Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've never been bit by any of my boas BCI or BCC can anyone describe what a bite feels like?

Take a pin cushion in one hand and clap... Your reaction depends on your pain threshold. As with all things in this hobby, anticipation is killer.

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Quit? Never will I ever... forever 'til the end. Always keep on moving... never stop my friend.

how about "Ouch" and then followed closely by looking at the animal that just bite you and asking " Now whatcha go and do that for huh?" It usually doesnt hurt that much until a few minutes later, you usually just react to the fast movement of the animal... but that is my reaction just about every time i get tagged...

Hope this helps...
Rose Hipskind
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www.srsnakes.com

that's really a pretty good interpretation/visualization on a bite there.
Make sure they aren't those skinny needles though. haha! ;D
You need to say though, clap hard depending on what type of boa (ie, if it's a BCO, clap really hard!). LOL

Hugs!

Amanda Rose

A large boa feels like a mouse trap with thumb tacks. But it's not the bite that hurts, It's knowing that you weren't paying attion and let it happen. (every time I've been bitten it was my fault)

I have been bit many times over the years, from little hatchling jungle carpets to big retics. I have had teeth embedded in my flesh, bleeding, pain, numbness, etc. This most recent one was a little scary for me, it was last Wednesday. My wife was rushing me to get out of the snake room so we could go to lunch. I had cleaned a few cages and I wanted to move my 6.5' male Peruvian to another cage I had just cleaned. Normally I would use my hook for the feeding response and then just free hand it from there. Well, I was being rushed and like an idiot I reached in and got tagged on the right wrist. Blood starts running out of the holes from the top teeth on top of my hand and the holes from the bottom jaw went all across the artery below my thumb(you know the one where you check your pulse). Within about 10 seconds my wrist area around that artery had swollen nearly 2" off the surface with blood. I started to think that it may not stop and that I would have to rush to the ER. I ran it under running water, applied pressure and luckily it started to subside. I then covered it with a bandage and went to lunch.

As the days went by afterward I had very visible bruising that went into the meaty portion of my thumb and also the other direction into my forearm. I guess the blood had to go somewhere. Each day of weight training would cause the skin in the area to bruise in different spots and push the swelling outside of my wraps and straps. It feels fine now, no pain to speak of and the holes are almost completely healed. I am now very aware of getting bit in arteries, LOL. As for the Peruvian, his mouth was not damaged at all and it was merely his feeding response and my stupid decision to free hand it. Afterall, he did breed two females this season, one of which I am eagerly awaiting at 112 POS.
DM Exotics

Weather it is a "leave me alone bite," or a "you smell like something I can eat bite."

Chris Olson
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www.chrisolsonreptiles.com

I'd MUCH rather have the "leave me alone" bites anyday.
I got pegged just one time by my 5' male argentine I had and it was a feeding response.
That was the first and only time I've been bitten where I wasn't expecting it at the last minute (you get like this split hair of a second where you realize the error of your ways just as they come slamming into you), being distracted (thanks Chad) by my little brother. hehe I actually yanked my hand in that instant, sent my boa in a short flying lesson across my bed (don't worry, he landed on a bed of pillows with the look on his face like he tasted something terrible) and because I yanked, his teeth sank into that nice "webbing" area between the thumb and forefinger and instantly, I noticed a quarter sized hematoma (blood swell) under the skin.
With blood running down my hands I got the hook and gently spoke to my snake and helped him back into his cage, then ran around the corner squeezing the hematoma in my hand and running it under water.
That one, I'd have to mark as THE most painful bite I've ever had...oh, no wait.....hmm..well, most painful SNAKE bite. LOL!
I've kept lizards for over 15 years so any lizard keepers of iguanid and larger species know what I'm talking about). ;D
That bite definitely had my hands shaking while I was applying pressure to stop the pocket o' blood from getting bigger.
But, it's something to be expected when keeping snakes. I acknowledge that I too was rushed at that time and being pestered all at once. ;D
So, this happens, it hurts but it doesn't kill you.

Hugs!

Amanda Rose - off to share more TMI horror stories. ;D

I haven't been bitten in about 3 years by anything larger than a
neonate or yearling...until tonight.
I got nailed by one of my male albinos (he is 6 feet) and by a
5 foot female hypo.
Both were my fault. As others have mentioned, being in a hurry can lead to this type of thing. I was rushing to get them out of their enclosures. Rather than coaxing them out, I was pulling them out. I was pulling with a hook and then grabbing with my free hand...which now has 2 sets of smiley shaped puncture wounds.
My problem is that I can't keep myself from instinctively pulling away, which flipped the hypo to the floor and ripped my skin more. It could also injure the snake.
They both ate, so that's a good sign.
It doesn't hurt much, but it bleeds pretty good. Running it under cold water stops the bleeding very quickly.
It could have been worse...I have quite a few larger wild caught Blood's. They are beautiful, but kinda scary and they hit like a freight train. They're like springs.
And to think I'm thinking of getting into Retics.

a few have tried , but none of the boas ever got me. The closest I ever came was a 6' female suri striking from inside of the cage because she smelled dinner, and missed my face by about 2 inches...that was fun

It doesnt hurt to much unless they release venom, then it will hurt bad and you have to go to the hospital

I'm just kidding, I know they are not venomous

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Jeremy J. Anderson
No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful.