Getting Bit

[Lawrence1996]

I know that getting a snake means that I am willing to put up with a snake bite, but I have several questions. I've heard some people say something about not pulling away. What does this mean, and how much does a corn snake bite hurt anyway? How does it compare to a bite from other snakes? And how often do they bite, and what causes it to happen? Is there a way to minimize the amounts of times it happens?


Thank you

 

[desiredbard]

Pulling away has to do with the way theire teeth are set..... you will do a lot more damage to the snake than it does to your finger.

No one in my house has been bitten yet by a rather neglected snake.
And after being fed on pinkies for a year and then not having been fed for 3 weeks and being offered the index finger of a 4 year old......... that sais something

What causes the bite.... the snake opening its jaws striking...hitting target...and closing its jaws.....
Seriously i presume you ignoring its agitated behaviour and proceeding to do to the snake what you intended and slither did not fancy...... lets say what causes a woman to slap you in the face....

And to minimise it...handling a lot (I can handle mine fine when blue
Dont startle the snake... (when blue/shortsighted) i give him plenty of time to smell me.
Any threathening behaviour I so far ignored ....slowly..... (kind like the women again....)

To avoid it altogether...dont get a snake....

 

[EddieA]

Honest question... After a while, you will learn to read your snake's body language and posture as to when it is irritated. It's not foolproof, but I would say you can avoid the majority of bites this way. However, this ins't always the case, and yes you will eventually get tagged if you stick with this hobby. Chances are, you might not even notice you've been tagged until it's all over. With the little ones, you really don't even feel it. Also, some snakes just don't care to be mucked with and those may never stop trying. It's all in the personality, just like humans (some of us are brats too)!!!

 

[airenlow]

Bite from a 500 gram corn...didn't even feel it.

 

[Lawrence1996]

When a corn bites, does it let go, or will it hold on?

 

[MysticExotics]

Baby corn bites are said to be compaired to "angry velcro". You especially want to be very careful with babies, you can pull their teeth out really easily if you pull back.
Bites can sometimes hurt, depending on where they get you.

Some don't even bite, they just hit you with the end of their nose/mouth. Some will strike out with a quick bite, then retreat (usually defensive) & some will bite, latch on & either hold still, or start "sawing" with their jaw. That last one typically hurts a bit.
One of my corns that is now 2yrs old has been sweet as can be, but in the last couple months, she lets me know in no uncertain terms that she is hungry *now*. She latches on & coils around my hand or wrist. This occured before I moved, & they didn't get fed prior to the move, & as I was moving her to the transport bin, she let me know she was hungry.

It also depends on their personality. Some of mine have never offered to bite, some always seem ready to bite.

 

[chris68]

Bites happen, it's part of the hobby. This is from an 11 yr old 7' carpet python, and while it hurt, it's not nearly as painful as it looks. The hardest part was waiting for him to let go

edit: No the hardest part was getting laughed at by Angela, my wife and the pythons "keeper" and our daughter Krystal. They were obviously no help . This was a feeding bite; while I thought I had washed my hands enough, apparently George didn't think so. George also gives "love bites:, and I don't know how else to explain it. He will come up and lightly, gently bite and let go. It's like he's just making sure my arm isn't food.

 

[Nanci]

When a corn bites, does it let go, or will it hold on?

That depends on why the snake bit you. If it was a defensive or warning bite, it will be over in a split second. You won't even have time to think "I'd better not pull back!"

If the snake bites because it wants to eat you, then it will either bite slowly and thoughtfully (funny in a hatchling, not so amusing in an adult) or it will strike and coil your hand. Usually you have to change something to break that cycle at that moment- put the snake in its feeding bin, put the snake down and wash your hands.

If you have a snake that you know hunger bites, then it's best to get the snake out first thing and put it in its feeding bin, _then_ start thawing mice. Even if I haven't touched mice, or have washed my hands, snakes _know_ if it is a feeding time by the change in activity. So you need to get a hunger biter in its feeding bin before you let everyone know you're going to feed.

Sometimes snakes stay in hunting mode after they have swallowed their mouse and are likely to strike when you go to put them back in their vivs. Generally this is a fast bite and the snake realizes you are not a mouse. I have one or two (out of 48) that sometimes I will use a hook to pick up the front end when moving back after feeding. And no, you shouldn't use a hook with a baby or juvenile snake even if it is biting- you could injure it.

I also have a couple snakes that head butt but have never bitten me. You'll see this often with moms who have just clutched, too.

So that makes it sound like I get bit all the time, but I really don't. Maybe once every few months by an adult, more frequently with hatchlings until they settle down and learn not to fear humans.

 

[toxiclight]

Our one snake consistently strikes at my bf when he goes to put her away after feeding. I've been lucky so far and she's not bothered me (he usually lets me put her away after the second time she tagged him.) We know she has a strong feeding reflex, and account for it when handling her.

Learning to read your snake's signs and learning their personality is the best way to predict or prevent bites, but it's not foolproof. The only time I've been tagged is trying to feed our adult boy when he was blue...he missed the mouse and hit my thumb. I hadn't even realized it was a bite and not a headbutt until I saw blood a few minutes later.

