# Bites and how much do they hurt?



## i.am.idc (Nov 29, 2009)

To all you guys who have been bitten on a scale of 1 to 10 how much does it hurt? Please include what you were bitten by and why and a comparison of the pain!

The reason I ask is I have never been bitten by my monitors without a glove on and I'm wondering maybe with some encouragement I might be able to build up the confidence to just handle them without. I usually pick them up with gloves and then take them off when they calm down, because its the initial grip that triggers them to bite, and thats what I'm scared of!

My little sister is not scared she has been bitten by everything after she did work experience in a reptile shop. Even when she got bitten by my salvator she said it was the worst pain she has ever felt, and I watch my Nile bite her all the time and shake like a pit bull whilst she calmly tells me how painful it is, she now says she doesn't want to handle him anymore!

Just wondering about you guys experiences, I bet I sound like a real pansy :lol2:


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

Ive been bitten by 3 of my reptiles: -

Mr snuffles, an adult male tokay has lightly tagged me a couple of times, doesnt hurt at all, just a bit of blood and broken skin. I have no doubt he could cause significant damage if he bit down and chewed, his teeth are very sharp.

Miss giggles, a subadult female tokay has chewed on my gloved hand and a couple of times pinched my skin through the glove. Again without the glove a proper chew would hurt.

Chloe my 15 month BCI (coming up to 3.5 foot long) has tagged me three times so far, the first two times were quick strikes, neither hurt, just a bit of blood and teethmarks. The third time she struck and didnt recoil, she was biting on my thumb for about 20 seconds. Whilst it didnt really hurt I knew she was biting me and really felt no more than a load of little needles sticking into my thumb. Once shes adult its obviously going to be much the same but bigger and more force 

Stuff like monitors I would imagine can give a nasty, nasty bite; that said I dont keep any


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

My iguana chomped down on my top lip.... very nasty. Didn't hurt but has left a major scar and it bled for aaaaages.

My younger tokay has nipped me, but half heartedly. It stings.

I've been bitten by a leo during breeding season (ow!) and a few diff snakes too.


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## HanRed (May 28, 2010)

i've been bit by skittles (bearded dragon) on a scale of 1-10 it was probably 3...hurt but didn't really hurt that much.
been bit by ziggy (king snake) aswell. don't really remember if it hurt, it was more the shock cos she can move very fast wen she wants too....but again i think it hurt less than getting bit by skittles.

got bit by a hamster and that really hurt,lol. 

but it all depends where they bit ya. skits got my arm and ziggy got my hand


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

I'm not sure which is worse - your sister willing letting herself get bitten repeatedly, or you believing that not being willing to be bitten makes you a pansy!

It is not big or clever to get bitten. These animals bite because they are frightened. Stop frightening them and you won't get bitten. If that means not handling them, so be it. In many cases a reptile will become used to you and will allow you to interact with it. In a very small number of cases, they will actually appear to want interaction - many beardies fall into this category. Most others probably don't. I'm saying "probably" and "appear to", as collectively, I don't believe we really understand reptile behaviour that well. There are lots of theories, but who knows? What is clear is that anything that provokes a bite reaction is something that is causing the animal a lot of stress.

The other issue is that, even if it isn't that painful, it is still a very bad idea to allow yourself to get bitten. The chances of a nasty infection are quite high.


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Okay jeffers. Try taming a rescued mistreated iguana and not recieve a bite or two. Of course he was frightened, he'd been MISTREATED!

The leopard gecko (male) bit during breeding season cause my finger got too close to one of his females. He wasn't frightened but protective.

And my tokay nips when she wants put down. Shes calm upto that point.. it just shows she's had enough, and we always let her go back to her home after that.

And we always use the best hygeine and alchol gels to ensure we dont get infections from bites.

So we dont all think its "big or clever" to get bitten, but when you've been keeping these animals for years and take in rescues sometimes these things happen. Deal with it.


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

maddragon - I wasn't having a go at everyone. It was the attitude of the person in the original post. Deliberately provoking a bite and regarding this as somehow "macho".

If you are going to attempt to "tame" a reptile, you need to understand their behaviour. Iguanas are notoriously difficult to tame. This is probably because they inherently don't want to interact with us. Reptiles are not dogs. They are often solitary by nature and don't want interaction with anything they can't eat. I'm not saying that you can't get them to tolerate you, but you are fooling yourself if you think they really want to be picked up.

As I said, there are exceptions, but in the majority of cases reptiles don't relish our company.


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## Wrench (Feb 9, 2010)

Never been bitten by a rep luckily but I've had a ferret hang on to my eyebrow for dear life . That hurts somewhat.

I agree with maddragon, you can't just say every reptile is frightened when it bites you because thats a cop out excuse and is not always the case, there are a variety of reasons why a rep may bite you and as you said your self we don't fully understand their behaviour so I think it's perfectly reasonable to say people don't just get bit because they are frightening their animal or causing it distress plus if your going to get an animal used to you then it may stress it a little bit before it finally relaxes with you but you should understand when it is stressed etc before you do so.

However I do agree that bitiing should be prevented and not encouraged and not just dealt with by wearing gloves.


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

We cannot fully understand dogs either. Isn't it true that when dogs were originally being "domesticated" that they would have been treated much the same way? As wild animals that were made to tolerate? indeed some breeds still have that inner wildness. Again you cannot understand a dog either, who's to say it wants to come to you or whether its just been made to feel it has to?


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

*Savannah Bite*

I have been bitten by my 18 month old *Savannah monitor* lizard.:gasp:

It happened when i wasnt concentrating whilst feeding.
I took him out of the tank for feeding and had a locust in my hand whilst looking away talking to my girlfriend.

Savannah Monitors have rear facing razer-like teeth and their crushing power is unbelievable. I had to waite for for around a minute or so of crushing & slicing and waite for him to take another bite before i could have my hand back.

Due to the razer like cuts and the immense cruching power i would rate my bite at a

*9/10 !!!!! :no1:*

P.S The locust was fine haha
P.P.S I know use gloves and tongues


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## Wrench (Feb 9, 2010)

maddragon29 said:


> We cannot fully understand dogs either. Isn't it true that when dogs were originally being "domesticated" that they would have been treated much the same way? As wild animals that were made to tolerate? indeed some breeds still have that inner wildness. Again you cannot understand a dog either, who's to say it wants to come to you or whether its just been made to feel it has to?


Well this is a very big topic . I study behaviour in dogs extensively and there are many myths and things that have only recently come to light and I don't beleive we do fully understand dog behaviour however I don't beleive they are made to come to us. Until recent years they were thought to be being dominant and you must be dominant with your animal to be the "pack leader" and this has recently been proven to be false and many dog trainers seen on tv are going about things in the wrong way (mentioning no names) but in the end the only thing we can do is what we know to be best for our animal but as we gain more and more knowlege about the behaviour of these animals one can only hope our understanding and care for them improves. Anyway, were getting off topic .


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## My plague (Aug 15, 2009)

maddragon29 said:


> My iguana chomped down on my top lip.... very nasty. Didn't hurt but has left a major scar and it bled for aaaaages.
> 
> My younger tokay has nipped me, but half heartedly. It stings.
> 
> I've been bitten by a leo during breeding season (ow!) and a few diff snakes too.


A leo!!??
Wimp! :whistling2:
I get bit by my leos when they think my fingers are food. It's funny :lol2:


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Repidge said:


> P.P.S I know use gloves and tongues


Tongues? Surely that could be quite problematic... how do you manage that? :lol2:


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## 1uk3 (Jun 18, 2010)

I have had the obvious tokay bite was only a youngster tho so didn't hurt. There has been a dune gecko, hatching frilled and hatchling cwd they was the same tho nothing to them

Best was a friends 4ft spectical Cayman that got me was so quick I didn't realise at first but the blood assured me that she got me. Didn't hurt as much as you think tho 

Luke


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

My plague said:


> A leo!!??
> Wimp! :whistling2:
> I get bit by my leos when they think my fingers are food. It's funny :lol2:


Hey he was a big male... and i still have the scar lol.
The odd wee food bites nothing, but when you mess with a males missus... god help you


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

*Savannah Bite*

I have been bitten by my 18 month old *Savannah monitor* lizard.:gasp:

It happened when i wasnt concentrating whilst feeding.
I took him out of the tank for feeding and had a locust in my hand whilst looking away talking to my girlfriend.

Savannah Monitors have rear facing razer-like teeth and their crushing power is unbelievable. I had to waite for for around a minute or so of crushing & slicing and waite for him to take another bite before i could have my hand back.

Due to the razer like cuts and the immense cruching power i would rate my bite at a

*9/10 !!!!! :no1:*

P.S The locust was fine haha
P.P.S I know use gloves and tongues


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

I didn't want to start an argument! Sorry if it has appeared that way.

You are right, of course. We don't even understand each other that well, sometimes! Nevertheless, dogs are pack animals and in most cases accept us as members of their pack. They also initiate interaction - how often do reptiles do this?

I still stand by what I said. Your leopard gecko was "stressed" when you approached his female. Your Iguana was stressed by being frightened. Your Tokay was stressed because he didn't want to be handled. Obviously you didn't mean to stress them and in the case of your iguana, the reason why he was stressed is ultimately down to the low-life that had mis-treated him originally.

At the end of the day, you can only be commended for giving these animals a high standard of living and attempting to stress them as little as possible. Unfortunately, as you say, it is impossible to avoid this totally. It's inevitable that accidents will happen - and I'm quite happy to live with it!


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## SandiskReptiles (May 13, 2009)

i have been bitten by my crested gecko - like someone cannot remember who said not the fact he was frightened, just had enough and wanted to be put down and go to sleep or whatever. Didn't hurt, just a tiny pinch..didn't feel anything really.

My adult female leopard gecko has bitten me too - again not frightened just she got so excited over a mealworm sitting inbetween 2 of my fingers she thought she'd get a shot at having my fingers aswell as the worm. 

