Dealing with and preventing bites

[Relentless]

In my normal daily reading, I happened to come across this thread from another large snake forum. I found the link on a facebook group. WARNING: The pictures are gruesome. if you have a sensitive stomach and/or don't like the sight of a lot of blood, please don't view it.

14 foot Retic Damage (http://burmjunkies.com/showthread.php?7467-****high-def-extreme-bite-damage-pics-inside-no-kids-no-snacking-while-viewing****)

This is no joke and I think anyone can take this as a wake up call. Everyone, I'm sure, takes their animals' personalities for granted especially when we manage to raise a "puppy-dog" tame snake. So, to make a discussion out of this!

How do you guys prevent situations like this from happening? What are your house "rules"? Is there a time when you go to handle and you just know that you need to leave your animal alone? Discuss. :)

[jaleely]

Not a bad idea, actually, to refresh good husbandry for large snakes.
Or is there a link to an older post? I've never looked for it since my critters are small.

[BarelyBreathing]

I never handle my large animals alone. That is my first rule.

[lady_bug87]

I'm curious and a tad concerned about what he meant by he and the snake had a "chat"

[iBaman]

I saw that...and it scared the poop out of me. =/ My first rule is to never handle alone, even at the size he is now. Also, if he's not in the mood to come out, I don't force it. I pay attention to his body language, and sometimes, I'll just pet him rather than take him out.

[SnakeyJay]

I think most people know when to leave their snake alone and when it's not happy..I think A lot of bites happen when people ignore these signs or are showing a snake off to friends etc.

[Relentless]

Jaleely, it is a link to an older post on another forum with images plus the information.

Never handling alone is probably the first and one of the best rules to have in place. ESPECIALLY when your snake is over 7-8 feet long.

I also was concerned seeing that comment. I interpreted it as he punished the animal in some way, but that's uncalled for as the bite was his mistake (every bite is the keeper's mistake) and the snake wouldn't even understand the action anyway. :/

[Roadtrash]

Pretty rough bite. things do happen if you're not thinking and just going through the motions. Lucky for him it just bite and turned loose rather then continuing the attack. I'll be he will be much more careful in the future.

[MoreliAddict]

At least one person per 8 feet of snake is a decent guideline...

[Necrias]

Jaleely, it is a link to an older post on another forum with images plus the information.

Never handling alone is probably the first and one of the best rules to have in place. ESPECIALLY when your snake is over 7-8 feet long.

I also was concerned seeing that comment. I interpreted it as he punished the animal in some way, but that's uncalled for as the bite was his mistake (every bite is the keeper's mistake) and the snake wouldn't even understand the action anyway. :/

I'm a member there too and he didn't mean anything abusive by that comment. He likely meant that he cursed the snake out beyond comprehension (like I did when my 7' Bredl got me last week lol). I'm sure he was not "gentle" with the head, but he was likely afraid that the snake would strike again (especially since it started coiling his arm), so the firmer the better.

I think we also need to remember that the damage done here was atypical, as was noted by Tom Reagan and multiple other experienced keepers/breeders. It certainly happens, but I hope this doesn't turn people away from the giants. These snakes need to be treated with the proper respect and care they deserve, and he admitted that he was lacking that day.

While I think it is certainly a good idea to have a 2nd person to help with snakes 10' and larger, sometimes it's not always practical, but that just means we need to treat them with even more caution and respect.

[Wildside]

At least one person per 8 feet of snake is a decent guideline...

That depends on the person. I wouldn't dare try to handle my 8 ft. Boa alone.

[MoreliAddict]

That depends on the person. I wouldn't dare try to handle my 8 ft. Boa alone.
Measure him. Must have hit 9 foot. :p

[Wildside]

Measure him. Must have hit 9 foot. :p

Or I'm just a girl :sad:

[Relentless]

I'm a member there too and he didn't mean anything abusive by that comment. He likely meant that he cursed the snake out beyond comprehension (like I did when my 7' Bredl got me last week lol). I'm sure he was not "gentle" with the head, but he was likely afraid that the snake would strike again (especially since it started coiling his arm), so the firmer the better.

