Freak accident, now I have an Agressive/stressed snake??? Please help.

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thanks andynic07 i think i will do the towel over the top of her and get her out that way. i dont know why she is freaking me out so much, ive handled her heaps in the last 6 months and she is always most comfortable when its me holding her. i honestly dont think the wax was too hot to really burn her if at all (well thats what im praying) and thankfully she didnt slither her whole body through it just a small section. the carpet copped most of it.
 
Strip wax or hard wax [MENTION=40062]beautyqueen[/MENTION] ? I know they can get hot, but if your anything like me, you leave it low? In which case I doubt it'd be hot enough to actually burn, pretty sure hard wax softens around 30-32c if that's the case I'd imagine its more likely shes cranky and out of sorts because she has wax stuck to her, you should be able to see if its actually blistering around the edge..
Where are you located chick? Anywhere near leongatha?

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hard wax, and always low so its only just melted, cant see any blistering but then again its right under her belly and she hasnt shoen me much of her belly, im in hazelwood north which is 10 mins away from morwell.
 
Bit far :/
I'd just leave her tonight. And try again tomorrow, she might be less annoyed ? I'll just pm you....


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There are two possibilities as best I can ascertain. Burning and/or wax under the scales. Both these have the capacity to irritate or cause pain to the skin.

The possibility of burning is dependent on the temperature of the wax. I assume you know what temperature you heated it to. The snake’s preferred body temperature is 28 to 29[SUP]o[/SUP]C. It will cope with external temperatures up to 35[SUP]o[/SUP]C quite well. Anything above 40[SUP]o[/SUP]C is going to be uncomfortable and by the time you hit 60[SUP]o[/SUP]C even a brief exposure can cause burns. By the way, our body temperature is nearly 10 degrees higher at 37[SUP]o[/SUP]C, so what is warm for us is hot for a snake. A “warm bath” for a snake is absolutely no warmer than 30[SUP]o[/SUP]C.

It helps to be aware of snakes’ receptiveness to heat through their bellies. They can crawl over rough wood and bark, sharp-edged rocks and gravel, sun-baked soils or sand, through *****ly vegetation and the like. Having a belly that was sensitive to pain and heat would make their movement from one place to another extremely uncomfortable to outright painful. The scales provide a good deal of physical protection but the heat sensors are located closer to core of the body. So anything that gets under the scales can cause irritation and snakes can remain in contact with an particularly hot object and get burned before it registers for them.

Unless home-made, the hair wax will have a solvent that goes with it. It will be designed not to irritate sensitive human skin. That is what you should be using to remove and external wax and any wax lodged under the scales. A cm in a long, narrow container and a bit of swilling back and forth of the snake is all that should be necessary, if required. If the skin or scales are discoloured in the region of its immersion in the wax, then a five to ten minute soak in a dilution of 20:1 water to Betadine lotion will assist to disinfect the area until you can hold of a reptile vet. And keep it on paper instead what its normal substrate, to help keep it as germ free as possible.

To remove it, place pillowslips over your hand and a tea-towel over its head before attempting to remove it. Keep the pillow slips on as “gloves”. This should allow you to take it out and work with it. Get someone to assist you and have them wear pillow slips as well.

Good luck,
Blue
 
Someone has never had a feeding bite from something with a large head, even a tag at that size can hurt if they get you good.
Copped a bite on the nose from a mates 2.5m coastal once! and i made the mistake of touching defrosting rat and not washing my hands, an got latched onto, so yes i have had a feeding bite, and i wouldn't call it painful (although i do have a pretty high pain tolerance)
 
I feel some of you are missing the point with respect to the python biting. It is not whether it hurts or not or how much it may hurt. The lady is intimidated by the snake’s behaviour. I’d be intimidated by a 2m python striking at me too. Avoiding a bite by being able to alter its behaviour is what is required.

The reason many python bites do not hurt is due to the needle-shape of their teeth. When the teeth enter the skin, they often do not strike any raw nerve endings (our primary pain receptors in the skin) and do not generate enough pressure to activate nearby endings. The potential exists to be bitten in the same area twice - barely feeling one bite and experiencing clear discomfort with another. Bites to areas with a higher density of nerve endings tend to be more often painful.

Blue
 
have you tryed giving her a warm bath? might help get the wax off!
if you're really worried about getting bitten, get a snake hook and maybe put on some gloves,
but seriously, being bitten doesn't hurt, i wouldn't even worry about it

No warm bath. That will cause the wax to soften and will spread more when touched or when snake moves.

I use a natural lemon based product to remove and clean up wax on skin and tools.
It doesn't burn human skin but not sure how it could affect a snake.
When wax hardens, it pulls on the skin so the poor animal would most certainly feel uncomfortable but it doesn't hurt.
 
I feel some of you are missing the point with respect to the python biting. It is not whether it hurts or not or how much it may hurt. The lady is intimidated by the snake’s behaviour. I’d be intimidated by a 2m python striking at me too. Avoiding a bite by being able to alter its behaviour is what is required.

The reason many python bites do not hurt is due to the needle-shape of their teeth. When the teeth enter the skin, they often do not strike any raw nerve endings (our primary pain receptors in the skin) and do not generate enough pressure to activate nearby endings. The potential exists to be bitten in the same area twice - barely feeling one bite and experiencing clear discomfort with another. Bites to areas with a higher density of nerve endings tend to be more often painful.

Blue

Exactly what [MENTION=20726]Bluetongue1[/MENTION] said, I'm intimidated by Cleo (the snake) striking at me, she is a big, strong healthy girl and I just don't want to risk getting bitten and losing any more confidence in handling her. I have arranged for a man that is a snake catcher in my area to come and help me this afternoon with her, get her out of her tank and look at the area on her belly.
 
Good work beauty queen, try and get some pics when you get out the snake!
 
Just letting everyone know that Cleo is ok, I had a snake/reptile catcher out last night who helped me get her out and checked her over, no burns to her tummy, all remaining wax has been taken off and she is a lot more settled and happy. So hopefully no more striking and she can be a happy and contented snake again. Hopefully she will shed again soon. Thanks for all your comments and help.
 
Just letting everyone know that Cleo is ok, I had a snake/reptile catcher out last night who helped me get her out and checked her over, no burns to her tummy, all remaining wax has been taken off and she is a lot more settled and happy. So hopefully no more striking and she can be a happy and contented snake again. Hopefully she will shed again soon. Thanks for all your comments and help.
Thats great news :D You would be so relieved.
 
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