My friends cornsnake bit me - again not frightended but food was involved. He went to strike the mouse but caught the side of my hand instead...no hard done just a tiny bit of blood and broken skin.

Now the funniest one was my cousins male leopard gecko who again someone mentioned happened to them to - He was in breeding season ....i went to look at his lady friend and he snapped at me...just being protective.

Just because a reptile bites does not mean one bit they are frightened or they fear humans. It depends on the reptiles mood.


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## eddinator5145 (May 13, 2010)

i was bitten by an adult male leopard gecko

which dosent hurt at all

on scale of one to ten it was average

its like a mouse trap with a crappy spring


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Several of these "bites" were just mistakes - the reptiles aimed at something else and missed. The "protective" behaviour is also "stress".


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

Ophexis said:


> Tongues? Surely that could be quite problematic... how do you manage that? :lol2:


 

haha my bad, *TONGS : victory:*


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Jeffers3 said:


> Several of these "bites" were just mistakes - the reptiles aimed at something else and missed. The "protective" behaviour is also "stress".





Jeffers3 said:


> It is not big or clever to get bitten. These animals bite because they are frightened.* Stop frightening them and you won't get bitten. *


But your original post said the above.


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## Wrench (Feb 9, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> I didn't want to start an argument! Sorry if it has appeared that way.
> 
> You are right, of course. We don't even understand each other that well, sometimes! Nevertheless, dogs are pack animals and in most cases accept us as members of their pack. They also initiate interaction - how often do reptiles do this?
> 
> ...


lol nobody is arguin, were discussing, nobody is having a go at you or anyone .

This is one of the common "misconceptions" about dogs, wild dogs can indeed be pack animals but the common pet is mostly not. Many people compare them to wolves saying there is an alpha male etc but this is not the case at all. Dogs are completely not like wolves and do not see you as part of their "pack" in any way. They see you, much like reptiles (imo), as their feeder, the one who provides the food. 

I think you missed my point a little there, putting everything under the catagory of "being stressed" is a bit naive because their behaviour is much more complicated than that. for example saying a gecko is stressed when you go near the female is probably untrue, it is just exhibiting a natural behaviour and instinctively defending his female so he can pass on his genes and not because he is stressed but as we both agree we can only care for these animals to the best of our understanding. I mean we are all on here to learn more about our and other peoples reptiles so we can further out knowlege and care of them.


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## Industrial (Jan 16, 2010)

The worst I ever had was from a tiny little Wall Lizard that bit the end of my finger, it held on like a bull dog and couldn't get it off, every time i tried she just bit harder :lol2:


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

haha Its hard trying to get your hand back without hurting the little fellas


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## Catfud (Mar 2, 2010)

I've been bitten by my bosc of few times usually during feeding time, she gets very excitable when there's food about and goes after anything that moves. I usually feed her from a gloved hand and have the other hand free. She lets me touch her with the free hand without problems most of the time, occassionally if my fingers are moving a bit to much she'll have a chomp on one.

I'd give the pain about 3 but she is only a young bosc, her teethe marks can feel like having lots of tiny paper cuts on my hand. My girlfriend was unlucky when we first got her as she missed a cricket and clamped down on her finger nail. The pressure from her jaws on the nail was quite painful.

When she is out of 'hunt mode' I can handle her without any gloves. She is getting better with time.

The initial shock of being bitten for the first time was far worse than the actual bite, but again she is only a young monitor!


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## kirky1980 (Apr 4, 2010)

iv never been bitten by a rep but my staffy caught me once on the hand it was my own fault though i threw his rubber ring in the air and went to catch but he wanted it to and caught me and that bloody hurt i was just glad once he realized he had me he let go but the bite was incredible

note to self stop playing with the dogs toys lol


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## Michelle G (Feb 27, 2008)

I have been bitten by a large adult male leo and that didnt really hurt was more the shock...it was completely my fault I put my hand in his viv and he hadnt seen me so made him jump
and was bitten by my female crestie checking her calcium sacks, I always imagined cresties to be really gummy but they have a really hard bite...think that hurt more than the leo but it was much more intentional x


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## PhillyDee (May 17, 2010)

Repidge said:


> P.P.S I know use gloves and tongues


You use your tongue to feed them? Im surprised you can still talk :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## i.am.idc (Nov 29, 2009)

I do not think it is anything to do about being macho or not. Actually I care about my lizards quite a bit! I simply ask because I feel it is better to handle them without gloves as the gloves may scare them, however I too am scared and I just wanted to know if it actually hurts or not! I have never or would never provoke anything to bite me! But sometimes I cease interaction, which the animal initiates, because I am scared that it may bite me! I simply want to know if it is worth buying gloves or should I just take a deep breath and let the lizard do what it wants! The first time my sister got bitten by the nile he was sitting calmly on her hand for over 10mins then just went for her thumb! My lizards do not bite often, most times they don't, they have actually attempted to bite less than a handful of times if I dont count my nile :lol2: I am just as I said before curious about how much it actually hurts! 