I think we also need to remember that the damage done here was atypical, as was noted by Tom Reagan and multiple other experienced keepers/breeders. It certainly happens, but I hope this doesn't turn people away from the giants. These snakes need to be treated with the proper respect and care they deserve, and he admitted that he was lacking that day.

While I think it is certainly a good idea to have a 2nd person to help with snakes 10' and larger, sometimes it's not always practical, but that just means we need to treat them with even more caution and respect.

I'd sure hope so. It's understandable that he wasn't on his game and I didn't know that reputable, experienced people deemed the damage atypical. That's interesting.

Just a lesson for us all and I'm sure a good one for him. I'm sure he'll definitely be more careful in the future. And this isn't to say he isn't a careful, knowledgeable keeper. Everyone has off days. Everyone makes mistakes. Knows yourself and your snakes inside and out is really the moral of the story.

[MoreliAddict]

Or I'm just a girl :sad:
I'd double check both, to be sure..

(kidding kidding, don't want more drama. lol)

[Wildside]

I'd double check both, to be sure..

(kidding kidding, don't want more drama. lol)

If I'm not a girl well...

[Metalserpent]

I draw the line at around 10 ft for the 2 person rule. I have only been bit by youngsters when it comes to retics., I would advise against handling the two days after feeding. Anything with teeth can bite. It's the chance you take when you bring it home. Wake up people. Posting photos of it just helps the buttheads pushing the bans.

[Rogue628]

I'm barely 5' tall. Allie, my burm, is pushing 8' now and Baby Girl is over 8'. Because of my small size, I never handle either of these girls without at least having a spotter...someone else in the room close enough to help if needed. Being over 8', Baby Girl is a pain to try to handle by myself. She's heavy (for me) and likes to do her own thing, which is rarely what I want her to do. Allie is getting to be just as bad. Aside from wanting to do their own thing, both girls are really well behaved outside of their homes, but I still like having someone near if I happen to need it.

Part of owning a snake is learning to read their body language and knowing when they want to be left alone. When you spend enough time with them, you know when they're bluffing and when they mean it.

[Aaron_S]

The simplest solution...don't own these animals. Prevention :D

On another note, even though I have way smaller animals, "hook training" snakes is a solid way of dealing with this. Instead of ANY part of your body being their "attitude barometer" for the day you can use a hook. Even use one to pull the snake out and then handle it. Works much easier. Don't be a tough guy/girl, use the tools at our disposal.

[millertime89]

Part of owning a snake is learning to read their body language and knowing when they want to be left alone. When you spend enough time with them, you know when they're bluffing and when they mean it.

On another note, even though I have way smaller animals, "hook training" snakes is a solid way of dealing with this. Instead of ANY part of your body being their "attitude barometer" for the day you can use a hook. Even use one to pull the snake out and then handle it. Works much easier. Don't be a tough guy/girl, use the tools at our disposal.

This is some of the best advice ever. Learn to read your animals and use a hook to remove the defensive ones. Of my 12 snakes I hook 8 of them when getting them out, get a hook (you can get a cheap one at the pet store that works well for smaller snakes) and practice with it, its a good skill to have.

[Hillsberry]

Big snakes are no joke, some people don't even like to call them pets because with pets people say you can let your guard down but with these guys I would not recommend that. I only have a 5 foot female retic now but let me tell you, she has the strongest feeding response of all my snakes combined. Like most people suggested hook training is key with these snakes. If it wasn't for my hook training I would be getting tagged every time I went to take her out. She is crazy but I think that is why I love her so much! Hahaha! :)

[reptileexperts]

never become complacent. . . number 1 rule with hots and giants. . . if you get into a routine you ignore the signs for different times. You need to always have situational awareness. Not just routine. . . Always have an out, always have a standby person. Read behaviors before, during, and after. Never handle during or immediately after feeding, give them a solid 24 - 48 hours after food before holding giants. All mistakes were made because of either a hungry snake or stupid feeding errors.

[Squirtle]

Holy f... That is why you HAVE to respect most snakes when they do not want to be bothered and just leave them alone. The person did not discuss what caused the event to occur yet on that website but I would love to know so I don't ever make the mistake he did when dealing with both of my giants. I handle both of my snakes on my own but never bother them unless there's someone around me..