Some dumb jerk got tagged doing sometihng dumb

[PDXErik]

So, I was moving my 6' female RTB back into her enclosure after she fed in the feed box.

She was looking like she was still in the ambush predator mode. I saw that, recognized it, thought to myself, "I should leave her alone for another hour or so and let her calm down"

Well, patience be damned, I reached in behind her, took her upper middle section and was going for the rest when she grabbed my index finger.

Real good, too. Well, not so good as she had to twist and adjust her grip. And then proceeded to wrap herself around my wrist.

In the middle of unwrapping her off of me, she realized that, indeed, I was not a rat and let go.

That was exciting. That's the second time dumbass got bit doing something dumbass knew he shouldn't.

Well, four hours later, my finger still hurts, but will recover. Let my experience teach all you noobs. However, I guess I didn't learn from other's experience, so, if you must get bit, get bit, just remember, when you do, don't jerk away and wrench at it, go slow and don't panic.

Edit: BTW, for experience's sake, the inside of a snake's mouth feels real weird. And pointy.

[Boots]

All I can say is ouch. Never had a snake take hold, and it does not sound like something I want to find out anytime soon.

Jason

[Artemis]

Hugs babe! I know an S pose when I see one, and thats hemostats only time. Hope you finger feels better, and your snake gets full!

[PDXErik]

All I can say is ouch. Never had a snake take hold, and it does not sound like something I want to find out anytime soon.

Jason

Me either, it's always been pretty quick. And always during feeding time. Grab, realize I'm not a rat, let go. Pretty much that quick, or quicker. This was at least a good 10 or 15 seconds, seemed like much more.

Funny thing is, this is the one that regurged on me and then had nasty poop and then refused food for a couple weeks.

Hey, look who's feeling better!! :D

Hugs babe! I know an S pose when I see one, and thats hemostats only time. Hope you finger feels better, and your snake gets full!

S pose? What's that? Maybe I'll just figure it out on my own...........

Thanks. Finger is somewhat numb. NOOBS!! Listen! I am moderately experienced with these guys. I wasn't listening to the back of my head when I should have been. Listen!! And always remember, the dang snake bites you, it is NEVER their fault, ALWAYS yours. No matter what.

[gonesnakee]

Invest in a hook right away would be a good plan. Much better than reaching in there with your bare hands. I didn't use my hook the other day & took a good tag form my adult female Diamond. She let go right away as I am not a rodent, but I bleed for a while & still have the teeth marks & some bruising here today going on a week later. With larger Boid removing them from the cage & then back for feeding has its risks. I feed all mine in their cages, which poses other risks. They can associate you with food as a result, thus why I got tagged. well that & the fact I didn't give her a tap on the nose with the hook first. If I would have used the hook for a quick second or 2 I wouldn't have got tagged ;) Mark

[TailsW/Scales]

Invest in a hook right away would be a good plan. Much better than reaching in there with your bare hands. I didn't use my hook the other day & took a good tag form my adult female Diamond. She let go right away as I am not a rodent, but I bleed for a while & still have the teeth marks & some bruising here today going on a week later. With larger Boid removing them from the cage & then back for feeding has its risks. I feed all mine in their cages, which poses other risks. They can associate you with food as a result, thus why I got tagged. well that & the fact I didn't give her a tap on the nose with the hook first. If I would have used the hook for a quick second or 2 I wouldn't have got tagged ;) Mark

+ 1

As Mark says get a hook and fast. Be thankful it wasn't a 14' Retic that got you! You may have needed stitches in your finger. :rolleyes:

[redtails]

It sure sucks when they hold on, I've had a retic on my eyebrow for 5 minutes and a rock python swallowing my finger(holding the rat for him to eat was stupid)...both about 5' though so not quite as big as yours.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/AZBurms/When%20Pythons%20attack/sunp0006.jpg

BTW, this is an "s pose":
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/AZBurms/When%20Pythons%20attack/sunp0004.jpg

[ffollett]

Reason number 121 I do not feed outside of an enclosure.

[PDXErik]

Well, she was feeding in an enclosure, oh, I think I get it. I have a particular tank (just one, mind you, thinking of changing that) just for feeding.

My little guys, the 3' rtb and the 3' ball feed in their cage, the big guys feed in the box.