Thanks for all positive replies :2thumb:


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## Repidge (Jun 17, 2010)

Dnt need a tongue to type haha


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## Mysterious_121 (Feb 18, 2010)

i was bitten by one of my beardy's as i was hand feeding her and she mistook my little wiggly fingers for a big wiggly worm. that hurt a little but she looked really guilty afterward so i gave her a big cuddle bless her heart. 

I have been fortunate enough not to be bitten by anything else


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## Love Pets (Nov 23, 2009)

I haven't been bitten by any reptiles,just by other animals lol.
On a scale from 1 to ten:
Dog bite...adult german shepherd(not playing)...6/10
Cat bite...siamese...4/10
My canary:lol2:...1/10
Dwarf hamster(R.I.P.:neutral...I really stressed him and I felt sorry for that...8/10(yeah...hurt more than a dog bite)
And I have been bitten by other small animals but really doesn't hurt at all:biteme:


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## perrythe1 (Oct 24, 2009)

Luckily i have not been bitten by any of my reptiles, but i got a feeling that my leachianus is going to give me payback when he/she is older, as when i have to clean out the faunarium he clings on to the plastic plants and doesnt let go, i wreckon hes going to hold a grudge against me, and get me back. Il let you know on the pain meter then :2thumb:


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## panteraholz (Mar 29, 2010)

Catfud said:


> I've been bitten by my bosc of few times usually during feeding time, she gets very excitable when there's food about and goes after anything that moves. I usually feed her from a gloved hand and have the other hand free. She lets me touch her with the free hand without problems most of the time, occassionally if my fingers are moving a bit to much she'll have a chomp on one.
> 
> I'd give the pain about 3 but she is only a young bosc, her teethe marks can feel like having lots of tiny paper cuts on my hand. My girlfriend was unlucky when we first got her as she missed a cricket and clamped down on her finger nail. The pressure from her jaws on the nail was quite painful.
> 
> ...


Yeaahhh the clamping down on my nail was brutal. 7 out of 10 for that one!


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## bumbleyjoe (Feb 5, 2010)

Been bitten by lots of small animals, rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, birds etc. They all hurt a little but it all depends on the bite (when i got bitten by a rat and i pulled my finger away and ripped a big gash down each side of my finger - that hurt!!)

Dog bites hurt, but i wouldnt have said a hamster bite hurts more! (i hid the dogs ball behind my back and he decided to get it by going through me! got some nice parralel scars on my ribs to prove it!)

As for reps, been bitten by my beardie, leo and water dragon, none of which hurt or drew blood. Not really been bitten by my tokay except for when she was younger and it didnt really hurt that much! (touch wood) i havent been bitten by my bosc yet but expect that would hurt!!!


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## reptara (Feb 18, 2010)

Ha ha the most painful bite I have ever received was from an african pygmy hedgehog, them bad boys hurt 
And no she wasn't stressed out she was just blind and I smelt like meal worm


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## Kibalus (May 5, 2010)

Worst bite I ever got was from a Bull Mastif. On my face. When I was 6.
Yea... I kinda avoided dogs after that lol! 

Reptiles wise, I've been bitten by a whole spectrum of smaller-med.sized lizards/snakes while herping and none ever left any marks or inflicted any serious pain. I'd say 1/10 hehe.

Worst was a bite from an adult wild Iguana I caught on St. John, that I'd have to say was 3/10


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## 5hadowfax (Jun 10, 2010)

My leo got me once, was rushed into intensive care and had to have 4 blood transfusions.


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## perrythe1 (Oct 24, 2009)

5hadowfax said:


> My leo got me once, was rushed into intensive care and had to have 4 blood transfusions.


:lol2:


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Have to agree on the hamster bite pain! My daughter has one and the little so-and-so is very nippy when a hand is first placed in the cage. He is very greedy and grabs at things and as his eyesight doesn't seem too good, he often mistakes fingers for food! How can such a little creature inflict so much pain? I'm now far too cowardly to try to pick him up!

Never been bitten by a reptile. My beardie, Hagrid, will grab food from my fingers, but has so far been quite accurate!


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## rancidmunkey (Mar 11, 2009)

I got chewed by my 9month old Bosc :gasp:

I have been trying to get him to follow food out of the viv and onto my hand so he gets used to my hands. 

I was using a bit of diced turkey and my fingers....He didnt bite my fingers though, infact he was really gentle. 

The back of my hand must have smelt like turkey coz after he ate the bit I had for him he started smelling my hand. it must have had some turkey grease or something that smelled tasty on it coz he grabbed the skin and tried pulling :lol2:
It didnt hurt all that much (again he's only about 9 months old) and he wasnt really trying to eat me. I smelled good and he was just trying to see if he could eat me. But as soon as he realised he couldnt he let go and just slowly backed off. It was kinda cute.

He drew a little blood but I was more impressed with how calm and cool he was about the whole thing.


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Been bitten by a crested gecko on a mission to kill my hand, and that bloody hurts! They too have sharp little teeth!

