| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/09/2010 : 22:00:09
We came back to look after my corn snake while my 'rents are on holiday. He's a lovely snake, had him almost two years now and I love him to bits.
Anyway, we went in to the study to look at our ****roaches and noticed that James was out in his viv. So opened the door to see him and he hunted and struck me immediately. I wasn't ready for this at all (he's never bitten before and I've never been bitten by a snake before) and I instinctively pulled away. I felt terrible as soon as I had done it, I know you're not supposed to pull away...although it bled a lot it didn't hurt too bad was just a shock. Then I realised his tooth was in me. Pulled out the little snakey tooth and am just mortified.
We realised the most likely reason why he bit: my dad had left some mouse water out (what the mouse has defrosted in) since he was last fed, about 8 days ago. The room smelt weird but we didn't see the water or connect it with the smell till afterwards, so James was probably hungry and hunting because of the smell...?
Have I hurt my snake?? I pulled out a tooth  I always told myself I wouldn't pull away, it's entirely my fault! We've moved the mouse water and was going to feed him tonight, but now I'm scared I've hurt him too much to eat.
I feel terrible |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| mikerichards |
Posted - 16/09/2010 : 09:21:29
Snakes losing teeth in a meal is totally different to having one broken like this, in short, yes it can harm them, its wise to keep an eye out for infection, although its unlikely, it can cause problems.
I know its hard not to pull away, but with time it becomes easy.
To be fair, if I am gonna get bitten by a boa, generally I will pull away, but before he bites, so avoiding the bite all together. That's a little different though, the boa hurts!! |
| n/a |
Posted - 15/09/2010 : 16:58:09
Oh thank you both so much! I was worried I'd really hurt him - I'll keep a very close eye on his mouth, and just feed him tonight as normal.
Thanks both of you  |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 15/09/2010 : 08:50:35
there's not a lot you can do hun and try not to blame yourself, like Scarlett said, they could lose teeth more often than we know about whilst feeding
as you're aware this has happened i would advise having a quick look in his mouth every week or two to keep an eye out for any problems such as abscesses or ulcers but really it should be ok |
| Scarlett |
Posted - 14/09/2010 : 23:23:13
Well I don't think it tends to hurt them as such, it just happens sometimes when they bite something. You never know, he may have lost a tooth when biting and feeding on a mouse before but you can just hardly see it. Don't feel bad about pulling away, it's a natural instinct that not many people can go against. I flinch when my hatchling gets a little nippy lol.
I'd suggest trying to feed him as usual, put the bite behind you, and treat him like the snake you've had for 2 years and loved all that time =] |
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