When Nature Strikes!

What happens when you have a very hungry 5 foot ball python and a man with white latex gloves sticking his hand in the feeding tank???

Snake bite!

Serp, our 5 foot long ball python, was ready for his feeding today since he has gone a while without one. We could only acquire a large mouse at the local PetCo (sorry Sarah, I like them better than PetSmart) and he usually eats a large rat. We got two just in case one split or was rotten or whatever. I prepared the hot water to defrost the little bugger while Don transferred Serp into his feeding tank and cleaned out his home tank. I don't exactly like to handle pre-killed anything so I don't actually touch the mouse to make sure that it is completely defrosted (and yes, I do put them into like 3 baggies just to make sure nothing gets out). So, I told Don, "foods ready" and he opened up the bags and held the mouse by its tail (he wears latex gloves while doing this) and then hovered the mouse every so gently above the tank through the open crack at the top. Serp seemed very uninterested because Don told me that, "its too damn cold for him". I was like well, "If he's hungry enough...he'll eat it an be just fine"! Meanwhile, Don was doing the mouse dance (dangling the dead mouse around the tank to piss off the 5 foot snake) to entice Serp. Well, Serp was enticed and was about to strike when the mouse tail slipped from Don's hand and bonked Serp on the head. Serp was pissed, not only because the mouse attacked him...but because the mouse was still an icicle. I was about to go get the other frozen mouse to start defrosting so we could try again, when Don said, "Let me get this one out first!" I was like, "BAD IDEA!!!!!!!!!" Don didn't heed my warning and went to grab the dead frozen mouse. Now lets just think a moment...Don was wearing white gloves that looked like little Mickey Frozen Mouse and he was clearly warm enough to eat and a moving target getting awfully close to the strike zone. Big surprise here, Serp bit Don. Don pulled back and Serp re-coiled, both a little scared. Don has very minor bite wounds and thankfully Serp is a constrictor and not venomous. Serp ripped through the gloves and left 3 or 4 puncture type wounds on the webbing part of Don's hand between his thumb and pointer finger. Not a serious injury at all, so I don't feel bad when I can say, "I told you so" and actually have great proof to back it up with. Don's not much of a baby (I think to protect his masculinity) but if that was me, I would have shit myself and then cried all day long! Good thing I'm not a fuck-tard with nature!