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Joined the Bite Club

HVani

HVani

New member
Last night was feeding night. Bison didn't want his rat pinkie so I was trying to give it to Cy. He was tucked up in his tree branches and I was trying to put the rat up there with him. I thought I could get it to him before he stuck, I was wrong. He grabbed me and the rat and coiled. He's 3 feet now and hits like a freight train.

I'll admit I panicked, I could feel his tooth down in the pad of my thumb and I could feel it tearing my skin. I got him off but not as gently as I would have liked. He seems fine though.

The thing is I have been bitten by king snakes and ball pythons before but this hurts like hell! The pad of my thumb is so tender which makes work difficult (I sue a track ball). No idea why it hurts so much more than other bites. I don't see a tooth down in the wound. Could he have bruised my thumb as well?

Anyway, looks like it's time to invest in some feeding tongs, any good brands out there?
 
I use tongs even with my babies... LOL I am such a chicken.. I just went to Petco and got a pair of regular tongs.. Im cheap they have worked for me. I was feeding monitors before I had the snakes so tongs is a must.

And you likely have internal bruising from the pressure/power.. it will turn blue in 24-48 hours. And there is def trauma to the muscle in the pad. I had a dog who bit my butt, I turned around and she opened full mouth and grabbed. Now the lucky part was my butt is so big that she bit off more than she could actually bite. So no punctures BUT she pressured and bit down down and I couldn't sit for a couple of days. You have the snake version of that is my suspicion.
 
Tongs are just big tweezers. They'll all perform about the same. I'd go cheaper.

Bites are crazy scary. My situation wasn't with the snake directly, but with my cat. She was staring at the snake, being all creepy. I went to pick her up to leave the snake alone. Cat went nuts. She ended up scratching and jamming my finger so bad, I couldn't type or drive easily.
 
I got a pair of tweezers and went digging. I pulled a decent sized tooth out of it. Feels better already but still pretty tender.
 
Oh Lord this is terrifying lol I'm glad you got the tooth out!
I use chopsticks lmao they're longer because I'm a scaredy cat.
 
Thanks all :)

To be clear, Cy is a boa so he packs a bit more of a punch than a corn. But yet I'm ordering tongs as we speak.
 
I love my hemostats. I got a good deal at a flea market, they had the long 15 inch ones for 3.00 new and I bought 3. Ive given two away and now only have one pair but they are awesome. They are the locking kind and I have had snakes snag the mice or rat so fast they left the tail behind.
Feeding by hand doesnt work even with small snakes. I had my sand boa grab my finger and it hurt, but the worst part is I jerked back and flung him and the mouse across the room(he wasnt hurt).
 
I saw the title of your thread and thought, oh no, not Cy! OUCH! I wondered if a tooth might be stuck in there when you mentioned the pain, so I am glad you found it. Again, OUCH. Never been bit by my boas (yet).

I would never attempt to feed my boas without my hemostat. They hit so fast I can't even see it! Super calm and docile snakes when food isn't around, but when they smell it, they spot movement and they are on it!
 
Romeo, my '14 snow boa got me yesterday. Just a little love tap. Didn't hurt at all. I stupidly reached into his tub and tried to pull a thermometer probe off the tub right next to his head. Surprised him.

 
Last night was feeding day. I should have gotten tongs earlier! All the snakes took food faster with my hand not giving off heat and confusing them. Everyone ate and I did not get bit.

Cy looks like he's going in shed again so I will keep my hands out of the tank until he sheds. It's the only time he gets cranky.
 
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