# Bite Proof Gloves



## snakekeeper

Is there such a thing as a pair of bite proof gloves? I have spent hours, days even in search for a reliable pair of gloves which I could use while handling my helodermas and v.ammodytes. Every single pair of gloves I find advertised have a little note at the bottom which states that they are not 100% fang proof so my question is do they exist? What do keepers of venomous snakes in this forum use? 

Thanks in advance

Tony


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## vipera

*bite proof gloves*

there was an ad for these in one of the old ihs newsletters, i remember it said that they'd withstood bites from a range of species.
sorry i didnt keep it, but if you contact the ihs secretary i'm sure someone could find the details for you.


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## Adam98150

There was a guy testing various pairs of gloves with hots, I deffo saw it on here. Think it was an article from another site. Try and look it up. : victory:


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## Fixx

Hexarmor gloves.


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## kieran8143

i can understand the need or want for these gloves shall i say, but just wondering not trying to start a argument but could these not hurt/break teeth leaving it wide open for infections etc.


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## paulrimmer69

no manufacturer would put that their products are 'bite proof' as they would be leaving themselves open to a huge lawsuit if a fang did penetrate the glove, thats why the gloves on the market are labelled as 'bite resistant'.


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## paulrimmer69

kieran8143 said:


> i can understand the need or want for these gloves shall i say, but just wondering not trying to start a argument but could these not hurt/break teeth leaving it wide open for infections etc.


i cant see them breaking teeth as they are made from kevlar which is a fibreous material not a solid


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## lukendaniel

vipera said:


> there was an ad for these in one of the old ihs newsletters, i remember it said that they'd withstood bites from a range of species.
> sorry i didnt keep it, but if you contact the ihs secretary i'm sure someone could find the details for you.


 
it was about 2 years ago at the ihs east midland meet, i was there. luke yeoman used his venemoid cobra to test them, think he tried 3 different pairs, thats about as much as i remember


daniel


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## snakekeeper

I'm looking for a pair of gloves which are not stiff like a few I have seen. I need a pair that are quite flexible. I have a pair that I bought from Eurorep a few years back but unfortunately they have been punctured by a few of our larger snakes. In fact I was tagged by an adult gravid female iguana on Wednesday as I was attempting to secure her for a visit to the vet. Normally I don't wear gloves to handle the iguanas but I could see she was in an aggressive mood so I thought sod it, I don't want to be "Bruce Lee'd" today thank you very much.. Wore the gloves and before I could even slide open her door fully she tagged me. The gloves took her bite with ease i'd say. Felt the pressure but nothing else. Burmese, carpets, retics, anacondas and our GTPs, ETBs, seem to puncture them with ease. These are your classic elbow length gloves-the yellow and greyish hide type. I certainly don't want to be trial testing any old gloves on my helodermas or vipera ammodytes. If anyone has a pair of gloves that they recommend I would appreciate it.


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## paulrimmer69

iv only used the hexarmours, they do seem to soften with age but not to the extent that you could them for any delicate work, there are other gloves on the hexarmour website which look alot easier to work with and are labelled as puncture resistant but i wouldnt fancy testing them tbh


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## chewy fyu

what about the gauntlets that where been talked about in prk last year nov issue i think


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## stuartdouglas

They are the hexarmour ones. Yhet are made of three (I think) layers of overlapping hexagonal panels, so if a fang strikes the joint between two panels, it meets the centre of the one below, thereby preventing it from penetrating further. These have been tested with a venomoid Cobra and survived unscathed


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## SiUK

those hexarmour gloves have been tested with a few snakes, including mambas and even a puff adder if i remember correctly as well as different cobras all fully loaded i wouldnt want to try it!


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## Piraya1

I have recently bought a pair of the needlestick resistant gloves from hexarmour, I have tested them with syringes while having the gloves placed on a cushioned stool and only on the palm of one glove.

With standard 1" hypodermic regular bevel needles there was no effect through fast piercing attempts.
10 of 10 trial needles bent and broke after several attempts.
The same size was then used against the gloves to mimic a chewing behavior while deliberately trying to weave the needle through the joints, 1 in 17 needles made it through.

A larger 1 and half inch intradermal bevel needle size was tested then, 
I again mimicked a strike bite piercing trial, the needles did not bend as easily on impact but did nonetheless, they all pierced and stuck in the first layer and possibly the second but no needle protruded on the inside.
10 needles were broken.
When I mimicked rough chewing and deliberately weaved the needles through the joints they succeeded. 1 of 5 needles in this test went through.