Lana, me leo, chomped on my finger when she was younger by accident, but that was more of a nip bless her 

Oh and Nermal, the OH's cat bit me once 

xx


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## redcherry (Aug 4, 2009)

Yuffie, my leo bit my finger when i was giving her a waxworm. she didnt mean to, she went to grab the worm but grabbed my finger instead. she soon let go though. that was when she was a bit younger.....shes more accurate now. it didnt hurt, it was just more of a shock.


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## clob91 (Jul 29, 2009)

bearded dragon bit me through my own fault... didnt hurt at all tbh, it was on my index finger and had a circle of teeth cuts around my finger. its more shock than anything.

bit by one of my old cornsnakes, didnt hurt either


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## krox2008 (Aug 9, 2009)

you lot who are giving boscs a 9/10 are wimps:lol2: i would give a boscs a 5 if that and i might give my 44in tegu a 7 when he got hold of 1 of my toes now that hurt but thay is nothing compared 2 a tree python now that husti would give that a 8 but if you wont pain you should try geting bitun by a ferret that has th get a 9 every time:lol2:


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

Can't agree with you Krox - rats and hamsters bites are worse than a ferret's. There's something particularly nasty about getting those long curved incisors stuck in your finger! Worse still is the pain when you try to snatch your hand away!

Going even further off-topic: anyone else ever been bitten by a small pike (far worse than a big one). I've never known so much blood from a finger! The lacerations are incredible. They have thousands of tiny razor-sharp teeth. The pain isn't the problem, but the blood.... !!


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## jjbennett (Jun 14, 2010)

I've only been bitten by a mates gecko once, was a wierd experience, not painful.

I did get bitten on the face by a dog when i was younger, i have a scar down my top and bottom lip from a deep cut at the top and a complete tear on the bottom lip. THAT was painful and had a LOT of blood.


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## [email protected] (Sep 6, 2009)

havent really been bitten by a reptile apart from my crestie. i was hand feeding her and i wasnt paying attention so i didnt realise she had the other half of the meal worm in her mout  she got angry and nipped at my finger ( ididnt even realise until i saw him ) 0.5/10 lol 

i agree small animal bites are very painfull (especially gerbills!!! )


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## Mysterious_121 (Feb 18, 2010)

one of my chubby beardy's is on a diet (only 6 hoppers and lots of salad daily as he was declared a bit overweight by vet when he went in to be wormed) so very very hungry. i made the mistake of allowing him to see the box of hoppers i was going to feed him. picked out 2 dusted them and opened the tank door to chuck them in and he flew out and grabbed both the hoppers and my finger. bit clean through the nail and through the skin in a nice semicircle shape - had to cliper the dead part of the nail off and dress up the flappy skin where once there was a finger - it HURT more from shock and then from throbing as it was quite deep. poor little munchkin. needless to say im a lot quicker now LOL hes back on 10 - 12 so less likely to powerleap at me.


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## Kibalus (May 5, 2010)

Jeffers3 said:


> Going even further off-topic: anyone else ever been bitten by a small pike (far worse than a big one). I've never known so much blood from a finger! The lacerations are incredible. They have thousands of tiny razor-sharp teeth. The pain isn't the problem, but the blood.... !!


I've been bitten by pleanty of fish, or gotten stabbed by their fins  and I'll agree with you. Pike bites are annoying as hell. 
From my experience they dont hurt much at all, but like you said, the amount of lacerations the small thing can cause is insane haha


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## SWMorelia (May 15, 2007)

Should read the section before posting


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## panteraholz (Mar 29, 2010)

krox2008 said:


> you lot who are giving boscs a 9/10 are wimps:lol2: i would give a boscs a 5 if that and i might give my 44in tegu a 7 when he got hold of 1 of my toes now that hurt but thay is nothing compared 2 a tree python now that husti would give that a 8 but if you wont pain you should try geting bitun by a ferret that has th get a 9 every time:lol2:


Ferrett bites dont hurt as much as hampsters!:lol2:


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## bumbleyjoe (Feb 5, 2010)

reptara said:


> Ha ha the most painful bite I have ever received was from an african pygmy hedgehog, them bad boys hurt
> And no she wasn't stressed out she was just blind and I smelt like meal worm


Lol, i got bitten on the nose by a common garden hedgehog i was overwintering, Didnt hurt atall but did bleed abit. The awkward part was explaining what these paralel cuts on my nose were to people at work!


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## nathanjupp (Mar 23, 2008)

i get bit by my cat on a daily basis! apparently she is playing but it doesnt seem it when she goes for veins lol!:lol2:

been bit my my bci, shes about 3-4ft. didnt really hurt but somehow she left 3 teeth in there and has scarred my hand! more shock than anything.

also my tegu is getting closer and closer to getting me! when i open the viv he walks out and then i place his in a BIG tub for feeding but hes just realised he can jump when he noctices i have food! even though i dont hand feed he can still jump into my lap if im knelt down
been nipped by a goldfish once, it tickled :no1:


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## crazyconstrictorz666 (Sep 24, 2008)

my 11 foot burm and my 8 foot burm have bitten and constricted my arm due to drunken feeding rituals and the most painfull BITE to date is my 10 inch bosc monitor lol


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## Tilly1988 (Dec 6, 2009)

I've had a few bits, not all reps 

My female beardie grabbed my hand by mistake, but let go instantly when she realized. 

