Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I have kept snakes for years, and I have been thinking about buying a Northern or Eastern BTS. I have a book on them and read care sheets. On the subject of bites, they say "very painful". Now, I have been biten by snakes, but they do not have much jaw pressure. So, to people who have BTS how bad is the bite? As I understand it...they are very laidback lizards and bites are rare, but before I do get one I want to know the worse they can do.

Thanks

They are generally very laid-back. I very stupidly tried to pry open the mouth of mine with my finger once (I know, I've heard all the jokes), and he clamped down. I was shocked at the strength of those jaws, there was no feeling in the tip of my finger for a few days, with a nasty scrape on the fingernail. But of course it was my fault. The only other time he has ever offered to bite is when I tried to get him out of his den when he was very comfortable in there, and had no intention of leaving. Then just a light nip, no mark or anything. He gave sufficient warning with hisses, I just didn't take him seriously enough. Other than those two instances, which were both learning experiences for me, he has been a great animal!

Beth

If one REALLY wanted to, worst case senario would most likely be a crushed finger and nasty scar. Good thing they are very docile generally!

Personally, I have received a bite (my own fault) that cleaved straight through the nail, and deep into the finger. This was a full grown adult that could have done a lot more damage if it was not a small nip.

Now that I have made them sound scary, rest assured that bites are quite rare, and for the most part, they are very laid back wonderful animals.
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Craig Loose
The Blue Tongue Pages

For example, if you are handling an angry specimen of one of the imported indonesian island forms of BTS (Tanimbars, Kei Islands, or T. gigas gigas from Ambon or Ceram) and it bites you in protest, it is almost sure to lock on, and do some tissue damage.
You will bleed (a lot). This is true of any BTS that bites you out of self defense or out of protest. Accidental bites are a whole different thing, and rarely result in breakage of the skin. They are almost funny when they happen. I have had BTS bite my hand or fingers if they happened to smell like food. It is usually a chomp with some preasure, and them just before you can say ouch, the skink releases the hand with a look of confusion on his face. I have also had accidental bites during the breeding season when one male smells another male on your hand. It is starteling when it happens, because it is so out of character, and it is a bit more violent than when they mistake you for food. They grab you, and give you a hard shake, and as soon as they realize that you are not another male skink, they let go, and it is over as quick as it started. In the last 10 years, I have had 4 accidental bites and one bite out of aggression. However I have also seen two other victems of agression bites, and they are definetly to be avioded.

hmmm...what did the other victims look like? Did the bite greatly disfiger their hand/finger(s)?

One case was a gigas gigas that just locked on a guys thumb and would not let go. There was a fair amount of blood and some tissue damage (including his thumb nail). Another friend got taged by one of his cb (but never handled) Tanimbars. One of the rare times that he did, he got bit and he bled. I should mention that both individuals lived through their tramatic ordeals so that they will have the chance to get bit again another day.