit!
Juvenile Western cottonmouth:
1. small pinprick
2. nausea
3. swelling
4. local pain and tenderness
5. severe swelling of arm and lymph node
6. antivenin administered/ allergic reaction causes more nausea and fainting
7. collapsed veins
8. miserable time of it all

My advice: priceless, don't handle hots, keep calm and seek immediate medical attention if bitten. Just take photos, it's not worth the adrenaline rush and near death experience...from one who survived!!!Just my experiences, and I was allergic to the older antivenin but was good with the newer crote serum. All in all a very expensive and painful lesson(s)! I used to be very defensive of letting people know my experiences but if one person decides not to handle because of this then it is worth looking like a d-@$$! I used to think it will never happen to me, then I thought I am way more careful now, now I think it is not the right way for me, to each their own.
Todd Hughes

Knowledge gained from experience is most worthy if it can perhaps educate another person.

rgds,
althea