Can you tell when it's going in for a feeding bite?

Hey Everyone!

Being new at this snake thing is tough so I'm sorry I have so many questions, and the more I read, the more questions I have so thanks a tonne for being so great!

What are some ways that people can tell if their corn is going in for a big feeding bite on you instead of a defensive nip? So far I've only got the tiny nip, but I hear the feeding bites aren't super pleasant.

Maybe you could shed some light on this for me?

Thank you!

Well I think feeding bites would be a huge gaping mouth to try and swallow what ever it is trying to eat. Defencive striks are usually preceded by a rattlesnake type action the body goes into a S shape and the tail begins to shake in the air like a rattles tail

Hope this helps

I don't think that there are really any ways to tell but the only reason this should happen is if you have your hands in the cage at feeding time or you smell of mice. Feeding responses are very sudden so a bite would probably be very quick and no, I don't think it would be very pleasant at all.

i had a feeding bite not to long ago he miss he pinki and got my finger and didnt want to let go!!!
wasn't pleasent at all!!
all i could do before he started to swallow the end of my little finger was to submerge is head for a second under water and he soon let go!!
i no that sounds crule and everyone will have a total barney about it but i was told to do this with rat snakes and that was my first reaction!
Got a great story for you
A friend of mine has a 14ft boa who is massive and eats baby rabbits for dinner.
my friend got the bunny out 2 defrost and forgot to wash her hands!!!
BIG MISTAKE
got the snake out to clean the tank and the smell of dinner was to much for him he grabbed my friends arm and then proceeded to constrict her!!!
he managed to get her arm up to her elbow and then spat her back out let go and slithered back to his tank to hide!!
poor girl had partially digested fingers and wrist!
she kept the snake but was much more carful from then on!

Having taken both kinds of bites, there is a difference: defensive strikes will be quick, and usually accompanied by a hiss or tail rattle. Feeding bites are usually slower and/or they may hold on longer. And sometimes (not often) they will do a feeding type bite even if you don't smell of food. So keep an eye on them if they start pushing against you with the front of their mouth closed. I want to stress though that this is RARE and I wouldn't worry about it too much!

poor girl had partially digested fingers and wrist!

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OMG was her fingers and hand disolving????!!!! Can she still use that hand???!!!

yeah her fingers still work!! LUCKY!
the skin had started to disolve (this says something about snakes stomachs and the acid content)
but she is fine
her new nickname is snakebite

Elaphe_Mo said:

pushing against you with the front of their mouths closed

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Yeah, that's about the only sign that a feeding responce bite is going to occur and it doesn't always happen. Sometimes snakes just lunge at you so there isn't really any way to tell if they're gonna do it.

About the pushing against you with their nose thing, I've seen my corn do this with her food. She pushes against it with her nose a few times before she grabs it. Never really thought anything of it until now. Do they all do this?

As for the biting, I've never been bitten yet but I have 5 hatchlings on the way so it's bound to happen soon! Lol.

With one of my snakes, when I dangle and jerk the mouse around with the chopsticks, he lunges at it and starts swallowing it right away. But if I'm in a rush and I just put the pinkie in his container, he "shovels" the pinkie around by getting his snout under it. Sometimes he rolls it around his house under his chin. Then he FINALLY opens his mouth and starts to eat it.
He's a funny boy.

IRIS- your snake kinda sounds like mine lol. He will just sit there with his head on top of the mouse for a little bit. Then he will poke it with his nose a few times then open up and find the head. Then .................CHOMP!