Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My albino was hungry, but darnit I want to clean that cage!
So.... I take her out, clean the cage and I as pick her up and
start to put her back in, her head sneaks out around the
upper corner. I quickly put up my hand (palm flat) in order
to nudge her head back in. Did you notice that I said quickly?
Did I mention she was hungry?
(pics were taken after cleaning up)

Luckily I never clean the big cages w/out telling my b/f first,
so as she latched on my hand (from thumb to ring finger) and started
to try throwing a loop around I was able to snatch behind her head with my free hand... called for the b/f to help... and she
let go (losing a tooth or three in the process).

Here's the snippy girl after the deed...

Obvisouly I'll be a little more careful about those sudden
movements! haha
-april

Hey and that looks like it got your ring finger there!!!! LOL You kept calmer than I would off. I always get yelled at if I jerk away to fast. "hey you will make him loose some teeth".
Hope the hand feels better.

Brandie Wyatt

It sure startled me and I didn't even notice how bad it was
because I was too intent on trying to make sure she got back
into the cage! I had the bitten hand held over a rubbermaid
to keep the blood off the floor and my other hand holding
her behind the head and I was trying to push her body
back into the cage with my leg! lol What a site! Luckily I had
the help there to get her back inside safely! I think when
I got ahold of her neck she realized she wasn't biting food
and when she let go some of those teeth just didn't want to come
out with her. Poor girl! I'm all healed now tho and she
got a nice meal the very next day.

-april

Same thing happened to me today (down a few posts) stinking Woma. Good to see you around April. Hope you're having fun in Vegas. I'm going to have to get back there sometime soon. Pick me up a Gila from the Red Rocks area. hehe Just kidding, wouldn't want to see you going to jail over a little lizard.

Also, you might want to try your ATB on Cypress mulch. I've had pretty good success with mine on it. It might be tough to find in Vegas though.

I can't wait to get out to Red Rock, I actually was hoping to
get there today but too many chores at home. Hopefully next
weekend! I had some good herp finds back in the bay area one
day, a 3.5-4' gophersnake, some salamanders and frogs that I couldn't
identify. Now I always make sure to bring my camera and
field guide!

Take care!
-april

My snakes are all tame as can be and I know this makes me let down my gaurd. Knowledge is power... so please help me learn.

Do you handle her often? If so, how often?

Has she bitten in the past?

Does she ever show signs of aggression?

How often and how much do you feed her?

Is she gravid?

Sorry about the bite, it looked painful. Hopefully we can all learn something from this. I never want to experience such a thing. Thanks for helping me out here.
-----
-Iman

2.0 Balls (Spot and Speck)
0.1 Colombian BCI (Belle)
1.0 Colombian Rainbow (Rex)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love

> Do you handle her often? If so, how often?

I used to, but I bred her in '03 and after she gave birth
on 8/03 I don't handle her a ton. (maybe 2-3 times a month for
cleaning, etc.. but no extended out time) She just always seems
to be really hungry! lol Still trying to put the weight
back on I guess.

> Has she bitten in the past?

Nope, well not me. I've had her for almost 2 years now. The
gentleman I bought her from said she was aggressive but she
was never aggressive with me and I would have her out around
people, up on my sholders many times.

> Does she ever show signs of aggression?

The only time she's been trully aggressive was right after
giving birth. As it was the first year I'd bred successfully,
the aggressive motherly protective behavior was quite a shock!
This bite wasn't aggressive, it was simply a food bite. I
find when snakes are biting due to "aggression" (usually when
they feel threatened) they bite and release, like a little
punch with their teeth. The only times I've seen or had them
bite and hold on like she did this time, was when I (or whoever)
was mistaken for a food item. (I've done STF where in the past
I tried to handle a boa after feeding a mouse to a cornsnake and
the boa smells the mouse on my hand, etc) I could tell before
I started to clean the cage that she was acting hungry, I just
took a chance and made the mistake of moving too fast right by
her head and her feeding instincts got the better of me.

> How often and how much do you feed her?

I feed her either 2 large or 1 jumbo rat every 2-3 weeks or
1 small rabbit a month. (frozen/thawed only)

> Is she gravid?

Nope, not now, I gave her this year off to recover from her
last litter.

> Sorry about the bite, it looked painful.

thanks, actually it's not as bad as it looks (esp when it's
fresh! LOL) It's more of a shock than the pain. I was running
around the house holding my hand over a towel yelling "where's
the camera!?!" While my b/f was just yelling at me to go
wash it off.

The very first snake bite I got about 4 years ago scared me,
I'll admit, I was shaking from adrenaline for at least 10 min.
afterwards but now I just kinda laugh and grab a towel and
try to figure out what I did wrong so I don't do it again!

Hope some of that helps!
-April

Thanks a ton!

That really is helpful info.

My girl is completely different to yours in her daily schedule of things. Hopefully my daily handling and weekly feedings will keep my hands out of her mouth.

Thanks again for the info, it really does wonders for a novice like me!
-----
-Iman

2.0 Balls (Spot and Speck)
0.1 Colombian BCI (Belle)
1.0 Colombian Rainbow (Rex)

Loving to Learn
Learning to Help
Helping to Love