1/10

another, Had been drinking the night before, so was slightly numbed to the pain. Awoke at 5am to a pinching/stinging/burning pain on my lower back. Whilst the cogs were ticking over in my head about what was happening, I felt it again a little higher up. Confused I lay still a second longer to feel a third one.

I leapt out of bed and heard a 'buzzing', switched on the light and couldnt see anything, but could hear it. My back felt like it was on fire! Looked in the mirror to see 6/7 pimple like sting all up my back! Must of done a few whilst I was sleeping. After an hour of hiding in the living room I went back to bed.

Woke up in the morning, to find a queen wasp wandering about the floor. I killed it lol, felt like I had a major stitch, itching like mad, and a bad hangover. Great start to the day! 

6/10 

Again, in bed, on my back. A VERY bad pinching pain in the center of my back, jumped out of bed again... an adult black cricket. Ow... Fed to Coby. 

8/10 (yes, it really hurt!)

Walking around a castle when I was 8, a Labrador grabbed my thigh and tried to keep running. The workers in the castle let their crazy dog run around. 

5/10

Walked into my friends back garden, a rottweiler was staring me in the face, he didnt mention his new edition, a fully grown slobbering machine, in his back garden when he rang me 5 minutes ago and told me to use the back door... I ran. It caught me. It bit my ass. It hurt. 

8/10

A slow-worm, catching it as a kid, hung onto my little finger. 

4/10

All I can remember for now. lol : victory:


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## Chris_and_Kellogs (Mar 22, 2010)

Ive been bitten by an extra lkarge locust... that really hurts!:lol2:


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

My OH was bitten by one of my cresties, he said it didn't hurt, felt like sandpaper LOL, Keiko has hanging onto his finger hehe


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

got bitten by my bosc bare hand that hurt


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## Apples (Jun 5, 2010)

kirky1980 said:


> iv never been bitten by a rep but my staffy caught me once on the hand it was my own fault though i threw his rubber ring in the air and went to catch but he wanted it to and caught me and that bloody hurt i was just glad once he realized he had me he let go but the bite was incredible
> 
> note to self stop playing with the dogs toys lol


:lol2:

Same here never been biten by my beardie but my old staffie sunk his tooth straight through the fleshy bit between thumb and finger... playing tug of war with him! f:censor:k me that really bloody hurt :gasp:


dready the day I ever get bit by my beardie..... or anything else come to think of it


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## wildlifewarrior (Jun 26, 2008)

been bit by over 100 animals from lizards and snakes to tortoises and fish

thats what happens when you work in wholesale




anyway the bites arent bad really....after they unclamp the pain stops.....its the nails you need to watch out for...they shread you apart


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## Spuddy (Aug 24, 2009)

wildlifewarrior said:


> been bit by over 100 animals from lizards and snakes to tortoises and fish
> 
> thats what happens when you work in wholesale
> 
> ...


 
Ouch, didnt realise you kept Tigers!


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## HanRed (May 28, 2010)

Apples said:


> :lol2:
> 
> Same here never been biten by my beardie but my old staffie sunk his tooth straight through the fleshy bit between thumb and finger... playing tug of war with him! f:censor:k me that really bloody hurt :gasp:
> 
> ...


Beardies really don't hurt that much...but guess it depends where they get ya. Skittles bit my arm......and i'm a wuss,lol. Still got a mark after a couple of weeks but was a pretty lame bite really,lol. Had worse from a hamster,lol


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## Miss Lily (Oct 3, 2008)

I got bitten by a locust the other day! Wasn't expecting it and it hurt! Left a red mark too little :censor:! I got my own back by feeding it to one of my chameleons! :lol2: By far the worst bite is a female chinchilla who HATES the male that you smell of! Not only do they sink the teeth in but they grind them too! I will never forget that nasty girl hanging from my finger!:devil:


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## Melonhelmet (Nov 11, 2008)

Been bit by a Adult 9inch female leopard gecko, didnt hurt lol she thought my finger was a crickets.

also bit by a 2 foot corn.... Lol no pain but I laughed alot

Leo Bite: 2/10
Young Corn Bite: 0.5/10


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## xx-SAVANNAH-xx (Jan 9, 2010)

firstly i cant believe how many people get bitten lol. luckily the only time i was bitten was by my beardie which mistook me for his cage mate and as soon as his lips touched my hand he moved away. i own 2 savannah monitors one of which has serious attitude, nile monitor and python and havnt been bitten. You guys need to be more careful and study there movement.


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## Melonhelmet (Nov 11, 2008)

xx-SAVANNAH-xx said:


> *firstly i cant believe how many people get bitten lol.* luckily the only time i was bitten was by my beardie which mistook me for his cage mate and as soon as his lips touched my hand he moved away. i own 2 savannah monitors one of which has serious attitude, nile monitor and python and havnt been bitten. You guys need to be more careful and study there movement.


