Dealing with and preventing bites

Relentless · 11-12-12, 10:30 PM

In my normal daily reading, I happened to come across this thread from another large snake forum. I found the link on a facebook group. WARNING: The pictures are gruesome. if you have a sensitive stomach and/or don't like the sight of a lot of blood, please don't view it.

14 foot Retic Damage

This is no joke and I think anyone can take this as a wake up call. Everyone, I'm sure, takes their animals' personalities for granted especially when we manage to raise a "puppy-dog" tame snake. So, to make a discussion out of this!

How do you guys prevent situations like this from happening? What are your house "rules"? Is there a time when you go to handle and you just know that you need to leave your animal alone? Discuss.

jaleely · 11-12-12, 10:58 PM

Not a bad idea, actually, to refresh good husbandry for large snakes.
Or is there a link to an older post? I've never looked for it since my critters are small.

BarelyBreathing · 11-12-12, 11:00 PM

I never handle my large animals alone. That is my first rule.

**lady_bug87** · 11-12-12, 11:37 PM

I'm curious and a tad concerned about what he meant by he and the snake had a "chat"

iBaman · 11-13-12, 01:06 AM

I saw that...and it scared the poop out of me. =/ My first rule is to never handle alone, even at the size he is now. Also, if he's not in the mood to come out, I don't force it. I pay attention to his body language, and sometimes, I'll just pet him rather than take him out.

SnakeyJay · 11-13-12, 01:07 AM

I think most people know when to leave their snake alone and when it's not happy..I think A lot of bites happen when people ignore these signs or are showing a snake off to friends etc.

Relentless · 11-13-12, 07:28 AM

Jaleely, it is a link to an older post on another forum with images plus the information.

Never handling alone is probably the first and one of the best rules to have in place. ESPECIALLY when your snake is over 7-8 feet long.

I also was concerned seeing that comment. I interpreted it as he punished the animal in some way, but that's uncalled for as the bite was his mistake (every bite is the keeper's mistake) and the snake wouldn't even understand the action anyway. :/

Roadtrash · 11-13-12, 07:55 AM

Pretty rough bite. things do happen if you're not thinking and just going through the motions. Lucky for him it just bite and turned loose rather then continuing the attack. I'll be he will be much more careful in the future.

MoreliAddict · 11-13-12, 09:09 AM

At least one person per 8 feet of snake is a decent guideline...

Necrias · 11-13-12, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relentless

Jaleely, it is a link to an older post on another forum with images plus the information.

Never handling alone is probably the first and one of the best rules to have in place. ESPECIALLY when your snake is over 7-8 feet long.

I also was concerned seeing that comment. I interpreted it as he punished the animal in some way, but that's uncalled for as the bite was his mistake (every bite is the keeper's mistake) and the snake wouldn't even understand the action anyway. :/

I'm a member there too and he didn't mean anything abusive by that comment. He likely meant that he cursed the snake out beyond comprehension (like I did when my 7' Bredl got me last week lol). I'm sure he was not "gentle" with the head, but he was likely afraid that the snake would strike again (especially since it started coiling his arm), so the firmer the better.

I think we also need to remember that the damage done here was atypical, as was noted by Tom Reagan and multiple other experienced keepers/breeders. It certainly happens, but I hope this doesn't turn people away from the giants. These snakes need to be treated with the proper respect and care they deserve, and he admitted that he was lacking that day.

While I think it is certainly a good idea to have a 2nd person to help with snakes 10' and larger, sometimes it's not always practical, but that just means we need to treat them with even more caution and respect.

Wildside · 11-13-12, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoreliAddict

At least one person per 8 feet of snake is a decent guideline...

That depends on the person. I wouldn't dare try to handle my 8 ft. Boa alone.

MoreliAddict · 11-13-12, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildside

That depends on the person. I wouldn't dare try to handle my 8 ft. Boa alone.

Measure him. Must have hit 9 foot.

Wildside · 11-13-12, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoreliAddict

Measure him. Must have hit 9 foot.

Or I'm just a girl

Relentless · 11-13-12, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrias

I'm a member there too and he didn't mean anything abusive by that comment. He likely meant that he cursed the snake out beyond comprehension (like I did when my 7' Bredl got me last week lol). I'm sure he was not "gentle" with the head, but he was likely afraid that the snake would strike again (especially since it started coiling his arm), so the firmer the better.

I think we also need to remember that the damage done here was atypical, as was noted by Tom Reagan and multiple other experienced keepers/breeders. It certainly happens, but I hope this doesn't turn people away from the giants. These snakes need to be treated with the proper respect and care they deserve, and he admitted that he was lacking that day.

While I think it is certainly a good idea to have a 2nd person to help with snakes 10' and larger, sometimes it's not always practical, but that just means we need to treat them with even more caution and respect.

I'd sure hope so. It's understandable that he wasn't on his game and I didn't know that reputable, experienced people deemed the damage atypical. That's interesting.

Just a lesson for us all and I'm sure a good one for him. I'm sure he'll definitely be more careful in the future. And this isn't to say he isn't a careful, knowledgeable keeper. Everyone has off days. Everyone makes mistakes. Knows yourself and your snakes inside and out is really the moral of the story.

MoreliAddict · 11-13-12, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildside

Or I'm just a girl

I'd double check both, to be sure..

(kidding kidding, don't want more drama. lol)