Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok...I hate to sound like a wuss but I have an actual problem. Ive been handling snakes for awhile. I have 2 ball pythons and 2 cal kings. I adore my snakes. They are absolutely beautiful animals. I never really feared them, I respected them but not feared them. Until now. You see, I was bitten. The first time. None have even tried before. One of my kings decided to lay into me when I picked her up. I did everything the same, was cautious and careful. Everything was fine, she was lying on my arm, checking things out. When she suddenly drew back and tried to take part of my finger. It didnt really hurt. Geez, Ive given birth to 4 children. I can handle a snake bite. The pain was nothing. But it did something to me. I now have this horrible fear of being bitten. For the first time in my life I am afraid of my snakes. I dont know what to do, how to overcome it. I try to handle them, I try to just pick right back up. I always knew it would eventually happen. Now what do I do? Have any of you ever had this problem? I love them, I wont get rid of them. I have to overcome it somehow but I dont even know whats wrong with me. Any ideas? Or am I just being a wimp??
Thanks for listening.....
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Jamie

Use something like a popsicle stick, a paintstirrer, or a snake hook to lift them out of their cage next time. Then let them crawl onto your hand from there. It saves both of you the stress of grabbing and being grabbed. I do this with a bunch of my nippy small snakes, to save them the stress of having to bite me. After you do that for a while you can work on picking them up with your hands again.
But other than that I guess you just have to get back on the horse. Your brain is sort of primed to be scared of this sort of stuff, but you'll get used to it after a while.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I can relate! I have never been bitten and have always been fearful of the day it WILL happen. I have a juvenile Brooksi that has been a little jumpy but never has shown any aggression, the other day I went to pick him up and he hissed at me and coiled up tight, I got a real adrenaline rush from that one! I fashioned a hook from a coat hanger and once I got him up he was fine. I agree that using a hook is less stressful to your snake. In your case the snake was already out when it bit, right? Possibly a feeding response or an odor on your hands? I also have a gray band(juvenile) and 2 amel corn hatchlings. I always wash my hands with a germicidal soap before handling each animal. I am a grown man and have to laugh at myself sometimes for being such a wuss! Good luck and don't give up. The animals need people like us to care for them as they are so misunderstood by the general population.
Cheers, Mike B

Thanks guys for the advice. I guess its sorta like I thought. Jump back in and pick back up. I hadnt considered the snake hook but Im not sure if that would work for me. I have front opening cages, the door is about 3 ft long and 2 ft tall. It may be a little awkward. But then again, it may be fine. I guess I just developed some freaky phobia. My husband gets them out with no probs, he's not been bitten yet.
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Jamie

Welcome to the "Bitten by Cals Club." While I can definately empathize with your plight having been there, you do need to realize that while cali's are some of the most common snakes in the trade and are generaly handleable they will occasionaly chomp you out of the blue for no apparent reason. While I am not enough of a pyschotherapist to help you over come your new found fears, I can give you a few tips to give you a little more handling confidence. The most important thing is also to the most difficult to learn and that is to recognize your snake's "mood." If you can see that he is overly aggitated or excited at something or just pissed off at the world, this may not be the time to pick him up. Make sure you do not have even the slightest amount of sent of food items on your hands. For a king this can be lizards, snakes, poultry and probably even fish as well as rodents. If I am going to handle my king I wash my hands even after petting the dog. While dogs are generally not pry items I don't trust that bb-sized reptilian brain to tell the difference. Also, don't startle the snake by picking him up unexpectedly or suprise him with your presence. Make sure he notices you and knows your coming as you approach and open the cage. Then this is very important, as you reach in never reach down for him directly from up above. This is how a predator would pick him up and he will react accordingly. Rather than that, reach in from across the cage a ways and place the back of your hand on the bottom of the cage with your palm up and slide your hand towards his mid belly and swoop him up with one steady motion and get him up off his belly in a swift but controlled motion. Once you have him up in the air support his body with both hands and do not try and restrain his movements. Kings will be in motion the whole time you are handling, do not try and restrict their movemnets rather gently direct them to where you want them to go. The other posts regarding using some form of improvised snake stick to get them off the ground will work too. As far as your fear of getting bitten, I can't really help you there. I have had snakes for the better part of 15 years and I hate getting bit and the thought of it still gives me goose bumps. Not to encourage you to throw in the towell on kings they are wonderfull snakes but if you can not get over the fear then cal kings may not be for you. My cali is perfectly handlable 95% of the time but that other 5% catches me off guard every time, I never see it coming. I have never owned an eastern, Mexican black or Florida but from the descriptions from people on this forum they sound a little less snappy than cals. Cornsnakes are also usually very handlable and maybe would be better suited for you. Hope this helps.

Well, hooks are an option, getting snakes are an option, but in my experience the first is expensive, and the second isn't really an option. Why get corns when you like kings? Keep the animals you love.

My cal king bit me for the first time after never dong anything of the sort for 4 years. Didn't even strike, really, just gaped and grabbed. As a result, I was too jumpy to handle her for months, and was really unhappy over the whole incedent.

