Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay. This lady comes into my store yesterday telling me if someone doesn't take this snake she's going to turn it loose. So I take it. The poor thing is in a 40 breeder with a big lump of cotton (I guess for a hiding space), fecal matter everywhere, and to top it off a white rat standing on its head. So I buy a new 40 breeder, put some nice moist jungle earth in it, a big tub of water he can lay in and a hide box. During the move to his new tank, I picked him up, he was docile, never seeming to mind being handled. I brought him home, I'm preparing him a nice cozy 90 gallon tank to call home, and today he seems more defensive. Is this just because of his new tank, or now that I've watered and heated him up he's just really pissed at his treatment? He's about 6 feet long, and has about 8 inches of girth. I want to handle him and keep him used to it, but I don't want to push too much on him too soon. If he was to strike me, what should I expect? Lots of pain, just a surprise with a bit of blood? Stitches??

Jeff

I, on few occasions, got bitten by my african rock python when she was over 10 feet, you could expect a fair amount of blood (let cold water run over it until it stops, then dab it with iodine)& expect some serious bruising & swelling (if bit on your hand) It won't bruise very much if you get bit on the arm or elsewhere where it's meaty. The pain will be surprisingly vague (probably because their teeth are like razors) Please note, that this is only if you fight every instinct you have to yank your arm out of the way. Otherwise you'll get anything from 10 to 100 stitches (depending on where you get bit)

DUDE I REALLY WOULDNT WORRY ABOUT BRUISING OR STITCHES THAT IS COMPLEATLY A EXAGERATION I KEEP BOAS AND HAVE BEEN BITTIN LITTERALLY HUNDREDS OF TIMES THEY WILL DRAW BLOOD BUT ITS REALLY NOT ALL THAT BAD I HAVE ALSO BEEN BITTEN BUY BURMS AND THEY HAVE A TENDENCY TO BITE AND WRAP BUT IVE NEVER HAD THAT HAPPEN WITH A BOA REMEMBER IF YOU DO GET BITTEN JUST REMAIM CALM THE SNAKE IS PROBABLY MORE SCARED THAN YOU ARE IF THE OFF CHANCE THAT IT DOSE BITE AND WRAP JUST HOLD IT UNDER WARM WATER IT SHOULD LET GO HOPE THIS HELPS YOU
JOHN PERAZA

Congrats on the new addition Jeff! I would say part of the attitude change is that he's now warm and watered and probably hungry. Let him settle down for a few days before trying to handle him, preferably after he's been fed and had a few days to digest. As for the bites, they aren't really that bad. A few years ago my 6' female Bci gave me a quick nip because I startled her when I picked her up - just a few scratches on the skin and a bit of bruising. Just at the beginning of February one of my 7' males bit my hand and wrapped my arm. This was completely my fault because I'd put him in a feeding tub instead of the usual pillow case to clean his cage but didn't feed him (or have any intention of doing so) and the first warm object he sensed was my hand. My other half poured rubbing alcohol around his mouth which immediately caused him to release my hand and uncoil (hard liquor also works from what I've been told). The bite wasn't bad but did bleed - no stitches required and developed light bruising by the next day. I simply ran my hand under some cold water and applied more alcohol to it (more as a precaution as I've never gotten an infection from a bite). The main thing is not to try to pull or pry the snake off, you'll end up doing more damage to yourself and potentially to the snake. Basically both bites were more suprise than anything, not to say they felt good but it wasn't terribly painful either...cat bites and scratches are MUCH worse. FWIW, in the 13 years I've been keeping Colombian redtail boas, I've only been bitten by adults those two times - even the babies aren't particularly nippy. Most bites are feeding errors such as my tub incident because I'd conditioned him that tubs = food, having thawed or live prey in the room while trying to handle the snake, or having a prey scent on you or your clothes. Common sense and caution are basically all that is needed. A snake hook isn't a bad idea and I use one with most of my larger snakes and even a few of the small ones. Good luck with your new guy. I'm sure he'll settle down for you in no time.

Raven