Snake bites - Question for snake owners

Snakes can bite when they try to defend themselves or at least when they get defensive over something they think is threatening them.

Do you get bit often when you handle your pet snakes?
How did it happen? Do they just let go after a fast bite or won't let go?
Do you bleed from the bites?
How do you take care of the wounds?

My thinking is the more important thing to worry about is infection. Bites themselves would probably be painful and depending on where your bite, bleeding wouldn't be much of an issue. The most common location that an owner might be bitten would be the hands and arms.

Now if you owned a poisonous snake, then you should really seek out medical help as soon as possible.

The chief concern is the same with any small puncture wound, infection. Some peroxide, betaine, etc... And its fine. As for how much it bleeds, depends on the size and species of snake, as well as how it actually bit you. Most bites are quick and defensive, and quite a bit of the time they don't even open their mouths, it is just a type of bunt. Occasionally I have had a small snake actually grab and wrap around my hand. Most non-venomous snakes actually have very small teeth, even the larger ones, so most actual wounds are so minor they stop bleeding in a few minutes. The only snake I have in the house that I would actually be worried about getting tagged by (when it's full grown) would be my emerald tree boa. Their scientific name, Corallus canninus, it's derived from the same latin word that gives us canine, and canine teeth.





I do get bitten once in. a while, but I really don't want to scare any possible new snake owners. I have a few baby carpet pythons that are just nippy, but growing out of it. Most common pet snake species aren't nippy at all if captive bred.

@ Fishbone,
How often is "once in a while"?

Do you always bleed every time you get bitten?


"Occasionally I have had a small snake actually grab and wrap around my hand."
Do you mean that small snake wouldn't let go of you when it bit you?

Well, I have one little 2011 jungle jag, Indra, who is still quite scared & defensive. We joke that he may be related to a god of war, hence the name. I don't think I've ever had him out without him tagging me at least once, but he has gotten much better. I'm pretty sure we've already determined that I'm weird, but I actually like the nippy ones, I don't see them as aggressive, I see them as scared, (this actually applies to all animals, not just snakes).

The "bite and wrap" is usually a mistaken feeding response by a confused snake. Doesn't happen often, and only in certain situations with certain snakes. And I almost always bleed a little, the teeth are very sharp, albeit usually very small as well. With most small snakes, the closest thing I could compare it to its getting your finger pricked by one of the little lancet devices they use in doctors offices sometimes, a drop of blood, press it for 5 seconds with a tissue, and that's the end of it.

Are you saying "bite and wrap" mean the snake somehow mistaken your hand or arm as food?

Nippy as for they don't actually use the teeth during the bite?

Why don't you wear gloves? Is it because you prefer direct skin contact to have that soft and cold feel? I have touched a snake once, so I know how it feel like.

Snake biting is the main concern when someone is having pet snakes. And this is the reason I will never get a snake as a pet. When you have children at home,I think pet snakes should be avoided at its best.

(06-20-2012, 01:07 AM)syncvb Wrote: Snake biting is the main concern when someone is having pet snakes. And this is the reason I will never get a snake as a pet. When you have children at home,I think pet snakes should be avoided at its best.

Can see your reasoning but with having parents that have the knowledge and their children showing an interests is not a bad thing. Reptiles and snakes are a whole different level of pet keeping that takes a much larger time sink so to speak in their care.

(06-20-2012, 01:07 AM)syncvb Wrote: Snake biting is the main concern when someone is having pet snakes. And this is the reason I will never get a snake as a pet. When you have children at home,I think pet snakes should be avoided at its best.

We have 2 girls ages 10 and 13, and we also have 15 snakes. The girls have always interacted with them and each girl has their favorites. The most important thing to remember is to teach your children about any pet you bring into your house, not just snakes. Everyone needs to be educated about their animals and respect what they are. You do occasionally get bit with a snake, the same as you do occasionally get bit by your dog, or scratched by your cat. Every animal has its risks.. But you minimize the chances by how you handle/interact with them and educating yourself and others about them.
On a side note, the only animal in the house that bites everytime you touch it is my daughter's pet hamster. That little sucker is mean!