What happens is that you have built up a level of trust with the animal, and then it's broken. I'm not saying that you have some sort of mutual relationship or anything, just that you were at a point where you were sure the snake wouldn't bite you, and then it did. To handle it again, you've just got to build that trust back up. Take it out and handle it just like you used to, and after a while you'll start to feel more comfortable. It'll take time, though.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you justs stop handling the animals, they will become more likely to bite, because they won't be used to human contact. The best thing you can do to minimize the chance that they will bite is to handle them regularly.

use the appropriate thickness: thin latex for babies, the yellow dishwashing gloves for bigger, and then the welder's gloves for the ones with the REALLY long teeth! I can definitely relate, once a snake has struck at me, it takes quite a while to get back that feeling of trust, and this will show in how you handle your snake. So you may be nervous and shaky, and your snake will pick that up. But if you use gloves, then you have nothing to fear. Hooks are kind of harder for me to handle than using gloves, I am always afraid the snake will slide off the hook.
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sue

I read thru all these posts and I'm sorry but I have to just say...SO WHAT? I have been bitten at least a few hundred times and by some that are a heck of a lot more serious than a kingsnake. The bite is as big as you make it and saying how tramatised you are really does nothing to help anything. I am not saying that you have to be macho, but a king bite really is not that much to cope with. You just go in and pick it up again (with your hands)and if it bites again, it won't be as bad as the first...and the next and the next...will each be less of a shock.

I have to ask....What made you think you would never get bitten? It is a part of working with animals. Just like a puppy or a cat...snakes sometimes bite. It is a painfull (sometimes) surprise, but then you get over it. Treating it like it is a big deal prolongs the fear and can make it phobic.

When you can tuck it in and say "SO WHAT" to getting bit, then you will be over this foolishness. If not, then you might want to consider finding a safer interest.

If I sound cruel I apologise. But making a big deal out of it is a bit much.
Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

"SO WHAT? ?"

I admit, that was my first reaction to this post. But then again, while I'm not scared of bites and don't mind them anyway (unless you're talking about a big boid or something that will cause damage) bites always tend to get my heart going a little bit. But why? I have a cat that bites and scratches all the time. These bites actually do hurt but I usually laugh when this happens. Is it the speed of the snake bite?Probably not. The cat's bite or scratch is way faster. I think what I am reacting to is the fact that the snake wouldn't have bitten except as a last resort to save it's life.I think it's just the idea that I've pushed something as far as it would go. If I pushed a cat into it's fight or flight response and it decided to fight, I'm sure that would get my heart going too.

Granted: some snakes just like to bite even when they are not all that scared, but most don't.
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Martin Whalin

"It is foolish to let singleness of purpose deprive one of the joy and delectation of the many wonderful sights and sounds incidental to the quest."
-Carl Kauffeld
My Email

It's the scariest to me when the snake is actually trying to eat me, even though all mine are too small to give me more than a minor scar. I have one otherwise friendly snake who's mistaken me for food twice. My fault, I know but... OW! I'm pretty used to defensive bites, althoug I still try to minimize them.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I bought a pair of rainbow boas last weekend. Now have 6 snakes total. One of the rainbows bite me yesterday--and I was so happy he did it! I know that sounds odd, but I knew it would happen eventually and was just glad to get it over with. I've handled him again since with no trouble. Back on the horse, as they say.

I have read all of the reactions to your post. Some of them make me smile. One of them I think hit right on the head (RF). The snake latched on to you because he wanted down (defensive tactic) and after he got you, you probably did put him down (instinctive reaction) and the snake won.

M2C When a snake bites you while attempting to get it out or while holding it show him that his tactic is not working and continue with your handling.

Once he understands his tactic works he will use it again. (User Statement) This has worked for me many times. Pull your socks up and get in there. That snake will not hurt you.

Hope this has helped you….Dann

Snakes all have wild instincts and can be and are unpredictable.just like the fools who want alittle tiger cub and think they can raise it like a house cat.here kitty kitty.. you just have to take your chances ,learn to read them better and sense when they may strike...to many people think snakes and all reptiles are toys or animals that like to be handled alot and carried around,

Well, thank you all for your advise.
First, Id like to say that I never thought a snake was a tame and domestic animal like a "kitty". I understood the risks when I began with them. I always knew that I would eventually be bitten. I used to joke about it. I just didnt expect the effect that it had on me. I will just "get back on the horse". I guess I just wanted reassurance, and wondered if anyone else had been bothered like me. Not alot of things get to me so it bugged me that this did.
Again, thanks everyone. Ive been a long time reader of the forums but rarely a poster. I'll now know who I can come to if I have questions.
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Jamie

You kinda just get over it intime.I got bit by two Honduran milksnakes yrs ago when I was getting into snakes and looking at them at a reptile show.After awhile I got over it but I would never get a honduran lol so maybe you dont exactly get over it completely.
Bianca

I had a Honduran. He was insane! It wasn't the biting so much as the way he'd rub musk in the open wound. So the color tangerine currently makes me a bit queasy.
(he was sort of dumped on me, I didn't actually buy him)
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?