Introducing myself and a few questions

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by Chu'Wuti

Stephanbakir said,

That's definitely NOT a guaranteed means of preventing a bite. Note my earlier post about one of my BPs tagging me even though I was using feeding tongs.

I actually have one female BP that is tong-shy; she jerks away if I try to use the feeding tongs. She's a rehome/rescue, so I suspect she got bonked with feeding tongs by her previous owner. I hand-feed her despite the risk, and oddly enough, she has NEVER struck me, not accidentally or otherwise. Who knows what the future might hold, though?

It really isn't a big deal. Small teeth, doesn't really hurt much at all. Don't jerk away so you save your skin as well as the snake's teeth; people do more damage to themselves when they jerk away.

Usually the snake will decide you're the wrong prey item and let go--often very quickly. If not, then lift up the whole snake, go to the bathtub and run in a couple of inches of lukewarm water. Immerse your hand and the snake's head into the water. The snake WILL let go in a short time--it'll need to let go so it can breathe. It's not the cold that does it--it's the need to breathe.

Honestly, over 40 years of snake-keeping, I've had to immerse only one snake, a yellow-bellied water snake that latched onto my son, and it was definitely his fault. I've never had to do it with any others, whether WC or CBB.

Good luck!

Use bigger tongs

[Gravelanche]

i guess im even more lucky, cleo's last owner trained her to just eat off a "feeding rock", though i have to admit there is a slight sacrificial feeling when i do it :P