Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well it was bound to happen at some point I suppose, my first bite happened tonight. It came from my year old hypo het albino 66% het anery, and it was most than likely entirely my fault for not spending time with him like I should. Anyway, the reason for my post, what are the chances than something happened to one of his teeth? I felt around where he bit me and there was nothing left in my finger but when the bite happened I jerked my arm back in reaction. If I remember correctly, he was already pulling back when I jerked my arm. I'm just curious on what to look for in the next few days or weeks to show signs of a possible problem in his mouth. Any info is appreciated and thanks in advance.

Odd are the snake will be fine, but keep an eye out for any swelling or "gaps" between the lips that shouldnt be there. If there were teeth broken or lost there is always the risk of infection. If your comfortable enough, get his mouth open and take a peek around. Good Luck!

I've been bitten more than I care to admit, and I only had a collection that bordered around 20 until this year... I have been lucky enough that in every bite, the snakes had less impact on them than I did on me! LOL! Luckily, I haven't had a real contact bite in over a year and I like to think that is a sign that I'm more cautious and less careless than I used to be (Now that I said that though... I'm going to get it good!)
I agree with the previous poster, just keep your eye open for anything unusual or swelling. Sanitize your hand too, lol!
I wish I had still had a picture of when my emerald tree boa got me... that was an experience I don't care to repeat!
Good luck!
Steph S.

I think they lose their teeth more often than people realize. I've had a few stuck in me. I also had a Boa strike at me and left a tooth on the plexi-glass. On a couple of occasions over the years, I've found a tooth in the water dish.
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I'm just the snake room janitor

I agree w/ previous posts. I only posted to make a recommendation on how to open the snakes mouth since like most people (and me), you probably don't have the appropriate tools. I use a pen, yes, like a writing instrument. Just make sure it's smooth, not one w/ a grip to it. Hold the snake behind the head and let it's body hang between your legs but then clamp your legs together to secure it's body (not like a vice clamp, just hard enough to where it can't do the backwards locomotion thing). Grab the pen and put it up to the snakes mouth like the letter "T" (or perpendicular) where the pen is the horizontal part of the letter and the snakes head is the vertical part, you'll need overhang on the other side. All you have to do is just roll it upwards towards the roof of the snakes mouth and use a tad bit of pressure. It'll take a second or two but the snake will open its mouth just a bit and you just continue to put the pen in a little futher. The snake will probably react by trying to pull away and also rapidly boucing its bottom jaw for a second or two because it's not used to having something hard come in contact w/ its teeth. It should stop and give you some time to look around. To get it out, just move it a little and the snake will react by loosening its jaw and you can VERY carefully remove the pen.
I've NEVER had a snake try to bite me afterwards but be careful anyway. I think they don't try to strike because of the fact that you just REALLY freaked them out by taking on their primary defense system head on!
Anyway, as I said, your snake is probably fine but if you worry like me, you're probably curious about your snakes health.
jb
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Jonathan Brady
"Sarcasm is angers ugly cousin" -Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) in "Anger Management".

It happens to us all, don't let anyone tell you differently. S

Like others posted, the snake should be fine. Just wait till you have babies, they all bite!! And yes, yoiu do get used to it and stop pulling back. Before I "learned", I launched a couple of baby BRB's accross the room. They bit, I pulled away, they let go and went flying.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
21.29 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats