Snake bite

[Almase]

On a scale of 1-10.......1 Being getting a splinter and 10 being stepping on a nail how does it feel to get bit lets say on your hand from a 3 ft corn snake? Anyone have any idea?

 

[Roy Munson]

On a scale of 1-10.......1 Being getting a splinter and 10 being stepping on a nail how does it feel to get bit lets say on your hand from a 3 ft corn snake? Anyone have any idea?

Hmmmm. I'm going to give it a "2" on that scale. I've told other people that to me the slight pain is comparable to those multi-needled TB test thingies. It's more surprising than painful.

 

[Almase]

That makes sense. Thats probably true. Sounds like a bee sting hurts worse then....Do the corns even have teeth or do they have sharp gums like some lizards do?

 

[Lennycorn]

Small teeth.
But heck, Your from the old school. Just rub a f/t mouse all over your hand and stick it in the cage. You'll find out the scale of 1-10. :roflmao:

Just having fun there. :grin01:

Wash your hand after you handle a f/t. And don't fret a bite. It rarely happens.

 

[Almase]

lol....Im not afraid of the bite. I think its like Roy says, its just gonna be the surprise. I've been kicked and bit by horses and I know a non venomous snake wont hurt that bad, its just that its gonna happen so fast and I dont know what to expect lol. So im still nervous with the thing especially since its been watching my hand and following it. So till I get bit and know what to expect I think I'll be that way. I held it at the store and it was just fine so I know its not a biter.

 

[Lennycorn]

Well, if you feed the snake in a separate container than it cage. That will help "train" your snake that your hand is not food. But if you have a fear of the act of a bit but not the pain. Good, meaning..you might do more harm to the snake jerking away from it than the pain of the bite. If this is the case learn to reach in with a close fist and with a blind eye to grab it. And pick up/grab your snake from the side, not from straight above for now. You'll seem to be less of a threat from the side.

 

[Almase]

That makes sense. How long should I wait to handle him after he just ate? Hes two feet long atleast. (If that makes a difference)

 

[diamondlil]

For me it depends on the snake's behaviour. Small, skittish corns get gently tipped from the feeding tub back into their homes, but my bigger, calmer corns get picked up after the feeding lump has moved down their body and placed intotheir homes.
I've just had to revert to tipping my grnite female again, because she's tried to strike me after she's eaten twice in a row.
After the snake's back in it's home, I don't handle for 3 days at least to avoid possible regurges, and also to give the snake a chance to poop before I pick it up!

 

[mbdorfer]

This is a bite from a 3' corn. I have to honestly say I've had some spinters that hurt way more than this!

 

[DaemoNox]

Its not about where you feed, but how. Feeding in a seperate container can open you up to a bite just as much as feeding in the enclosure (since you have to handle a snake before and after it knows its going to be fed, it can also be conditioned to expect food every time its out of the enclosure). Conditioning it when to know when food is comming is they key no matter where you feed.

 

[snakemom1961]

Tiaga is about 4 ft long, and he tagged me not to long ago. It was my fault because he stays in "hunt" mode for about an hour after feeding, and I didn't wait long enough to put him back into his cage.
Anyway, I can honestly say there truly wasn't any pain to speak of. Just like most said, it startled me more then anything.

 

[Nanci]

You guys are crazy!! Splinters really hurt! Bee stings would be like an 8!!

I'd put a big snake at about the same as that thing they use to stick your finger, the automatic one, only usually a snake will get you in a lot less sensitive place. About a 2 I guess.

Nanci

 

[Nanci]

I'd rather take a hit from something like one of the Anacondas from Jackass 2 than get stung by a bee or wasp. I had one fly through my helmet and sting me on the top of the head and it felt like someone was sawing through my scalp for the next 24 hours!

Nanci

I think the scale should be animal-based:

1= mosquito
10=parrot

 

[diamondlil]

Hmmmmm, but I'm allergic to mozzie-bites, so I'd put them higher up the scale! I like the hatchling/Velcro analogy, having taken my first 'hit' from Skooge last night. If I hadn't seen her do it I wouldn't have noticed! When my deckert's nailed me I'd say it was definitely most like a finger-pricker like my neighbour's daughter practised on me with when she was newly diagnosed with diabetes, or sticking yourself with a sewing needle

 

[Nanci]

Zee, my tri-color hog, is about 45 grams, and he still feels like velcro. I wouldn't even know he was biting except I've come to associate the velcro feeling with a bite.

I think there's a big difference between a fast strike and a determined feeding response bite. The fast strikes are more startling and painful to me. If the snake just latches on and starts chewing, that doesn't really hurt. With a small snake.

Nanci

 

[Almase]

haha, I like your scale Nanci. Bee stings do hurt. I was in my bed one time half asleep, and went to put my hand under my pillow and I felt some sort of sting and thought it was a spider biting me, but I yanked my hand and looked under my pillow and there was a danged bee. I hate those bastards.

 

[DaemoNox]

A large snake bite is much worse then a bee sting (unless your allergic to them). We've all seen the pictures of the rock python with its teeth stuch on the electric fence; imagine having 6 rows of those stuck in you, the strength of their jaws are incredible, and the force that they can hit you by can leave huge bruises (I've heard of adult burms breaking 1/4-1/2 inch glass with just a strike). Then you have to deal with the tearing, as the recurved teeth come out and rip whatever they've been stuck into. Thats of course considering there is no constriction involved too...

But even adult corn bites are nothing, chances are you stub your toe or bang your head causing more pain then a bite by one of them.

 

[Almase]

haha, man glad I dont got one of those snakes. I've read that if you get bit by snakes though you're supposed to push them forward when trying to unlatch them. I cant wait till this sucker is full grown. What do you feed a full grown cornsake? Do you start them on small rabbits or guinea pigs or something? Or do they still go with mice?

 

[tyflier]

I've never been bit by a corn...but I got bit by a sub-adult red tail boa...and yes, it hurt...alot. But a boa's teeth are MUCH larger than a corns, and the strike is much more powerful.

I think, and I've said this before, that the fear of being bitten is ingrained in the human psyche. It is a natural fear response, regardless of how little or how much it is gonna hurt. Knowing that it will definitely happen at some point, and it will definitely be less painful than I am anticipating, doesn't remove that fear 100%. It helps me to not worry about it, and not be focused on the fear, but it's still there...and probably always will be.

My ex was nervous about me getting the snake for our daughter when I first got our corn. She actually got pissed, asking me how I could get a snake, what if she gets bit, what was I thinking, blablabla...But when I brought up the kitten she had at home, and all of the scratches and bites my daughter was getting from the kitten...she had to drop the argument. I would rather get bitten by a colubrid than a cat any day of the week...

 

[Plissken]

I was bitten by a 4/5 footer once and yeah it stung a bit, but I wouldn't exactly say it was painful. I'd probably give it a 2, as well. I'm a blood donor, and having that needle stuck in my arm hurts WAY more than any snake bite I've received - yet even that I don't mind too much. So no, a 3ft corn isn't going to have me in a panic. :grin01:

By the way, only a freak o'nature cornsnake will ever be eating rabbits! They're for a Burmese python kind of size :grin01: Cornsnakes will only ever need mice, or sometimes rats.