Quick Release

[Marquis]

Hi just wanted to ask how members here get their snakes to release, after the snake has "latched" on to them.
I was picking up my snake to take it for a feed in it's feeding tank, when it struck getting me in the in web of my left hand

By the time I realized what had happened my pet had coiled itself around my right arm and was squeezing for all it was worth, while putting some real bite force on my left hand.

Now I know this would look funny, but a grown male sitting on a chair with a snake attached to each hand bleeding to death is not what I had in mind for my day.:evil:

After thinking about it I went to the bathroom and turned on the taps and ran warm water over my pets head it took about 10 minuets and a bit of choice language I was free.

Just wondering if there is a faster method that won't hurt my vampire snake, in the future should it happen again.

Regards and Thanks to any replies

 

[OldestMagician]

I was told that running the head under the tap was pretty quick

 

[B_STATS]

Unlucky. I always get an instant let go when I get bitten. I must taste bad

 

[Maxwell]

water is the best method i found with my jungle

Apparently Listerine??

[video=youtube;21UBSL_nV_Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21UBSL_nV_Y[/video]

 

[Tankos]

I recomend the tap trick. a fast spray under the tap usually solves that problem... ive herd people using bank and credit cards to lift the teeth out of the skin.. im not sure.. i prefer to not stress the animal anymore then it already is.. water or its just a waiting game. hope it helps. hahaha

 

[caliherp]

I've used both tap water and alcohol. both work good. Never try to rip or force the snake off. If you rip teeth out the snakes mouth can get infected, and if they get stuck in your hand it can swell up and get infected. Also sometimes rubbing the lips has worked for me, other times it just made them clamp harder. The worst is when they try to swallow your fingers.

 

[Marzzy]

Listerine apparently from what I've heard I've never had a feeding bite. Just nips

 

[Red-Ink]

Jack Daniels... A tap to the nose with a cotton bub laced with JD will do the trick, plus it's a good as an excuse as any to have a quick shot of JD while your at it.

 

[disintegratus]

I usually use tap water with Norman. He's learning, these days by the time I've walked over near the kitchen tap, he's already letting go.
Depending on the severity of the bite, I've also had success in forcibly removing them. It's not that hard to do, you just have to be careful about their teeth, and kind of unhook them rather than just pulling them backwards.

 

[butters]

I just use the alcohol wipes I use for cleaning my hands after handling my critters. Just touch it to the corner of their mouth and they let go real quick.


Mind you I haven't been tagged for a few years except by the green tree snakes and they let go straight away.

 

[thomasssss]

my recommendation would be to ditch the feeding tub/enclosure completely and simply avoid putting yourself into the situation you have put yourself into

why do you use a feeding tub ? is it to avoid the snake becoming "cage defensive" or because you have been told they will think food is on offer every time you open the door ? both are misinformation imo

i did it with my hatchie womas for a little while , only while they where really small it was because i wanted to keep them on a loose substrate and was paranoid about compaction whilst they still had relatively small digestive systems , once they aged a bit and where moved into enclosures i stopped , and surprise surprise there was absolutely no change in their attitudes or behaviours

 

[A1SNAKETRADER]

I had my 8 foot 5 kilo bredli female "Fang" nail my left index finger so hard she actually bruised it. She was latched onto my finger coiled around my other arm and had lower third of her body wrapped around cage furniture so there was no chance of getting her to the tap. Lots of blood involved and it was all mine. Ended up having to pry her top jaw up on the corner of the tank. Moral of the story is dont lift the top of her tank up if you smell like snake tucker. Admitedly this was the first night she was in my possession so probably wasnt too happy. Owning snappy reptiles is a great way to improve you response time with your reflexes.

 

[Marquis]

Hi and thanks to all the replies to my question, I am a new owner of an intergrade and was told by the seller/breeder to always feed the snake,in a separate tub to stop the snake from thinking everytime the top came off his enclosure that it was feeding time.

I have had this snake for over 2 months now and when I first got it, putting your hand inside his enclosure was like putting it into a blender with teeth.

But they were only just tags,after about two weeks the bites were only occasional, and nothing much to worry about, this was the first time my snake has ever latched on for all it was worth.

Even when my snake would hiss at times when I went to get it out, it would very rarely bite,when I did get tagged most times it would be once or twice and that was it, so this really caught me off guard.

So from now on I think I will keep a bottle of Listerine around,and a large bottle of Jack Daniels in case I have to wait it out.

Regards and Thanks for your advice.

 

[Ramsayi]

People need to realise how good a snakes sense of smell really is.They know if and when food is coming well before you even bring it into the room.Thinking that feeding in a separate tub is the cue to putting a python into feeding mode is very flawed thinking.

 

[Cold-B-Hearts]

i tried alcohol once he bit down harder. water does the trick

 

[snakeprincess]

I have heard water and alcohol are both good but so far (touch wood) I haven't needed to use anything as I've never been bitten

 

[andynic07]

When my snake bit me I tried alcohol as well, I got through half a bottle before he let go.

 

[izzys1]

I just wait it out, although my 3 aren't very big. I find the more I try to get them off the tighter they hold on

 

[apprenticegnome]

I always use cold water when my female blackhead swallows my finger, ive never heard of using warm. I was lead to believe that the lowering of the snakes body temp was what encouraged it to let go. It can still take a minute or 2 with mine but ive let her let go of my hand on her own and ive managed to eat my dinner while I was waiting.

 

[Pitttownboy]

Just don't get bitten, if you have rodent smell on your hands wash them its called hygiene, you shouldn't be feeding one reptile then handling another without washing your hands anyway. Hygiene people, use rubber gloves for rodents and plain hand for handling less washing involved. People get bitten because they are being lazy and lacking in concentration the snakes doing it because you are tellin it by your smell that its feeding time.