[ffollett]

Well, she was feeding in an enclosure, oh, I think I get it. I have a particular tank (just one, mind you, thinking of changing that) just for feeding.



Thats what I was talking about. All of ours eat inside of their permanent enclosures. We hook train them from day one to know when it is meal time and when it isn't. Especially with boas because they seem to want to regurg more then any other species we deal with and can go into a nasty feed mode.

When we got into this we use to feed outside of their enclosure in a feed box like what you are talking about. Because that was what we were told was best. After doing this for a little while we learned that it is better to hook train and just feed inside of their enclosure. I couldn't imagine trying to feed in a separate enclosure with around 50 snakes like we have now. Can you imagine the insanity if one of the larger breeders tried to take every snake out and feed it in a separate box?

[TailsW/Scales]

Hah!
Not just imagine taking out 50 plus snakes and putting them into individual contairers but can you imagine removing a large python .................. who's hungry ................... or putting it back in the cage while in food mode.



Come to think of it ......................... there is not such thing as a "feeding cage" big enough to handle a 14 foot plus snake.

Side note: Also some snakes are VERY picky when it comes to feeding. If you move them from their cage they will not eat.

[ffollett]

you imagine removing a large python .................. who's hungry ................... or putting it back in the cage while in food mode

Yeah right. I won't go near my female burm for a couple days after she eats.

Side note: Also some snakes are VERY picky when it comes to feeding. If you move them from their cage they will not eat

Hell I have snakes that won't eat if I am in the same room with them. They have to be fed last and then we have to leave the room before they will eat.

[Boots Hawks]

2nd the hook, after the meal it kind of lets one know that its me. Its the reach when they get you, and although you see them set, you reach over and grab them anyway. Those boas are quick, like blink quick. So after they eat if I am going to pick them up, I let them know its me. I feed outside the box. My biggest is only 6', and I only have 5, I take that back, I bought another Hypo Red today from EBV at the San Jose Reptile show, So now I have 6. I named my newest family member Curly. I have fed in the cage, and it has worried me everytime I did. I use cypress mulch on the flooring and I am always worried they will swallow some. I know the chances are not that great, but the chance is there and it worries me.

[PDXErik]

I'm 3rd ing the hook idea. I tend to try to treat my animals as pets, and I have to rethink that idea.

I have always considered my legless friends as my friends. If I treat them as if I fear them (I always respect them (a little more now)) as something that I am afraid of, I fear that I will lose that.

I handle my snakes by hand. It may mean being bitten again, but it will also mean my personal connection to them.

My snakes are cool, calm and collected, except when they think they're eating. That was my mistake.

My boas have been family. I'd feel bad treating them as enemy. Know what I mean?

It was my mistake. I did someting stupid. I knew I shouldn't have. If I had thought about it, it never would have happened.

ALWAYS stress about ingesting substrate.

[ffollett]

I'm 3rd ing the hook idea. I tend to try to treat my animals as pets, and I have to rethink that idea.

Not sure what you mean by that. What I was talking about was the touch on the head so they know it isn't feed time.

ALWAYS stress about ingesting substrate.

Again this is still not a problem when feeding inside and enclosure. If you are that concerned about substrate you can always place the meal on something like the lid to a steralite or something like that.

[TailsW/Scales]

ALWAYS stress about ingesting substrate.

Time to hijack the thread a tiny bit so I apologize straight off for that.

You shouldn't be stressing over your snake injesting any substrate. More often then not a substrate like cypress mulch is not needed unless the snake requires a high humidy then it'll take more then subrate to make that happen and for it too hold. Substrate is only a small part on holding proper humidity for species that need it. On large snakes (in my opinion) subsrates like that are WAY more hassle then they're worth. Not to mention it's expensive and requires almost a weekly change when feeding large snakes. It also makes it more difficult to get rid of parasites if you're afflicted by them. :)

[ffollett]

I agree. We use aspen on the smaller snakes in the racks but the larger ones get news paper or something similiar. Our cages have sliding doors and trying to clean out the aspen from the tracks sucks.

[PDXErik]

Time to hijack the thread a tiny bit so I apologize straight off for that.

