What follows was totally and completely
my own fault and I count it as a learning experience. I'm sharing my learning experience so that others can benefit from it.
First, the set up. Over the past few weeks I've moved Mandy's feedings from 7 to 9 days apart in a effort to stabilize her weight after a modest but needed gain from 464 to 513. She's looking and acting great.
This week I saw her hunting on day 7 like I've never seen her hunt before. I mean she was all over the viv and glass surfing like crazy. Then on day 8 and today she was calmer but still moving from hide to hide.
Tonight, I thawed and warmed the mice as usual. I washed my hands as is my habit before handling or feeding her. I weighed her and she was 512 grams. Then using tongs, I fed her the first mouse. It went normally and I even took some pictures because she looked so cute and happy.
When the mouse was down and she was looking for more I offered the second one (I feed her two small adults per feeding for a total of 22 to 25 grams due to jaw arthritis). She grabbed it from the tongs with a vengeance I've never seen in her before. She proceeded to toss that mouse back like nothing.
So I waited until the mice were all the way down to her stomach to put her back in her viv. This is our normal routine. This was my mistake. I didn't read the feeding response right and didn't wait long enough. I'm used to her turning her head and looking at me when I pick her up, so when she struck I did nothing to evade the bite.
It was definitely a feeding bite because after she tagged me and let go, she proceeded to bite herself! After she let go of herself, I just let her settle down. After waiting about 15 to 20 minutes, I lifted the front of her body and aimed her into the viv as usual. She quickly crawled into the viv and her warm hide just as sweet as can be.
It hurt just a little at the time, like however many pin pricks. So much for the vet telling me her teeth are too short. I think they are fully functional, lol. After I washed it with warm soap and water followed by an H2O2 rinse, I can see and feel nothing there.
I want to reiterate:
THIS WAS TOTALLY MY OWN FAULT! I did not and do not hold my dear sweet girl to blame in the least. She's a snake. She was hungry. End of story.