chicken eater????

[masticophis]

They do sometimes bite the hand they are on. Though it has to be said mine is never aggressive but he is bloody greedy. I have sometimes got him out and he's been test biting my hand until he finds something like a finger to clamp on. Then he bites hard and contricts, usually with a coil over his head and then wraps his tail under another coil, making it pretty hard to get him off.
He does this even with no smell of food around.

Lucky part with them is that they are easy to distract, if they do look in your face then a movement elsewhere will work to distract. Unlike some of the other snakes, once they lock gazes you know they are going to come at the face until you grab them. One coachwhip was stretching 3 foot out of a viv, still staring at my face when I was over 10 foot away, mind you he's a git for the face anyway.

Mike

[ratboy]

The girl in the picture has a taste for the bit of skin between the thumb and forefinger Mike. If that is available, she will go for it and bite hard... she also does a chewing motion too, but lets go after about a minute. Neither of mine have ever tried constricting me though.... but hey... there's still time for that delight

One amazing thing I find with them is that the male will tackle 2 food items at the same time. Offering two mice to him, he will 'kill' the first mouse and constrict it then when he is sure it is 'dead' ( just a note they are defrosted mice... I just never told him that ) he rolls it down his body without letting go and holds it with the bottom half of his body... then he will strike at the second mouse and constrict it with the top half of his body... when that one is 'dead' he will eat them both.

Steve.