You shouldn't be stressing over your snake injesting any substrate. More often then not a substrate like cypress mulch is not needed unless the snake requires a high humidy then it'll take more then subrate to make that happen and for it too hold. Substrate is only a small part on holding proper humidity for species that need it. On large snakes (in my opinion) subsrates like that are WAY more hassle then they're worth. Not to mention it's expensive and requires almost a weekly change when feeding large snakes. It also makes it more difficult to get rid of parasites if you're afflicted by them. :)

I use Repti bark (don't hmph at me :P) because humidity, even 50-60% is difficult to maintain.

I was thinking the other day that wild snakes must eat all kinds of leaves and dirt, but then I thought the life expectancy of a wild snake is much shorter than a captive snake.

It is expensive. I change it like I would change kitty litter normally and replace the whole lot once a month, but even at that schedule, substrate costs me about $60(us) per month.

The white lip likes to burrow, my little RTB likes to bury itself and "stalk", exploding out of the substrate when prey is introduced.

Granted, paper towel would be easier and cheaper to replace. With my recent difficulty with my female (horrible diarrhea that has since been fixed, an infection), the substrate makes for much appreciated easier clean up of horrible poop.

(Someone had already 2nd'd the hook idea, I was 3rding it)

[Columbiano Rojo]

So, I was moving my 6' female RTB back into her enclosure after she fed in the feed box.

She was looking like she was still in the ambush predator mode. I saw that, recognized it, thought to myself, "I should leave her alone for another hour or so and let her calm down"

Well, patience be damned, I reached in behind her, took her upper middle section and was going for the rest when she grabbed my index finger.

Real good, too. Well, not so good as she had to twist and adjust her grip. And then proceeded to wrap herself around my wrist.

In the middle of unwrapping her off of me, she realized that, indeed, I was not a rat and let go.

That was exciting. That's the second time dumbass got bit doing something dumbass knew he shouldn't.

Well, four hours later, my finger still hurts, but will recover. Let my experience teach all you noobs. However, I guess I didn't learn from other's experience, so, if you must get bit, get bit, just remember, when you do, don't jerk away and wrench at it, go slow and don't panic.

Edit: BTW, for experience's sake, the inside of a snake's mouth feels real weird. And pointy.
hey how thick is he at 6 feet. im just curious. im considering getting a red tail boa in the future and just wanna get an idea on the size.

[PDXErik]

hey how thick is he at 6 feet. im just curious. im considering getting a red tail boa in the future and just wanna get an idea on the size.

(She) is just bigger than a beer can. I mean a soda can. Maybe about 3.5-4 inches in diameter.

Cuddly as a puppy dog, except around feeding time.

[Boots Hawks]

I just got finished writing a reply and for some reason this only takes about half of them that I write. Anyways I do feel the substrate helps with humidity in my cages. I live in California and it is very dry here. I also have two large water dishes in each cage. I try to keep the humidity at 60 to 70 percent so I don't have to worry about my kids while I am gone all day. It really seems to help with the shed.

As far as the substrate plugging them off, I do worry, I would hate to lose a 1000 dollar animal for that reason, not just for the money but because they are part of the family. Also the cypress makes it look good and it is easier for me to clean a handful of cypress and wash a small spot then to change 6 cages of news paper. I don't think I want to clean that hard clue off the bare floor of the cage either. My wife is very tolerant and would tell me the snakes or her if they ever started looking bad, and I would miss the hell out of my wife. So bottom line, I will use the cypress for as long as I can get it. It is only 19 bucks for 40 quarts that isn't too bad.

Boots Hawks

[Boots Hawks]

Parasites was mentioned, I hate the thought of getting those things, I spray my cages once every month or month and a half with Prevent A Mite. Also I carry a bottle of waterless hand cleaner with me to every pet shop or reptile show and use it each time I handle an animal. I just bought another snake this last weekend and before he was placed anywhere in my home the first thing I did was cover him from head to tail with the reptile relief. I know it seems like a lot of work but it is worth it to me to keep my animals healthy and happy.

Boots H.

[TailsW/Scales]

Anyways I do feel the substrate helps with humidity in my cages. I live in California and it is very dry here. I also have two large water dishes in each cage. I try to keep the humidity at 60 to 70 percent so I don't have to worry about my kids while I am gone all day. It really seems to help with the shed.

Boots Hawks

What type of cage are you using? I am in CA also and don't have to keep two water bowls in each cage to maintain humidity. I also do not use cypress mulch and I have zero problems with sheds and maintaining humidity. Sounds to me as though the problem is in the cage itself not your substrate.