it finally happened.......SFE

[Yve]

I was just going about my morning routine, today however I had a few snakes to feed and didn't want to look for the tongs....so in my haste threw a small thawed rat in with my ball.....I put my hand in with the rat and dangled it infront of the entrance to his hide box and WHAM!!!...he came at it so fast that he missed it and caught my knuckle, constricted my hand and wrist...what was I thinking???...well, its plain to see, I just wasn't THINKING! Anyhow, he held on for about 30 secs. and then let go. I feel really dumb.....but thought I'd share anyways.....I hear people saying things like "oh I KNOW my snake" or "he's never shown ANY aggresion" with that I can see gaurds going down....DON'T DO IT!!!....mistakes happen when you least expect it! Balls are small snakes, but they do HURT!!Yikes!!:medbottom

[Lisa]

My first bite was like that, cept i was reaching in to take the snake out for feeding.

[Snakecharm]

Yup, I got tagged pretty good by one of my JCPs not long ago. My hand is still a little marked up from it. For me, it was the day after I'd fed her. She was on carefresh bedding at the time and had spilled some water, so I was fluffing the bedding so it would dry out.

Apparently she thought my hand looked nice and rodenty because she struck me. Didn't get me constricted because I jerked back, but I had quite a selection of teeth marks along the the side of my hand. It was also fascinating to me that she had hit my hand with sufficient force that it turned quite nicely purple along the bite. It bled some and I was quite sore for the next day or so, but fortunately it wasn't serious.

The girl in question is probably one of the sweetest of my JCPs. She will come out to you to be handled and genuinely seems to be unafraid of and enjoy human contact. However, we can't forget that these guys are little instinct machines. If instinct tells them to do something, they do it. In this case, instinct told her there was a high probability that if it moved around and it was warm, it might be food.

[Linds]

The only SFE I've had I was perfectly aware it would probably happen and just didn't care because the animal was too small. Such as my litte male Jamaican that I used to handfeed sometimes or my female rosy who will only eat in a small container. I have never had an SFE happen that I wasn't expecting.

[lilyskip]

I haven't been bitten yet, but I only own one BP and he's really tame. It'll happen eventually, though.

[mark129er]

sfe??

[chas*e]

I did sort of the same thing with my Burmese python....wow! what a tag...blood...teeth in my hand for weeks.....got to love snaking...yippee

[Linds]

Originally posted by mark129er
sfe??

Stupid Feeding Error.

[Darlene]

I agree with mark129er; what does SFE stand for ? I know it means you got bit but what does the abbreviation actually mean ? My first 'herp' bite was this weekend as well. It was much more on the funny side tho. I was checking on some herps that had just arrived at the airport. When I opened up one of the geckos her way of saying hello was a nice pinch on my finger !!

[Lisa]

Originally posted by chas*e
I did sort of the same thing with my Burmese python....wow! what a tag...blood...teeth in my hand for weeks.....got to love snaking...yippee

That was my first tag too. Couldn't figure out why my hand was having sharp pain so much, then out popped a couple teeth.

My viper boa still hurts more and she's tiny compared to the burm.

[lilyskip]

Darlene--As Linds said, SFE is a Stupid Feeding Error. There are basically two kinds of bites: SFEs or Defense bites...what it comes down to, basically, is that both of them are your own fault. SFEs include hand-feeding, trying to pick up your snake while it's still in 'feeding mode,' smelling like a mouse when you handle the snake, etc. :D

[lilyskip]

Originally posted by Lisa
Couldn't figure out why my hand was having sharp pain so much, then out popped a couple teeth.

What happens to the snake when it loses teeth? Do they grow back or what?

[chas*e]

Sure they do but, you got to watch the snake for infection in it's mouth....lost teeth is an injury just like anything else.....

[paul vader]

thats my lady...smrt...lol...well she really has been a good handler ever since her first snake...and when I got the phone call about it...umm...overjoyed she wuzz!!:medclown: :medclown: :medclown:

[Yve]

I didn't get it too bad.... my knuckle is a bit swollen and full of tiny holes....lol...Linds....I wasn't expecting it....but I knew there was a possiblity:).....oh well...never been on the menu for a snake before...now I know what it feels like to REALLY look like a piece of meat!lol

[Burm41]

I have had two SFE. one with my baby JCP when i was trying to feed her and then she just bit the heck out of my finger and had to spray her with cold water to get her off... and then another with my red tail she struck to fast and got my hand but let go thank god ... :) but it doesnt bother me right now just because there not 5' long :)

[Invictus]

I've never once had an SFE, and I hand-feed all of my snakes. Mind you, I know the risk I am taking, and would certainly never bitch if I did get tagged as a result of hand-feeding.

[MouseKilla]

I've been bitten a thousand times by WC garters but the only captive snakes that have got me or even tried are my two kings. My little cal has bitten my daughter and I both several times. Sometimes it's a mistake like smelling like either another snake or even the cat for some reason and sometimes he just doesn't want to be touched.

[ReptiZone]

It hapends to the best of us.

[mark129er]

At present I hand feed my girl. I know its foolish but still do it, I'm with Invictus, if I get tagged my own stupid fault. I'm sure I'll post it but if it sounds bitc*y somebody kick me.