how to handle this situation if it happens again

[shaffycat]

just wondering what to do if our little spottie girl does this again
she is 15 months old and we got her back in mid Jan this year - she's settled into her cage really well, eats like a horse and we have started to handle her more and more and she seems to be getting better each time we do
last night my son had her out for a bit and he is still using cotton gloves atm as she tends to go for the odd nibble now and then and she decided to go for a finger
usually she lets go pretty much of her own accord but this time she held on and after a minute or so my son said she was starting to swallow his finger :?

she had been fed a day or so before so she wasn't hungry and after another minute or so my son said she is still trying to swallow so we started trying to coax her to let go
first I suggested he try gently blowing on her face (works for the cat ) but not for snakes we found out
then we started to spray water mist on her which I don't know if it worked or not but by this stage my son managed to remove his hand from the cotton glove but she still had the finger of the glove in her mouth
she finally decided that this was not a tasty meal after all and let go but she was definitely trying to eat it and it was a matter of me holding the glove while son tried to distract her by stroking her on under her jaw

so has anyone had this happen before and if so what did you do to entice snake to give up

he will probably start looking at handling more without the gloves but up till this point she has been as good as gold

she was fine after wards and just started cruising around her cage while I was worried she could have choked :shock: - good to see my mothering instinct is still working... lol

 

[Darlyn]

You may need to upsize her feeds, how big is she and what are you feeding her?

 

[shaffycat]

mmm have to work out her size one day but she is growing nicely (has doubled in size and length) since we got her and feeding her pinkie rats which she loves on a weekly basis atm
I think she was just showing us who's boss

 

[jamrosky]

That doesn't sound too great. I'm getting my first snake real soon and I am terribly worried about that sort of thing. Hope it isn't too common

 

[Gruni]

I'm thinking the same thing. If you only just fed it I would be reading that as 'Still Hungry' how noticable is the bump after you feed her? What size mice are you giving her and how big is she?

My Spotted is 80ish cm and I have had to move him off hoppers onto full grown mice as he could easily go two small hoppers in one feed.

 

[JAS101]

mmm have to work out her size one day but she is growing nicely (has doubled in size and length) since we got her and feeding her pinkie rats which she loves on a weekly basis atm
I think she was just showing us who's boss

no i think she is telling u to up the food size , btw its a good idea to let the snake digest its food for a couple of days after u feed it .

 

[shaffycat]

That doesn't sound too great. I'm getting my first snake real soon and I am terribly worried about that sort of thing. Hope it isn't too common

I think she was just doing what a snake does best.... in the end I think she realised the glove was not food and the fact that I was holding onto the glove and not letting her take any more of it made her give up

I'm sure others will give us some ideas on how to handle this type of thing

 

[JAS101]

That doesn't sound too great. I'm getting my first snake real soon and I am terribly worried about that sort of thing. Hope it isn't too common

snakes are snakes - its not a case of if u get a bite , its WHEN . if your that worried then maybe a snake isnt for u

 

[Gruni]

That doesn't sound too great. I'm getting my first snake real soon and I am terribly worried about that sort of thing. Hope it isn't too common

Pffft with Antaresia it's no issue as they don't hurt. Mine hooked on like that a few weeks ago (my own fault not a snappy snake) I let him hold on until I got photo's etc. I gently applied pressure at the back of his jaw and then eased him off my finger. A few tiny pin pricks of blood, wiped it away and could barely tell where I'd been grabbed.

 

[shaffycat]

no i think she is telling u to up the food size , btw its a good idea to let the snake digest its food for a couple of days after u feed it .

yeah she seemed to have digested her food as she normally comes out after a day or so after she has eaten and the rest of the pinkie rats we have for her are a bit bigger
we always make sure her lump is completely gone before we handle her

Pffft with Antaresia it's no issue as they don't hurt. Mine hooked on like that a few weeks ago (my own fault not a snappy snake) I let him hold on until I got photo's etc. I gently applied pressure at the back of his jaw and then eased him off my finger. A few tiny pin pricks of blood, wiped it away and could barely tell where I'd been grabbed.

thanks gruni my son is fine with her giving him a nip here and there and the gentle pressure thing you mentioned sounds like a the thing to try if she does it again

 

[JAS101]

pinkies are too small [ thats what she is trying to tell u ] id go up a size .

 

[davies.ads]

I think about 5 people have already suggested, I would also agree.. up the food size, sounds like a feeding response bite, not a threat bite. Maybe up the rat size and give him 2 days or so to digest.
Hope this helps

 

[shaffycat]

thanks everyone.... my son will be happy with that advise

 

[Gruni]

If you still have pinkies left offer her a second one once the first one has been fully swalllowed.

 

[Darlyn]

Pinkie rats don't have a very high nutrition value. give her 2 each feed till they are all gone then up her
rat size. Good Luck.

 

[Striker]

This is sounding all to familiar.....you didn't happen to phone an ambulance and make the news yesterday did you?

 

[shaffycat]

:lol: no stiker lol.... sorry to say we did not make the news with our little finger chewing incident

but we do live in dingley and I've asked my son if he knows who the poor kid is and so far we have not heard but I am sure the grape vine will eventually give us the information at some point

 

[congo_python]

Ps Staffycat if he holds on again just put his head under cold running water and he'll let go.

 

[Jessh88]

And if that doesn't work iv heard listerine works or even rum :/ just rub under the nose


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[Owzi]

With regards to dealing with snakes that do a 'feed response' bite (as in the hold on, not just a defensive strike) I have found the best way to remove them is to dip a cotten bud or your finger into metho, acetone or thinners (whatever you may have at home) & place it near the snout of the animal. I've only had to do this twice & both animals recoiled straight away.