Bitten Much?

[guidofatherof5]

I asked my daughter Gabby to get into the Fox snake enclosure. They had dumped their water and it needed cleaned and refilled. Seconds after taking the screen off Gabby yelled for me. The male Fox snake is an aggressive feeder and he thought it was dinner time. He gave her a good solid bite and wasn't wanting to let go. Once I got my finger inside the lower jaw I was able to pry him off. Gabby got cleaned up and returned to the snake room. She said she wasn't mad and that he was just hungry. She's a great snake helper.

[GarterGeek]

Wow, what a bite! How long is the fox snake?

Is prying off difficult? I'm always scared to pry because snake jaws seem so delicate. I always use the hot-water technique. - It works like a charm.

[guidofatherof5]

Wow, what a bite! How long is the fox snake?

Is prying off difficult? I'm always scared to pry because snake jaws seem so delicate. I always use the hot-water technique. - It works like a charm.

He's a big boy at almost 6 foot. I pushed the lower jaw forward and it released. He had the top set in deep. He then grabbed me and held on for about 10 seconds then fiqured out it wasn't food and he let go. It was pure feeding response. After he let go of me I picked him up and he was fine. The problem is he's been feed from the top most of his life and been given very little non-food interaction. He'll do fine adjusting to the new routine. It may take awhile and a few more bites. My Gabby(age9) wasn't mad and understood why it happened.

[ConcinusMan]

That's way cool. Most kids that age would be terrified and want nothing to do with snakes after that. I had a few very large(5-6 feet) San Diego gopher snakes back in the 80's. Even though these guys were particularly tame, and tolerated handling well, they sometimes responded that way too especially if you go reaching into their personal space while they are just "chilling out". but most of the time, the bite was pretty nasty compared to that pic. There's some debate about it but even though they may track down mice by smell, they strike at just about any thing that moves when they are hungry so when it comes to the feeding response, it's visual. My concinnus garters were different. The only time they went cray like that and bit me was when the smell of fish was everywhere, including on my hands. When I have large snakes, even garters, I always keep a couple of swabs handy, soaked in watered down vodka for such cases. Get that on their lips when they won't let go. It gets them let go fast and doesn't seem to harm them.

[gregmonsta]

I always keep a couple of swabs handy, soaked in watered down vodka for such cases. Get that on their lips when they won't let go. It gets them let go fast and doesn't seem to harm them.

Alcohol based mouthwash seems to get the thumbs up too (although I've not tested it ... still haven't been bitten ... in 15 years ).

[ConcinusMan]

I don't know if all those other chemicals are necessary though. Some are definitely toxic. The response to let go is achieved by nothing more than a little ethanol. It doesn't even have to be very strong. I wanted to add also, I can't count how many times I've been bitten. The worst was by large wild gopher snakes, but my garters never bit me unless it was a feeding response, and most of wild capture bites from garters were basically just quick nips. When they realize that musking and biting isn't working, they usually just give up and calm down.

[GarterGeek]

I have a kingsnake who bites me all the time. It's rare I pass a week without getting bit. Not only does he like to bite, but he holds on and chews until I pour water over him. He's only about 2-3ft long, but he always draws blood! I just don't want him to still be doing this when he's around 6ft.

I put my hand in the aquarium and he rushes over to that side of the aquarium in what seems to be a feeding or territorial response. When I do get him out of the aquarium without getting bit, (which isn't too hard considering his extreme stupidity) he is calm and just wraps around my hand. He'll either sit there or slither over me for anywhere between five-ten minutes, suddenly without being provoked he'll just clamp on. I've noticed that when he's going over my hand, it's very similar to what I've seen him do once he's wrapped around a pinky and he's looking for the head.

Is there a way to stop him viewing me as food?

[ConcinusMan]

That is so strange. All CB CA kings I have kept or seen did the same thing, even striking at the glass when you walk by. And yet, all of the wild kings I have caught, from youngsters to 5 footers, have always been very sweet, and never bit me. Strange. The only thing I can think of is that a diet of rodents makes them more aggressive. All the wild kings I had would only feed on other snakes or lizards.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I think a lot of people mistake feeding aggression for the snake being "mean". I always hear that, that everyone's kingsnakes are mean. A lot of people worry that eating mice makes their snake mean, but it's not that at all, it's just that in captivity, the snakes are relaxed enough to express their extreme lust for food. I have had my california kingsnake for 7 years, does he try to bite me every time I open the cage? Yes! But it is not aggression that drives him, it is because he is conditioned to respond to me messing around in his cage as time to eat. Kingsnakes will eat anything so once they have ahold of you they don't want to let go. That is their instinct, grab it and DON"T LET IT GET AWAY. If there were kingsnake-bite-sized humans I am sure kingsnakes would have no qualms eating them! Kingsnakes are the labrador retriever of snakes. Food is what motivates them and drives their actions. Bandit does not have a mean bone in his body, but he is definitely a food motivated snake and will stop at nothing to attempt to eat anything that moves. If I wave at him through the glass, he will chase after my hand with his mouth open. Once I take him out and he realizes I am NOT feeding him, he's a big sweetie pie. I could provoke him all I want and he will show no aggression. Kingsnakes simply appear to be MUCH more willing than other types of snakes to hang on once the grab their "prey". A.k.a. my middle finger, which bandit once completely swallowed and chewed his way around my knuckle and refused to let go for 20 minutes! cold water? pfff. Alcohol? pfffff. Whiskey? ha, forget it. I had to use semi-hot water from the faucet!

As for being bitten... it's basically a part of my daily routine. Brush teeth, check. Brush hair, check. Eat breakfast, check. Have a few snake teeth embedded in my flesh, check!

[drache]

none of my kings are biters
good thing too - Drache is almost 6' now and I'm sure it wouldn't be entirely pleasant to get tagged by him
I have a couple of garters though . . .
one of the easterns I just adopted came with got renamed "the beast", and Whizzy, my crazy concinnus - both of them will bite any time; even when they're stuffed and I could chase them off with rodent, they'll still tag my hands