 

[Miqote]

If a corn's teeth did come out, would they grow back?? I've only been bitten 2 times, and it was so quick I didn't have time to flinch, but I'm just wondering what would happen if teeth were lost.

 

[smallet]

As already said corns or for that pretty much any snake bite for two reasons: fear or food.(some may argue this). If it is a feeding bite you may have to trickle some cold water on them to get them to let go.

And the danger of pulling back or trying to pull the snake off is that you may break teeth out of their mouth. This could result in an infection in their mouth, which could kill the snake.

That is all I can see to add. Other than I disagree that owning a snake means you will get tagged. And I do own one or two that have been known to bite. Awareness and knowing your snake will prevent bites.

 

[Lawrence1996]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

 

[[email protected]]

the teeth being broken of is not the problem, they have hundreds more, 4 rows on the top jaw and 3 on the bottom. The problem here is if you pull away while the snake is latched on, you can dislocate it's jaw completely, yes they do it by themselves when feeding on large prey but the control it. If you wrench you arm or finger away unexpectedly it will hurt the snakes jaws to the point that it cant hinge them bach in. that means it will be in pain until it dies.

 

[desiredbard]

the teeth being broken of is not the problem, they have hundreds more, 4 rows on the top jaw and 3 on the bottom. The problem here is if you pull away while the snake is latched on, you can dislocate it's jaw completely, yes they do it by themselves when feeding on large prey but the control it. If you wrench you arm or finger away unexpectedly it will hurt the snakes jaws to the point that it cant hinge them bach in. that means it will be in pain until it dies.

I recently noticed "stumpy" as he is now officially nicknamed..... wiggling and opening his mouth... after his food is about 1/4 the 1/3rd down its body.....
Its something I either might have only become to notice now ...as well The new young/small adults I give him seem to be slightly bigger than the last load.

His body has a bit of a bulge which disappears completely after 36 hours , so I don't think he is being fed too big.

I do have a new method of administering his vitamin powder.
As Stumpy is hesitant eating a "dusted" mouse I wait till he latches on and starts working the mouse inward...Then i use a tiny spatula to scoop a bit of powder on the mouses stomach hip.

I've been doing this the last 5 feeds as well and only noticed the chin wiggling and 90 degree yawns the last two feeds

 

[Caryl]

I.

I do have a new method of administering his vitamin powder...
I've been doing this the last 5 feeds as well and only noticed the chin wiggling and 90 degree yawns the last two feeds

Just curious, why is Stumpy getting vitamin powder every feeding?

And as to the original question about biting frequency and pain involved, the frequency depends on your snake(s) and on you. Most corns are gentle and unlikely to bite, but there are notable exceptions. Learn your snake's personality and body language. Be cautious at feeding time. Be sure you don't smell like prey or like a predator (cat, dog, king snake, parrot, whatever).

If, despite everything, you do get bitten by a young one it's unlikely to hurt at all. Babies don't usually even break the skin. Even a bite from an adult is more alarming than painful. You may bleed rather freely as the numerous small teeth are sharp and cut cleanly, but the wound is unlikey to be deep. A styptic pencil is a handy thing to have around to stop bleeding. Clean it as you would any scratch or scrape.

Seriously though, don't worry overmuch about it. I've been tagged on rare occasions by my corns, and it's never been as bad as the damage done by the average playful kitten.

 

[desiredbard]

Sorry should have said every second feed
when i got stumpy, he had been for nearly two years on pinkies and a severe shedding problem. "Vyper" his previous name only truly became stumpy last week...(he lost the tip of his tail).

His shedding is not great and though temp and humidity seem to be ok he gets a bath and a wet towelrub 3 days after he loosed his "headpart".
My local petstore one of the employees is keeps snakes himself ..he advised me to give this powder every second feed

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

It's going to happen sooner or later if you keep snakes for a long time. As others have said, the bite usually isn't bad (with corns and other smaller snakes - larger pythons, etc is a different story). It's usually more startling than it is painful.

I will add though that I have developed an allergy of some sort, to what I assume is their saliva, or something else in their mouth. AFter I get bit, the area of the bite begins to itch uncontrollably and swells up a decent amount. Though after half an hour or so it subsides. Even a brand new hatchling elicits this response from my skin. So I hate getting bit these days for that reason. My hands and fingers are usually quite itchy and puffy during hatchling season on feeding and cleaning days because so many are bite happy.

 

[Christen]

As I was reading everyone responses it does sound as if we all get bit all the time and like Nanci said it doesn't happen all the time. But almost everyone that responded has tons more snakes than the average "pet" owner. So we just increase our chances just by increasing our numbers.

Last night I fed 20 snakes and everyone seemed to have attitudes but I was bit once and nose thumbed once. And this is on a bad night. The nose thump cracked me up cause she pecked me like a chicken. The bite was because she got over excited for food and over struck. She did manage to get a tooth in me and it itched. Tiny drop of blood, no pain just itchy.