(06-20-2012, 08:42 AM)purplecapricorn Wrote: We have 2 girls ages 10 and 13, and we also have 15 snakes. The girls have always interacted with them and each girl has their favorites. The most important thing to remember is to teach your children about any pet you bring into your house, not just snakes. Everyone needs to be educated about their animals and respect what they are. You do occasionally get bit with a snake, the same as you do occasionally get bit by your dog, or scratched by your cat. Every animal has its risks.. But you minimize the chances by how you handle/interact with them and educating yourself and others about them.
On a side note, the only animal in the house that bites every time you touch it is my daughter's pet hamster. That little sucker is mean!

Most girls are afraid of snakes. How did you get your daughters to love them so much and picking favorite?

Most animals that will bite every time you touch them wouldn't become popular as pets. Is there something you can do with that meanie hamster of yours?

Ram, when the girls were younger we started with two baby corn snakes. Their size was small enough so the girls weren't afraid to hold them. By the time the snakes were bigger they were used to handling them and then we got a suriname red tail boa, which the girls fell in love with. They would just sit and watch tv and chill out with the snake.
Since then we have added to our collection with carpet pythons and tree pythons, plus one emerald tree boa. There are some snakes that the girls have no interest in and we don't push that. But when they ask to hold one, or want to help clean out cages, our even just watch us interact with the snakes we encourage their interest and their questions.
As for the hamster, he was a poorly thought out christmas present she received. He spends his time in his wheel so in order to get to him you have to dismantle the whole cage. Because of this she wasnt holding him enough. With any animal they need constant interaction to get used to you. This is a good e example of making sure you are willing to take on the responsibility of assn animal before you bring it into your home. Unfortunately we didn't know she was getting one until she came home with it.

Well let me also add, that the girls don't ever get any snakes out by themselves. And Ram, I think most people who are afraid of snakes, or any irrational fear for that matter, are that way normally because they don't know much about the subject. Both of our girls understand quite a bit about snakes, they know how to tell if a snake is stressed or posed to strike by their body language, that there are thousands of types of snakes, and almost all of them are harmless, and if they don't know about a certain snake, to leave it alone. I agree, most animals that would bite every time you touch them wouldn't be popular. I wouldn't like animals like that either.

I have no comment on the hamster, I just try to make sure someone gives food and water.

Yeah we know most snakes are harmless, since they only try to defend themselves when they felt being threatened. Many of them are quite tame. They just crawling around and won't bite until you hurt them. It is definitely a good idea to teach everyone at home not just kids about the pets you have. So everyone is a little expert on the subject, and nobody from within your family can mess things up. I wouldn't let my kids to take out my pets from the enclosure either, if I have any kids lol. They will be allowed when they are older.

Late to the party again. But better late than never! *ahem*

The California King at the school is a fan of biting. He gets me, or very nearly misses me, every time I open the cage, regardless of what mood he's in. Most of this is because kings in general are just nippy snakes, but none of the bites ever hurt; they leave pretty clear tooth marks once the bleeding stops but even after a good wash they don't throb or hurt or scar. I picked him up (gloves and hook, the whole nine yards) once just to move, and he was calm as a bomb, then decided that scenting around my arm would be fun. I was willing to give him a chance to figure out I wasn't food. Nope. Scenting for a minute, then a casual bite, then a very determined wrap.

But, the other two snakes have never even tried to bite me, even when they're grumpy that I woke them up or when I smell like frozen mouse. The difference is that they were well cared-for and oft-handled family pets in their former life, and the King is an ex-display animal at a local state park's nature center, who probably dealt with a lot of annoying kids tapping on the glass and not being handled enough at all; like I said, Kings are also known for biting to begin with, so fearing it for biting is like fearing a cat for purring. So I would encourage others to always know the individual and the specie's tendencies. People who don't like the idea of reptiles look at me sideways when I talk about them, but really, they're not so different from other animals at heart.

(07-31-2012, 02:44 PM)ArmyOfDreams Wrote: People who don't like the idea of reptiles look at me sideways when I talk about them, but really, they're not so different from other animals at heart.

Thank you AOD, I'd like to put that on aT-shirt. You just have to want to learn their behaviors. The same way you can tell when a cat or dog is annoyed.

(07-31-2012, 03:45 PM)Fishbone Wrote: Thank you AOD, I'd like to put that on aT-shirt. You just have to want to learn their behaviors. The same way you can tell when a cat or dog is annoyed.