I would certainly not put these gloves to the test against snakes with a hand inside, and most certainly from the demonstration of the larger needles you wouldn't want to test them on a hefty gaboon. 
Speaking of which, when I was testing the gloves I was reluctant to find any reports or tests on the internet of venomous snake strike speed and force impact measurements. That could be an interesting thing to document...if only I had the time and equipment to do that i would...


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## paulrimmer69

at the end of the day i would never rely on any gloves to keep me safe, i see them as something that might just keep me out of hospital if i was to be bitten and in that sense even if its a 1 in 5 chance then they are worth the 100 quid i paid for them


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## SiUK

Personally I dont like them, purely because I feel them a bit restrictive when you have them on but I can see why they are useful.

However here is the thread where they were tested on some pretty hardcore snakes, I posted the link before but not since the start of last year sometime so im not sure if everyone has seen it.

Venomdoc Forums :: View topic - Midwest Gloves


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## paulrimmer69

i know what you mean si, i find them useful for opening small tubs with neonates in but dont use them for anything that requires abit of dexterity as like you say they are too thick


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## snakekeeper

So are these *(Hercules™ R8E)* gloves the best on the market? Bit confused with the US forum conclusions. According to a member the new batch were punctured with ease compared to the older model by the same snakes. Not very reassuring.


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## paulrimmer69

id rather take my chances with them than without them though lol


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## bloodpython22

lukendaniel said:


> it was about 2 years ago at the ihs east midland meet, i was there. luke yeoman used his venemoid cobra to test them, think he tried 3 different pairs, thats about as much as i remember
> 
> 
> daniel


 yeah luke tested them all and the cobra bit throught all but 1pair. luke said it was because they only tested them on rattlers at the time and nothing with the biting power of a elapid. so he tried it a home a few time aswell before with some gloves a friend bought him from states and the cobra bit through them aswell and drew blood


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## snakekeeper

paulrimmer69 said:


> id rather take my chances with them than without them though lol


Likewise


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## leecb0

I have spoke to someone who has been bit with a cobra while wearing a pair of these gloves and he said that it stopped the fangs going through but the venom still can seep through the material, so the possibility of an envenomation could still be possible if you had a wound or broken skin. but the hex armor do seem to be the closest thing you could get on the market


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## SiUK

bloodpython22 said:


> yeah luke tested them all and the cobra bit throught all but 1pair. luke said it was because they only tested them on rattlers at the time and nothing with the biting power of a elapid. so he tried it a home a few time aswell before with some gloves a friend bought him from states and the cobra bit through them aswell and drew blood


id be more worried about massive fangs of a viper than an elapid.

Anyway did anyone see the link?


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## paulrimmer69

iv just read it si, people seem to be getting confused as to actually which model of gloves were being used as hexarmour do such a wide range, the ones i have are the hercules r8e, which are the snake gloves on the midwest site, the other model which people often refer to is the 400r6e which as far as i know are the animal gloves and so are slighly less protective than the 1st ones


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## kieran8143

paulrimmer69 said:


> i cant see them breaking teeth as they are made from kevlar which is a fibreous material not a solid



i can see what your saying there, but surely anything that puts up enough resistance to not be penetrated is going to have the power of bending (needle) or breaking (tooth) if enough power from a person/strike is put behind it?


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## paulrimmer69

i see your point but if you try biting some tough cloth then try biting something solid like a piece of steel which one is more likely to break your teeth? i would imagine teeth would be more likely to be caught in the material and ripped out if the snake struggled than actually broke


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## JIMJIM

Hi

Hopefully you don't mind us helping to clarify things in the interest of safety. We sell the Hexarmor range of gloves in the UK. They do two Gauntlets that are listed as bite resistant, however it is the Anti-syringe gauntlet HERCULES R8E 3180 that appears to be the best protection for snake bites. On this link there are some videos of the glove being tested on a large cobra and against syringes.

http://www.aspli.com/products/1802/bite-cut--&-anti-syringe-resistant-gauntlet-gloves-hercules-r8e-3180

Please note the other glove the 400 R6E is designed to protect against crush injury bites from larger animals and indeed humans in secure units etc. so in our opinion would not be suited to fangs. Please note Hexarmor state the gloves are bite resistant not bite proof.


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## leecb0

LOL jimjim this thread is a year old mate, and the subject done to death. and in that time a company in the uk called *snakeprofesional* imports these gloves and has rebranded them as venom *defender gloves*.


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## brian

lukendaniel said:


> it was about 2 years ago at the ihs east midland meet, i was there. luke yeoman used his venemoid cobra to test them, think he tried 3 different pairs, thats about as much as i remember
> 
> 
> daniel


Was A fella selling them at donny show last year not cheap if i remeber right.............£95 or £195.....


