do tame snakes bite?

[rwg]

Here's what I want to know. Has anyone here been bitten by a mature captive born specimen of a noted "docile" snake species. Feeding accidents dont cont. Some of the species I'm most interested in hearing about are carpet pythons, ball pythons and corn snakes, but any stories will do.

If you have been bitten, can you tell me the circumstance of the bite? If you haven't been bitten, I want to hear from you too. I want to do a little informal statistics.

[BoAddict]

all snakes have the potential to bite regardless of where they came from.
can a friendly pet dog bite or attack somebody for no reason ? YES
as long as you are careful and know the animal you will increase your chances of never being bit.

just my $0.02
Mike

[ChristinaM]

I'm in the never been bit by a snake group as of now.
But....I've only had snakes since Nov. 23rd.

I have a cornsnake who has never tried to bite me.
I have a BRB that sometimes would love to bite, and has tried, just never succeeded yet.

[snakehunter]

ive not been bit by any of my bp's, BUT my female is a slug when it comes to aggressiveness, and my male will hiss and puff when preterbed.

as for docile species bites ive bee bit by a queen snake, not to be confused with the king snake, queens are aquatic, and of the 50 or so i caught this year ive only had one nip my thumb.

it really comes down to husbandry, and the way you handle your snake, there will always be that wild instinst that could pop up for any reason

[foman]

I haven't been bit by any of my snakes in my ten years of having snakes, but I have had a few attempted strikes. I believe if you watch a snakes body language it will tell you when to move. I have been bit by garter snakes before and that is just a joke.

[skinheaddave]

I got my "deckert's" ratsnake as a wee little hatchling and have handled him over the years. As a result, he is completely docile and even does well with groups of children when I do presentations at schools.

Anyhow, after returning from vacation once I reached in and grabbed him too quickly or something. He whipped around and bit me on the nose. I was absolutely stunned and even had to ask Tamara whether I'd really been bit. She told me that I had and to wipe the blood off my nose before it got on the carpet.

So yes, even the tame snakes have the potential to bite. They are fundementally instinct-driven.

Cheers,
Dave

[rwg]

Really, I was wondering for a couple of reasons. For one, my corn has never shown any sign of agression at all. Ever. For another thing, I've heard so many times "most bites are the result of feeding accidents". I was wondering what "most" means for some of the more docile species.

Yeah, I know any animal has the potential for agression, but what is the reality? Every member of my family has been scratched by both of our cats. I've never been struck at by our corn, or any other snake I've handled. Even wild garters seem content to leave me smelling gross.

rg

[Lisa]

if you scare the snake it will likely defend it's self.

[ruthupton]

I was bitten by a 12 month ball python who was feeling totally miserable because she was covered in ticks and mites.

[Dark_Angel_25]

do newborns poop? yup any animal that has a mouth can bite. tame or not. everyone has a bad day and if you happen to be in the range on one of these said days then you can get bitten. you may even get bit by accident... either way.. never take for granted the fact that just because your snake hasn't bitten you in 5 years that it never will....

[Soul_Reaper]

I have gotten hissed at countless times by my BP, specially when she's in shed.

Last week i took my first bite from my new female BCI, right hand just below my thumb. It didn't really hurt, i think that the shock was much worse than the bite.

All snakes bite. Same with dogs and cats. Be prepared for anything...that's all i can say.

[liltattyprinces]

Well the only time a "tame" snake ever bit me was omg about 10 yrs ago it was our female BP i picked her up and she just nailed me on the arm and would not let go lol. My bf at the time and his mother were freaking. I just went into the bathroom and sat in the tub under cold water until she decided she had enough...lol ... you have to keep in mind for them it was a huge deal as i'm 4 11 and at the time b4 kids, weighed only 85-90 lbs...but it wasn't too bad. I also have a scare that is fading as the yrs go by that was inflicted by a Sav Monitor and he was what you would call "dog tame"... so it just goes to show no matter how "tame" you think they are they are still wild animals. and you have to treat them as such, some more than others.

Laura-Lee L

[Linds]

In all reality, there is no such thing as a tame snake. Snakes are not thinking-feeling animals, so they rely purely on instinct and instinct alone, and will always be wild.

[jwsporty]

Do snakes bite? Well a couple of weeks ago, I had a young family over for the nickel tour and to get a little education on caring of kingsnakes. I was asked that question by the young lady who had just bought a kingsnake. With that I simply reached in and pulled out my Vietnamese Blue Bleauty, and as expected ,"wham", he gave me is weekly love bite, with the tell-tale drops of blood, I answered her question with a resounding "Yes".. I luv that little guy..he keeps me on my toes!!

Jim

[rwg]

Yeah well...there's a difference between a VBB and a known "docile" species. My subject line is misleading, and was meant to be rhetorical. I know snakes bite just as I know cats scratch.

What I really want to know is how likely is it to receive a defensive bite for no apparent reason from a captive-bred adult docile snake.

Let's narrow it down to just corns and ball pythons. Who has received such a bite? Laura-Lee's story is the kind of thing I'm looking for,

rg