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releasing a bite

tsst

tsst

Deuce is watching!
I was curious what the best way to get a snake to release a bite is. So far our snake has never tried to strike or bite but I have an 8 yr old that just loves it. I want to be prepared in case one day it happens and I can lesson the trama for both snake and child so they keep building a good relationship. Thanks!
 
Most bites happen as a "grab and immediate Let go" type of thing and are generally feed related accidents with a captive bred snakes.

But if a snake does hang on, putting its head under pouring water or a whiff of alcohol from a qtip held near its head should do the trick. Coach your daughter not to fight and try or shake it off if it were to happen, as the snakes teeth could be damaged , and that can cause some health problems.

best wishes
 
dawnrenee2000 said:
Most bites happen as a "grab and immediate Let go" type of thing and are generally feed related accidents with a captive bred snakes.

But if a snake does hang on, putting its head under pouring water or a whiff of alcohol from a qtip held near its head should do the trick. Coach your daughter not to fight and try or shake it off if it were to happen, as the snakes teeth could be damaged , and that can cause some health problems.

best wishes
Click to expand...

And the human flesh could be damaged, also important....
:rolleyes:
 
LOL..yeah, I guess I did make the snake more important than the human didnt I? haha.

Actually, Humans are tougher. I doubt a colubrid bite is going to tear up a human too bad :)
 
Dawn, my first concern would be the snake as well, people are big and ugly enough to look after themselves... :grin01:
 
I have also asked some people the same question,and like dawnrenee2000 said,the running water is usually the ticket,I have been told that the colder the better... :crazy02:
 
Slow-running cold water has worked for me on the (very odd) occasions that I've needed it.

As I understand it, the bite-and-hang-on is a misplaced feeding response, rather than a fear response which is bite-let-go-and-try-to-escape.

The trick with a bite-and-hang-on, is to introduce a quick surprise that is harmless, but enough to break them out of the behaviour.
 
bitsy said:
... The trick with a bite-and-hang-on, is to introduce a quick surprise that is harmless, but enough to break them out of the behaviour.
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And along that lines, when one of my tiny babies decided pink fingers look enough like pink mice, I just blew a quick puff of air at his head and he released. (My lungs were closer than the spray bottle or sink.) Has anyone else done that? Does it work on adults, too? More importantly, is that as harmless to snakes as it seems like it would be?
 
Kitty said:
And along that lines, when one of my tiny babies decided pink fingers look enough like pink mice, I just blew a quick puff of air at his head and he released. (My lungs were closer than the spray bottle or sink.) Has anyone else done that? Does it work on adults, too? More importantly, is that as harmless to snakes as it seems like it would be?
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I think so if you not just gotten drunk on a bottle of booze :grin01:
 
I was bitten once by an adult snake that hung on for almost five minutes. I had a friend fill a jug with water and I dunked my arm, snake attached, straight in to the water. The animal released his hold instantly and was fine afterwards, so that's my method of removing a "grab and hold" snake. It works pretty well. If not for the water that snake would still be on my arm now, I swear... I simply couldn't get him off any other way.
 
Biting

Bites in which the snake refuses to release are called 'Feeding bites', where the snake may mistake your hand, arm, etc for prey and attempted to...well, eat it. Although you all mentioned the dangers to the snake, there can infact, be dangers to the human too! Once a snake has bitten and holds on, you MUST NOT struggle or try to shake him off as this causes it to grip harder and a vicious circle emerges! In some cases, tendons can be torn and destroyed and so to minimise damage you should stay cal mand still and find a quick and simple method to release the snake. Alcohol was suggested - the type you drink that is - not any other alcohols!! Also vinegar can be used as well to deter the snake (not too much!).
All in all, corn snakes bites arent as bad as expected and are usually no worse than a papercut!
 
lozzer101 said:
Although you all mentioned the dangers to the snake, there can infact, be dangers to the human too! Once a snake has bitten and holds on, you MUST NOT struggle or try to shake him off as this causes it to grip harder and a vicious circle emerges! In some cases, tendons can be torn and destroyed and so to minimise damage you should stay cal mand still and find a quick and simple method to release the snake.
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Destroyed tendons? What are we talking about here, cornsnakes or alligators? :rolleyes: I'm sorry to be persnickety (oh how I love that word) but anyone with little experience of corns could be very put off by reading something like that :wavey:
 
Plissken said:
Destroyed tendons? What are we talking about here, cornsnakes or alligators? :rolleyes: I'm sorry to be persnickety (oh how I love that word) but anyone with little experience of corns could be very put off by reading something like that :wavey:
Click to expand...

Yes sorry you are right - may i mention that this is only in extreme cases with a full grown corn and not only is it rare to get bitten is is extremly rare for this sort of bite to happen!! hope i havent put too many people off!
 
Blutengel said:
Kitty said:
... blew a quick puff of air at his head and he released. (My lungs were closer than the spray bottle or sink.) ... is that as harmless to snakes as it seems like it would be?
Click to expand...

I think so if you not just gotten drunk on a bottle of booze :grin01:
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oops! :grin01:
 
may i mention that this is only in extreme cases with a full grown corn
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Must admit, I have trouble imagining this. An adult Corn has tiny teeth that are only a millimetre or two long. Even if they dig in hard enough to draw blood, hang on and give you the old roly-poly-kill routine, you can barely see a scratch the next day.

Having had one firmly attached to my nose for 15 minutes while I tried to stop laughing long enough to deal, I can vouch for that in person! I bled liberally, but there was no physical evidence to back up my anecdote by the time I saw friends the next day. And this was a Corn that was very over-excited, twisting and chewing away like mad.

[Handy Hint: Never put your head in a viv to find the hungry snake, when you've had mice defrosting two feet away for a couple of hours]

The only risk from a Corn bite that I've ever come across, is if a bite gets infected. Either the person doesn't wash/disinfect afterwards or if teeth are left under the skin and not noticed.
 
bitsy said:
[Handy Hint: Never put your head in a viv to find the hungry snake, when you've had mice defrosting two feet away for a couple of hours]
Click to expand...

This is quite frankly the funniest thing I have heard all day! :cheers:
 
bitsy said:
Must admit, I have trouble imagining this. An adult Corn has tiny teeth that are only a millimetre or two long. Even if they dig in hard enough to draw blood, hang on and give you the old roly-poly-kill routine, you can barely see a scratch the next day.
Click to expand...

Yes, I must agree that the savage tendon tearing is not a possibility. I beleive a little overdramatizing took place in that post and the original poster needs to not be concerned with those statements. As for you " putting your head in the aquarium to find the hungry snake "..Well...That is hilarious. You might have beat my best bite story on that one!
 
Dunno, I think the winner is still the story Don told at Daytona, about the snake that likes to bite him on the nose.

-Kat
 
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