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So i finally got bit by my brb. I was picking her up out of her tank and bam little nibble and i am bleeding:) heh. she is so cute...i wish i could put pix of her on but the ones i took are all blury...damn instant cameras....soon tho soon
Yness
lilyskip
09-29-03, 10:15 PM
well, it had to happen sometime...they're nippy little buggers.
haha
one of the males that I got from Don Patterson is a real snapper too....man he hits hard too.....I hate that little guy..but he looks so nice!!! But hey...that's the fun of having snakes right? getting biten once in a while is actually fun....lol
I was actually going to start a new topic on this but after i noticed that this one was already started i might as well continue on here! Mine bit me over the weekend too...she's not very big but still drew blood. So my question is...what's the best way to pick her up? I know behind the head but if she's already in a striking mode when you open the enclosure, then it's almost imposible to even get close enough to get behind the head. I think i should invest in some sort of hook! I ended up getting a pair of gloves and approaching her slowly, but it's getting pretty nerve-raking :)
just grab it and take it like a man lol!
ohh_kristina
09-30-03, 03:02 PM
I don't think grabbing it behind the head is good..I mean, I think it would be very stressful. I know it would stress me out. Either buy a hook or just pick her and take the tags (and wear gloves, if you want)..IMO
yeah thanks steele! It usually doesn't freak me out this much! And she's small too, so it doesn't make any sense as to why i'm tense to hold her! But i'm thinking about when she gets bigger and the bites get harder! :) Ugh! Time to put "handling snake" into my daily schedule again...and acutally do it this time!
So i should just pick her up anywhere...not the neck?
I made a hook out of a wire hanger (no sharp edges) so I take her out with it and usually she'll climb right onto me. I am actually glad she bit me cuz now I am not as scared about what it will be like...it makes it easier to handle her...Boy this snake thing is really neat:)
ReptiZone
09-30-03, 11:19 PM
ya when you go in to pic up you snake try not to pin it unles realy have to I mean it is a stressfull handeling technique it is good to give meds or handeling a snake that is just not workable but a rather small BRB is not the bigest monster you will face in this hobby trust me LOL
Actualy buying a hook is beter then homade ones they dont bend as easaly.
I dont use gloves to dangerouse for my animals I would rather take the hit then risk them geting a tooth stuck in a stupide glove.
As much as I am gona be based for saying this. Tailing a snake as a first aproch with a hook alwas worked for me.
I will explain:
with a hook you can redirect the head of a snake rather easaly so you just ensure that you have the head in a good position and I dont mean squish it on the side of the cage...LOL just gentaly make sure that if it were to strike at you it would not be able to reach you in time. Then just reach and grab the taile end about 1/2" up from the cloaca and lift. Now dont whip the snake out but jut lift it then place the hook under the belly and remove your snakethen you can start to free handel it with no hook but be prepared for the worst. it is gona get bad B4 it gets better.
have fun
Invictus
10-01-03, 08:16 AM
Originally posted by chondro python
I dont use gloves to dangerouse for my animals I would rather take the hit then risk them geting a tooth stuck in a stupide glove.
I guess them getting a tooth stuck in your hand is better than them getting a tooth stuck in a pair of gloves, eh? Or maybe it doesn't matter.
Here's how we handle our biters:
http://www.invictusart.com/images/Furious4.jpg
Retic chic
10-01-03, 08:49 AM
Good post chondro! I advocate the use of hooks on any snake of questionable temperment. i am cautios to a fault about being bitten, not because it hurts, but because we do reptile education as well. Not only does a seroius bite slow down chores, but it looks bad to be showing snakes to visitors with hands that look like you have been playing catch with a pin cushion. It does not instill much trust in the snake, when the keepers hands are all bit up. For the hobbyist, being bit may be considered fun when it happens, but with nearly 200 reptiles to care for, being bit is more than a pain in the butt.
I also use hooks on our tame and trustys, so when we need to break them out for a nasty snake, we know how to manipulate the hook instead of fumbling around trying to learn to use them.
Infectrix
10-01-03, 08:57 AM
Invictus, that pic is hardcore man! You take NO chances eh?! Are beauty snakes really THAT nasty? They're sub adults at that size right?
Though getting a tooth stuck in my wrist isn't better than getting a tooth stuck in a glove but I'd take the hit on bare flesh rather than gloves. That way I can learn a lesson or two.
If we're talking about smaller snakes I've gotta agree with Steele, grab it and take it like a man. Use common sense though. Don't reach in the enclosure if the snake is in strike mode and has your hand on it's radar. 'Cause when the worst happens, that's when the "take it like a man" part comes handy.
Invictus
10-01-03, 01:26 PM
Originally posted by Infectrix
Invictus, that pic is hardcore man! You take NO chances eh?! Are beauty snakes really THAT nasty? They're sub adults at that size right?
Not by a longshot... that's a hatchling I'm holding in this picture. Mark IsBell's stock, born in May or June of this year. :) They get to be big... 5-8 feet. Right now, my blue beauties are pushing 2 feet, and they aren't even a year old. :)
And no, I prefer not to take chances, at least until I know my snakes better. Once I know what their temperament is like, how likely they are to bite, and what the warning signs are that they are about to bite, I take the gloves off.
Are you really that nervous of the bite of a 24" Beauty Snake?
ReptiZone
10-01-03, 07:04 PM
Well lets put it this way I wash my hads B4 and after every cage I also have a botel of dish soap diluted with water in my herp room so when OI am wprking with small snake I just spray and rub my hands together but most of the time I just got to the wash room that is a hole 2 steps away from my herp room.
so if the snakes looses a tooth in my hand all he will get in his mouth as a cross contamination will be a bit of my blood ans some none toxic dish or hand soap (Depending where I wased my hands last)
And as you can see Invictus thows are not the cleanest gloves I have ever seen a herp on.
I would rather suck it up and take the hole 4 pin pricks that litel guy will give me. And at worst I would buy the pen size hook they use for baby rattlers.
How many snakes have actualy biten that glove B4 now imagine a new snake bites the glove and it losses a tooth not a realy big deal but the afftermath that all the dried up saliava and other bacteria that is hanging aroud on a dirty glove will cause you will be lucky if the snake gets away with just mouth rott.
Gloves are a curss on snakes If the person in question can not do it bare handed (with the help of a hook) then they are not ready for the species.
Now gloves for larg monitors and Iguanas now that is just god sent.
caus alot of monitor will whipe there tails B4 actualy biting so if you have the proper technique the gloves play in both you and the montors favore it can grapel your fore arm and feal a bit more ancherd to you and you dont leave your herp room looking like you were playing slip and slide with a cheese grater.
Marc Doiron
Originally posted by Pookie
what's the best way to pick her up? I know behind the head but if she's already in a
Noooooooo. What effect would it have on you if a stranger grabbed you by the neck? Definitely not the best way to go about things, and certainly not a good way to calm down any nervous snake. With nervous snakes you want to be as least-threatening as possible. Hooks are a good way to pick up nervous snakes, as snakes typically do not see them as a major threat. Once out gently follow and guide the snakes movements staying behind their vision to avoid threatening of appearing as food.
Originally posted by chondro python
some none toxic dish or hand soap (Depending where I wased my hands last)
Are you sure your dishsoap is non-toxic? Most dishsoaps contain ammonia which is why on the backs is usually says not to mix with bleach. You can really notice the ammonia if you have a sponge that wasn't completely rinsed clean and you put it in a plastic baggy for a couple weeks.
Gloves are a curss on snakes If the person in question can not do it bare handed (with the help of a hook) then they are not ready for the species.
Couldn't agree more!
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