Well, the two times Ive been bit were during feeding and the animal missed the food and nicked my hand.... Although the cornsnake missed the mouse and the tongs... Aim fail.


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## wildlifewarrior (Jun 26, 2008)

xx-SAVANNAH-xx said:


> firstly i cant believe how many people get bitten l


how many years have u been keeping reptiles for though?

ive been working with them for 18 years and work with 1000's each and every year


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## i.am.idc (Nov 29, 2009)

xx-SAVANNAH-xx said:


> firstly i cant believe how many people get bitten lol. luckily the only time i was bitten was by my beardie which mistook me for his cage mate and as soon as his lips touched my hand he moved away. i own 2 savannah monitors one of which has serious attitude, nile monitor and python and havnt been bitten. You guys need to be more careful and study there movement.


I like your way of thinking :2thumb:


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## hanpan (Mar 9, 2010)

i've been nipped by my adult male leo. took me by surprise, but didn't hurt, felt like sandpaper scraping my finger...

but.....as poeple are talking about other bites they've received

my 3 year old son was having a paddy one day and sunk his teeth into my shoulder....that hurt like hell! (6/10) and the bruise i had from his 'loving' bite lasted about 2 weeks... thankfully he's grown out of his biting stage.


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

bitten by my big male CWD, he got my finger not the cricket. took the tip of my finger off (just the skin not to the bone or anything) that hurt!

been bitten a few times by my palm gecko - hes much like an angry tokay (i normally leave him to it but like to handle him once a month to check hes shedding ok and doesnt have any other problems)

been bitten by my big royal pytthon a couple of times. didnt hurt more the shock of having a snake wrapped around your wrist chewing on your hand :whistling2:


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## emova (Mar 23, 2010)

my male chinese water dragon is a fat boy and thought my pink nail varnish looked yummy. so he munched down on my finger.
wouldnt say it hurt at all but i have a lovley imprint scar running through my nail.
been bitten by my nephews baby cwd aswell once and tht did actually hurt a bit. lol


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## Apples (Jun 5, 2010)

Miss Lily said:


> I got bitten by a locust the other day! Wasn't expecting it and it hurt! Left a red mark too little :censor:! I got my own back by feeding it to one of my chameleons!


This has just increased my fear of locust even more :lol2:


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## phoenixwoof (Aug 23, 2007)

i think that we all get a nip now and again and it doesnt matter how tame your reps are...if you are an enthusiast with quite a few reps its going to happen - whether you know you animals inside out or not. in my experience its always a food thing!!! or a foot thing - my beardies have a thing for my toes!!! worse pain ive had from a bite is one of my ackies at feeding time. clamped on and would not release for about 2 minutes... i still have the scar on my finger!


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## Mybeardiebigdave (May 27, 2010)

*Adder Bite*

I was fishing down the canal and i reached down to grab my can of coke and i felt a thud and a sting in my arm!!! 

As i turned around i noticed a snake was on the floor!!

My dad was fishing on a peg further up and i yelled dad!! as i did that i looked at my arm as it started to swell and it felt all hot!! i thought 'not that bad ' i was 18 at the time ....

I had 2 puncture wounds to my arm and at the time it felt like a big ball was growing under my armpit!! it was sore but no real pain .... ha ha how wrong would i be ....

My dad said steve we have to get you to the hospital i said it's not that bad ... my dad said ; you will feel it later ....

i got to hospital and i expected a four hour wait as you do ... i was straight into a bed and had a doctor with me in seconds ... 

i was a little bit worried at this point and i asked my dad ' is it really that bad? to which he replied 'it's gonna get alot worse'

5 hrs after the bite i was throwing up, i had severe diorhea, i had a pain in my waist like somebody was tying knots in my intestinnes ... my gums had swollen, my lips had swollen i was in a bad way...

aparently i lost conciousness a few times ... 

Next thing i remember is being on a drip with the doctors asking if i was ok

I made a full recovery and i was told that adders have 2 sorts of venomous strikes ... ( 1 for hunting their prey ) and one for ( defense )
the doctor predicted that i kopped the hunting bite .. .

Im 24 soon and to this day i have never experienced pain like it ...

So for all its trouble my Adder bite gets 10/10: victory:


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## Puck (Mar 24, 2010)

I got tagged by my burmese python who was 8 foot at the time, she was obviousley still hungry when I tried to put her back in her viv after feeding time, but by far the most painful bite I've had is from a 4 month old Argus monitor! He was only a baby but his teeth went clean through my thumb nail and he hung on for half an hour! :whip:


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## xx-SAVANNAH-xx (Jan 9, 2010)

wildlifewarrior said:


> how many years have u been keeping reptiles for though?
> 
> ive been working with them for 18 years and work with 1000's each and every year


its true iv only been working with them for a couple of years and obviously havnt handled a thousand reptiles but my thoughts are still the same you need to be careful of course accidents happen but if your on the ball you shouldnt get bit by anything. Im confident with handling anything, really wanna try crocodiles.


