So, I made a SFE (stupid feeding error). Luckily, Joe is a baby, so it was more annoying than anything else. But, it's a funny story, so I thought I'd share.
Here's what happened: After he "killed" the thawed rat, he decided he wasn't hungry and just left it, coils loosely encircling it but making no move to actually eat it. I let it sit with him for a few hours, and finally I decided that he wasn't going to eat, and attempted to remove it so I could rinse it off and give it to another snake. That's what I normally do, I feed my "problem feeders" first, so if they refuse I can just pass the food item along to another snake instead of wasting the feeder.
But, Joe didn't want ME to have the rat either. As soon as I reached in to pick up the mangled rodent, I caught it in the wrist, and he wrapped his coils around my hand before I could blink.
So, I tried blowing on him. Bad idea. I blew into his mouth to get him to let go...it worked, but it pissed him off. You know what happened? Exactly what you think. He let go of my wrist and bit my lower lip.
Now I had puncture wounds in my wrist and an angry snake hanging onto my lower lip. I ran into the living room, where my buddy was sitting, but he was no help. Nope, he just laughed and got himself another beer from my fridge...which I suppose is fair, since it was my own stupidity that got me into the situation. And Joe is still around two feet long, so it's not like I was in danger.
Eventually, Joe let go. As of now, he is sitting happily in his enclosure, content with the injury he has inflicted on my person. I learned a valuable lesson today...never put your face within the strike range of a snake. Also, always use tongs when a snake is in feeding mode. I was very lucky that Joe was a baby this time...a fully grown burm would have probably taken my lip off!
Anyone else have any fun "learning experiences" they'd like to share? It's finals week in college right now, and I could use a laugh
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