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## STReptiles

brian said:


> Was A fella selling them at donny show last year not cheap if i remeber right.............£95 or £195.....


 They were at Hamm as Snake Professional, Venom Defender gloves. Thing is I wanted a few hooks and things but was told I'd have to email the guy and get them in the UK.....why take it to Hamm then if you cant friggin buy them there!!!!


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## venomous111

SiUK said:


> id be more worried about massive fangs of a viper than an elapid.


 Thats what i was thinking, something like a gabby would have a good chance at penertrating these gloves, correct me if im wrong :2thumb:


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## leecb0

venomous111 said:


> Thats what i was thinking, something like a gabby would have a good chance at penertrating these gloves, correct me if im wrong :2thumb:


Well yes the fangs of vipers are longer but elapid's tend to bite and hold on and they have a fairly strong bite force. especially the cobras.


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## chondro13

leecb0 said:


> Well yes the fangs of vipers are longer but elapid's tend to bite and hold on and they have a fairly strong bite force. especially the cobras.


This. Also some of the rear fanged species tend to go through a fast 'bite,chew,move,bite,chew,move' approach to envenomation... ive experienced this first hand with a B.dendrophilia and would imagine something along the lines of a boomslang would be similar (although these are so jittery they could well not latch on for long enough for this so dont quote me on that..) 

Essentially any snake that will put any pressure and 'wiggle' into their bite will have a greater chance of penetrating the glove than a snake with large fangs which tend to do one huge thrusting bite - wich would likely be deflected by the clever layering system of the fabrics. 

Id be interested in a set of these more for dealing with the retics rather than the venomous species to be honest, but thats probably because im not one for the larger heavier venomous species! 

I wouldnt like to even change the waterbowls in my chondro setups wearing gloves, as it would surely slow you down and increase the chance of a bite. Let alone any fast venomous cretin. No?


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## snakekeeper

I've decided to buy a pair to try out with my gilas, beadeds and vipera ammodytes. I very much doubt that the gilas or beadeds will do any damage, but i'm always a bit nervous with venomous snakes no matter how small they are. I'll probably do a few controlled glove tests without my hand in for the horned nose vipers before trying it out for real.


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## DanielF

Ive got a pair of venom defender gloves & although i dont keep anything DWA i have had a 11ft Burm & Mangrove snake take a bite/cue out of them with no problems apart from bite pressure.. so there worth the price IMO


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## lisafay

We brought back some pairs of these from Haam last september, wonder why they weren't selling them at the last show. Perhaps they ran out?

They are the only gloves I've tried on that give me total freedom of movement and hand flexibility.

They have been tested with a gabby, albeit a small one!

YouTube - Gaboon Viper biting into Venom Defender gloves


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## leecb0

DanielF said:


> Ive got a pair of venom defender gloves & although i dont keep anything DWA i have had a 11ft Burm & Mangrove snake take a bite/cue out of them with no problems apart from bite pressure.. so there worth the price IMO


LOL you got bit by a mangrove......were you asleep?


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## DanielF

leecb0 said:


> LOL you got bit by a mangrove......were you asleep?


I was feeding by hand LOL


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## annie.davis

so in conclusion to your op what have you decided to go for??

I have been looking for a pair of Bite proof gloves to protect me from any more trips to A&E (not from a snake or my iggy) but other exotics I keep.

The only ones recommended to me are 'Kevlar Gloves' which are made of the same material as a stab proof vest supposedly and only cost around £15 from army navy stores.

I have yet to try this out but would rather get something that I know someone else has found successful :smile:


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## snakekeeper

I have decided to order a pair of venom defender gloves. Does anyone know where I can order them from to receive a fast and efficient service and of course the cheapest. :2thumb:

Thanks in advance.

Tony


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## Razorscale

snakekeeper said:


> I have decided to order a pair of venom defender gloves. Does anyone know where I can order them from to receive a fast and efficient service and of course the cheapest. :2thumb:
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Tony


On eBay i think you can pick up a pair of the hexarmor that arnt rebranded venom defenders for about 180 euro.


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## atrox1

you can order them from www.snakeprofessional.com they are a uk based company, we did the glove testing at the King Cobra Sanctuary and trust me they work. I personally tested them with bare hand inside the glove and i used gaboon vipers, southern pacific rattlesnakes, Fer de lance, forest cobras, taipans. mambas and a 12 foot male king cobra. Non of which came close tp puncturing the gloves, we wouldnt still be here if they hadn't worked. 

Hope this helps


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