Hi there!
Umm… It depends on the snake, honestly.
Taking a hit from a tiny bitty baby colubrid is a lot like being slapped with the hooky-part of velcro. It doesn’t hurt, though it can be startling and they usually make an accompanying hiss noise that adds to the jarring aspect of it.
An oopsy-bite or a bluff bite from a larger colubrid snake is like getting smacked real quick with a small cactus. It hurts a tiny bit, but not in a serious way, and it’s really more startling than painful. It’s not something that you’ll be eager to repeat. If you jerk away quickly you might have a tooth break off in your skin and that’s a lot like having a splinter. Again, not fun.
If your snake does bite you, it’s important to stay calm and remember that they’re frightened or hungry and acting on instinct, not being malicious. Snakes aren’t capable of being vengeful and they’ll only be defensive if they feel that they’re in serious danger.
You can avoid a bite by not smelling like food, by maintaining good husbandry, and by watching and respecting your snake’s body language.
Bites happen to even the most experienced keepers, though, so don’t take it as a sign of failure if you do get tagged. If it ever does happen, just take it as a reminder to be more observant and more careful going forward!
My corn once decided that my hands were delicious while I was pulling him out to spend some quality time with him. They didn’t smell like r.ats but they probably smelled like the mollies i used to feed my water snake. Other than scrubbing my hands afterwards, do you have any other advice to make sure my hands REALLY don’t smell like any kind of food?
thisacelovesheadcanons 