Pips Pet Post #13 - Snake Bites

I've only been bitten by my snakes twice - and both times were entirely my fault. Both were related to feeding responses, rather than defensive procedures. I took photos both times, and despite both of these coming from adult female snakes, neither did much damage at all. The ball python bite was right on the knuckle and I did develop a little bruising and the joint was a little stiff for a few days, but that's all. The bite from Twink I actually felt terrible about - I jerked back in reaction, and 3 of her teeth snapped off in my skin as a result. One was a whole tooth and the other two just partials, but I still felt awful for hurting her. 

What I learned from this is to always be mindful when feeding your snakes, as they can be the friendliest, most docile snake you've ever met, but once that feeding response kicks in, its not down to their temperament anymore, they will go for the nearest warm and moving object. 

Neither of these snakes is terribly large of course, in the grand scale of how large certain snake species can get, of course a tag from a reticulated python or large boa is going to leave much more of a mark, and neither of these species are venomous. Also its key to remember correct terminology - If it bites you and you die, its venomous, if you bite it and you die, its poisonous. There are no poisonous snakes, only venomous ones. 

I only own one venomous snake - Boots the Western Hognose, however hognoses are rear fanged, meaning she would have to get a very good grip on me before any venom could be injected, and their venom is also not strong, and is often likened to the results of a bee sting. Hognoses also are much more common to either playing dead, simply huffing and flaring, or just feign striking, where they hit the offending object with their hard nose scale instead of actually latching on. They are much more of a warning response snake than attack response. I am fortunate however that Boots is an incredibly docile hognose, as some are known to be very "huffy" and dont appreciate handling.