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mysnakesau

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As much as this makes look incompetent with my snakes, an idiot and any other flaming name I probably deserve, I am posting this, hoping to be a thread newbies & youngsters will take notice of. Learn by my mistake rather than finding out for yourself that there is no safe method to hand-feeding snakes, and that removing them from enclosures to feed them, is no safer than leaving them in their enclosure. Abony is usually very placid, but never under-estimate any snake at feed time (except my Opals who doesn't snatch but she is still capable of it).

My beautiful Abony gave me hungry python kisses tonight. Was thawing a rat for him. Went to pull him out of the enclosure to offer him a feed. I did rinse my hands from touching the rat but obviously he smelt food on my hand and hit me with the biggest punch I have experienced. He finally let go of my hand but constricted my wrist before latching on again, on my other arm. I was hand-cuffed and his tail wrapped around the branch in his enclosure so was in a vulnerable position. Yelled to my kids to come and help :oops:. One grabbed the camera while the other got a wooden spoon. Poked the handle of the spoon through the gap between my arm and his mouth and held the spoon with no pressure, in the corner of his mouth. Next chew he was forced to let go. After letting go the first time I tried offering the rat to keep his mouth busy but he wasn't interested. But after the wooden spoon trick, another couple minutes he just sat there, still constricting my arm. When I tried to unwrap him his mouth came back so my daughter warmed up the rat under the hot water tap and offered it to him. With his mouth now safely on the rat I was able to unwrap him from my arm. How much blood was there - holy crap :shock: - not a little snake. He is 2.5metres and about 4kg in weight. Now my hand is swollen and both bites came up instantly with bruises.

Yes its my boy with the burnt-like injuries. Was attempting to offer him a feed smaller so it wouldn't stretch him. It was completely my fault this happened. Abony is not a dangerous snake. Never been a biter but I know to watch what I do with him, at feed time. Not washing hands properly so the rat smell was still on my hands, not fully focused on what I was doing - kept my kids entertained for half hour anyway.

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Sorry Big Fella :( I should have been more careful
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Hope your hand is ok. At least you know have an interesting story to tell lol
 
Bloody hell kath!

Is this why you are geting rid of your olives?

( you shoulden't get rid of them BTW , someone here should build you a bigger enclosure for free! - I would if I was closer and could bult stuff)
 
Awww thank you Scleropages. That is a generous thought. My olives are gone now (almost, still here but have been paid for) :cry: but are still in town and the buyer agreed to give me first option on them if he decides he don't want them anymore. And no the biting isn't why I got rid of them. I am not scared of them and know better than to act so careless at feed times. My job is almost non-existent and the money I got for them registered my car. If only I could have accepted them stuck in a 4ft enclosure for another 12 months things might be different :( They are 9foot long, she weighs over 6Kg, he is heavier. But I really needed the money at this stage. It is a sickening thought, but a storm I know will pass. Just didn't want Stella and Marlow suffering, waiting it out. Fred is giving them an enclosure so much better than I ever thought to give them. He is putting them outdoors with artificial heating in a large aviary. If only I had thought of it sooner.....but that's how life goes.

You're the 2nd person to say I shouldn't let them go. They will always be mine, no matter where they are. I just read on another site someone wanting to know who had pure locality pythons. Those two olives are pure Katherine locality - both wild caught in same area.
 
Awww thank you Scleropages. That is a generous thought. My olives are gone now (almost, still here but have been paid for) :cry: but are still in town and the buyer agreed to give me first option on them if he decides he don't want them anymore. And no the biting isn't why I got rid of them. I am not scared of them and know better than to act so careless at feed times. My job is almost non-existent and the money I got for them registered my car. If only I could have accepted them stuck in a 4ft enclosure for another 12 months things might be different :( They are 9foot long, she weighs over 6Kg, he is heavier. But I really needed the money at this stage. It is a sickening thought, but a storm I know will pass. Just didn't want Stella and Marlow suffering, waiting it out. Fred is giving them an enclosure so much better than I ever thought to give them. He is putting them outdoors with artificial heating in a large aviary. If only I had thought of it sooner.....but that's how life goes.

You're the 2nd person to say I shouldn't let them go. They will always be mine, no matter where they are.


At least your heart is in the right place Kath!
 
Hey Kath thats a stunning bite from a stunning looking animal, I think you should get rid of him before he does it again. I will be a good samaritan and take him if you like!!! LOL He would go well with mu girl:>)
 
Ive learnt not to touch any of my snakes if ive been handling rodents. Even after washing my hands with soap about five times, then alcohol wipes, one STILL got me. :lol:
 
Hey Kath thats a stunning bite from a stunning looking animal, I think you should get rid of him before he does it again. I will be a good samaritan and take him if you like!!! LOL He would go well with mu girl:>)

Not a chance Dusty. I am sure you would look after him well but he likes my girls and would never consider selling him. Was sad about my olives but Abony will be here till the day he dies.

Nick, I had to wash my floors with soap and water. YOu know blood has that metally smell to it, it was yuck. Lucky my hubby was at work. He would have fainted at the sight of that much blood.
 
Serious ouchies! Glad to hear the kids reacted so appropriately with camera;) and spoon. I'm paranoid about rat smell because it takes so long to wash off my hands. I won't get rodents out of the freezer until the snakes are in position for feeding. There's only one I feed out of the enclosure (because he shares with another snake), so he gets hooked back into his house. Your photos are a good reminder of why this is necessary! If my husband saw that he'd want me to sell the Morelia immediately.
 
The day after..

Hey Noobs, wanna show off a bruise like this, and the back of my hand is still swollen...hehe...Nah, there's nothing to be proud of getting bitten. So don't ever provoke your companions just to show off to your mates. :( It's not worth the stress on the snake. Abony was ok this morning. Back to his usual, calm self.
 

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IF THERE WAS AN AWARD KATH FOR COPPING THE BEST PUNCH YOU WOULD GET IT ...amazing amount of claret...nice bruisy look today ...shouldnt laugh but sweetie thats a humdinger lmao
 
Get some Repti-Hand or any of those hand sanitisers, alot of snakes hate the smell of them and will let go quickly...
 
Nasty looking bite and bruises Kath, That is all you need at the moment. I hope your situation improves and you can get your Olives back
 
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