I can follow that part about a snake being in a biting mood when it's annoyed like what happens when a cat or dog is annoyed. Myself, I have totally zero experience with snakes, so I have no idea at all about how snakes think. However I do know that cats and dogs can love their owners. Do snakes also have such emotions?

(07-31-2012, 07:39 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: I can follow that part about a snake being in a biting mood when it's annoyed like what happens when a cat or dog is annoyed. Myself, I have totally zero experience with snakes, so I have no idea at all about how snakes think. However I do know that cats and dogs can love their owners. Do snakes also have such emotions?

No, not really. They can certainly recognize different people, and, appreciate people, I guess I would say. I have a very docile coastal carpet python around my arm and in my lap now. My better half says he is very sweet. But I don't think they have emotions in that way.

(08-01-2012, 09:41 AM)Fishbone Wrote: No, not really. They can certainly recognize different people, and, appreciate people, I guess I would say. I have a very docile coastal carpet python around my arm and in my lap now. My better half says he is very sweet. But I don't think they have emotions in that way.

Yeah, I agree the emotion we have in our mind is really just for humans. Even for dogs and cats they can have something very different in what we call "mood".

For reptiles like snakes, they shouldn't have the same feelings as us.

Most snake bites are defensive in nature. They don't bite just because they are in a "bad mood". I very much doubt they have a "bad mood" at all lol. Everything is instinct based with them.

(08-01-2012, 09:41 AM)Fishbone Wrote: No, not really. They can certainly recognize different people, and, appreciate people, I guess I would say. I have a very docile coastal carpet python around my arm and in my lap now. My better half says he is very sweet. But I don't think they have emotions in that way.

Let me try to digest this. If snakes don't have emotions like love, then I suppose that coastal carpet python around your arm is there in your lap because it feels comfortable being there. Am I right?

(08-02-2012, 04:46 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: Let me try to digest this. If snakes don't have emotions like love, then I suppose that coastal carpet python around your arm is there in your lap because it feels comfortable being there. Am I right?

I remember once on TV at some kind of event, there were several people having python wrapped around them as they were walking on the street. They were asked many questions. They did mention that the key is to have the snake "get to know you". The snake can tell the difference between different people, or at least some snakes. They can get a closer "relationship" with a specific person. If that person is you, then they will feel more comfortable with you.

Of course, there are this different type of "comfortable" situations. In a book I read a while ago, someone caught a wild python. That day he spent the night in the mountain and the temperature was very low. During his sleep, he noticed the python had escaped the cage, and it got into his bed and slept beside him. Why? Because he was warm. It was indeed a more comfortable place for the snake.

(08-02-2012, 04:46 PM)Victor Leigh Wrote: Let me try to digest this. If snakes don't have emotions like love, then I suppose that coastal carpet python around your arm is there in your lap because it feels comfortable being there. Am I right?

Actually, I think that's the perfect way to say it. He's comfortable in his enclosure, he knows he gets fed, has good surroundings, he's comfortable with people in general, and me in particular. So you could say he "likes" me, but it is not an emotionally based decision. Well, at least not in my opinion. Its based on comfort, and his needs.

Come to think of it, I wonder how many types of pets fall into this "comfortable" category. I do know, for sure, that dogs don't. Cats are iffy. Maybe fish would qualify but it's not easy to quantify because they are restrained by their aquarium.

How about insects? I have seen friends keeping praying mantises as pets. Would you say that the praying mantis stays because it is comfortable?

I would say cats do not fall in the "comfortable" category either. They definitely seek their own pleasure, but they seem to have definitive opinions on this, and don't necessarily just go with what suits their needs. And biologically speaking, considering the intelligence of an insect, I would say they definitely do fall into the "comfortable" category, haha. If there's no need to leave, might as well stay.

(07-31-2012, 03:45 PM)Fishbone Wrote: Thank you AOD, I'd like to put that on a T-shirt. You just have to want to learn their behaviors. The same way you can tell when a cat or dog is annoyed.

I would wear that T-shirt, just saying. I'm kind of a fan of the idea of advertising the awesome of reptiles to the greater (and semi-ignorant) population.

The only snakebite I ever received was when I was younger, I was handling a small garter snake and it bit me on the tip of my finger. I felt no pain at all, but I bled profusely. It was like I cut myself with a knife. It's amazing how there was so much blood and yet no pain.