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## RhianB87 (Oct 25, 2009)

Ive had a nip from my leo, took about 20 seconds for her to give up! It was about 4/10 but it was more the shock as she have never bitten me in 6 years!

My worse bite was when my old rat decided my thumb was a great chew toy and I ended up playing tug of war when he started to drag my hand down a tube!! There was alot of blood! Had to be about 8/10

One of the most painful things is ever been through thanks to an animal was when I climbed out of a pen with a highland cow in it and the adult female got me across the back of my legs with a horn!


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## MamaBelle (Jul 18, 2008)

I got bitten by one of my Beardies years ago, He was a glutten and missed the locusts i was holding. Just made me jump.

My hubby got bitten by our first Leo about 10 years ago and he said it didn't hurt but he had a crescent shape imprinted into his finger which she'd mistook for a waxworm.

I had a Yemen Chameleon about 6 years ago and one day i went to spray her tank and feed her and she seemed to have lost the use of her back legs.
On the way to the vets she bit down quite deliberately on my hand in between my thumb and fore finger, She didn't stop and squeezed harder and harder for about 2 mins. I've always felt it was her equivalent of holding my hand to help with whatever pain she was suffering and sadly she died later that night :-( I've never held it against her. That was a bit sore, but she was clearly suffering.

And last week i was tagged by my Juvie Albino Cali King!, It's the 1st time she's gotten any of us and she was hungry, i was cleaning and moving tanks around that day and smelt like god knows what to her. It didn't hurt in the slightest and i only knew she'd gotten my cos i saw it and it bled.:blush:

However by far the worst pain i have had from any of my reps was about 5 years ago and My female Panther was to blame.
I was feeding her waxies as a treat and after she'd snagged it and bitten down, the damn thing squirted straight into my eye...:mf_dribble:
It was quite a shot since i was wearing glasses and my bloody eye swelled up and i couldn't see out of it for about an hour!

So my advice is don't get wax worm juice in your eye! LOL:mf_dribble:


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## warrensark (Aug 23, 2012)

I was bit by my two year old male Savannah last night and ended up being taken to A&E by ambulance - he is normally pretty laid back and I had taken him to our reptile club (not for the first time) something spooked him and he bit my neck, holding on for 5 mins - I apparently went into a form of toxic shock, passed out on release, then hour later collapsed with the shock etc, had horrendous pains though out my body including chest pains requiring ecg - my ear is still numb and side of face swollen & painful - it's the name of the game however and was glad he got me and nobody else and that I was not alone at the time


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## russndex (Feb 12, 2011)

my first monie bite was a salvator, she was proper mean but it didn't hurt till she exceeded 3ft 5/10. My Ornate has only got close once and that's because she'd tried to get between a broken viv and i had to grab her, would've been a bad day out because she's built like a nile on steroids and is 5 1/2 and counting.
I don't force handle at all so the only thing I'll add is in agreement with wildlifewarrior - monitor claws usually hurt waaay more.

Ornates claws or Salvators not too bad, but both Black Throats i've had feel like a bald eagle is trying to pierce through my soul even when relaxed. During the summer months I routinely look like I either self harm, or work in a slaughter house. :whip:


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

russndex said:


> my first monie bite was a salvator, she was proper mean but it didn't hurt till she exceeded 3ft 5/10. My Ornate has only got close once and that's because she'd tried to get between a broken viv and i had to grab her, would've been a bad day out because she's built like a nile on steroids and is 5 1/2 and counting.
> I don't force handle at all so the only thing I'll add is in agreement with wildlifewarrior - monitor claws usually hurt waaay more.
> 
> Ornates claws or Salvators not too bad, but both Black Throats i've had feel like a bald eagle is trying to pierce through my soul even when relaxed. During the summer months I routinely look like I either self harm, or work in a slaughter house. :whip:


Both V.ornatus and V. salvator are excellent climbers and have very long sharp claws, at least equal to the White throated monitor, V. ornatus in particular also has extremely powerful jaws as an adult. 
I too look as if I`ve been attacked by a mad cat at times!


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## **louise** (Nov 10, 2010)

My one and only lizard bite was a leopard gecko. Pinched a bit :blush:


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## MDFMONITOR (Oct 8, 2009)

Is it not more about turning upto AE with deep wounds from an accidental feeding response bite & explaining that a 6 foot monitor caught you by accident, next question been from the nurse don't you need an license??? you answer no I don't, person stitching your hand up thinking maybe there should be a license!! 

Accidents will happen, but the less we see the better for the hobby. :2thumb::2thumb:


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## David Hampton (Aug 21, 2021)

i.am.idc said:


> To all you guys who have been bitten on a scale of 1 to 10 how much does it hurt? Please include what you were bitten by and why and a comparison of the pain!
> 
> The reason I ask is I have never been bitten by my monitors without a glove on and I'm wondering maybe with some encouragement I might be able to build up the confidence to just handle them without. I usually pick them up with gloves and then take them off when they calm down, because its the initial grip that triggers them to bite, and thats what I'm scared of!
> 
> ...


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