Reptile & Amphibian Forums

if you love snakes. i was making the rounds today cleaning cages. i have a new little leopard gecko i picked up in the hopes of getting my girlfriend interested in reptiles haha. i handled the gecko, cleaned his cage put him back, went to my snake rack, pulled out a california king that needed spot cleaned. he wrapped around me allitle tighter than usual. dug his nose into my hand at which point i thought in my head 'oops'. spent 15 minutes trying to get him off my hand. what removes scent the best besides soap and water? hand sanitizer? any similar stories?

>>if you love snakes. i was making the rounds today cleaning cages. i have a new little leopard gecko i picked up in the hopes of getting my girlfriend interested in reptiles haha. i handled the gecko, cleaned his cage put him back, went to my snake rack, pulled out a california king that needed spot cleaned. he wrapped around me allitle tighter than usual. dug his nose into my hand at which point i thought in my head 'oops'. spent 15 minutes trying to get him off my hand. what removes scent the best besides soap and water? hand sanitizer? any similar stories?

Hey, it sounds like your king appreciated the stimulation. Maybe you should sacrifice your hand to him more often?
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0.1 Peruvian rainbow boa (Amaru)
0.3 Honduran milk snakes (Chicchan, TBA, TBA)
1,000,000.1,000,000 other critters

In my limited experience with them, there's just something about king snakes that makes them want to eat my hands. Maybe fingers look like snakes? No scenting is usually required. Of course, my hands probably smell like snake a lot of the time, which is at least as likely to stimulate a king as a gecko would be...
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

I had a Savu years ago...I had finished cleaning the family's bird cage (Birds are NASTY!!), and spaced washing my hands really well...wound up with a very enthused savu python wrapped around my arm trying to eat my hand

At certains times of the year, Cal kings will try and eat nearly anything that even remotely smells like a prey item. They are among the most enthusiastic feeders you can have in your collection.

I think rubbing alcohol works about the best for removing scent, and if your hand still smells a little of the alcohol, the snake will likely not bite. Jack Daniels works too, but I'd rather not waste it on a snake.
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Mark

LOL Geckos: They only save you money on car insurance, not your hands from being bitten by snakes...

Maybe rub Lemon juice on your hands? Gets rid of fish smells....hmmm?

This was the most recent king scenario after also forgetting to wash the other snake scent off my hands as I usually do before messing with the kings..LOL!

It's almost guaranteed with these guys!..HAHAAA!

~Doug

and here is the hungry adult female culprit!

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com