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Any pet animal, even the nicest ones, can nip at you if they are startled, sleeping or not feeling well. This goes for reptiles as well as cats and dogs. When a snake bites, they usually do not hold on. A smaller snake (under 3 feet) may not even break the skin. This article is intended to help you prepare in case you or someone in your home is ever bitten by a pet snake.

If the bite has broken skin it may bleed heavily due to the numerous small lacerations. Unless you have a large (over 5 feet) snake, the bleeding will quickly stop. Thoroughly wash the wound, and disinfect it with hydrogen peroxide. Swelling generally occurs, but not usually an infection. Snakes are cleaner than most people realize, so a run to the Emergency Room usually isn't necessary. The exception would be if the person bitten attempted to jerk away and has severe lacerations that may require stitches.

If the snake does not release you but chooses to hold on, to constrict you - do not panic. If your snake is a large one, you (hopefully) have another person there to help you.

Do not hit or otherwise antagonize the snake further because he will only clamp on tighter. It is a defensive response. If you need to unwind him from the bitten person, start at the tail and work your way up. You can't unwind a large snake from the head down, they are very strong.

Snakes teeth curve towards the back of their mouth, so when you get to its head, you will need to slide its head forward to disengage the teeth. Pulling on the snake is only going to make the bite worse.

At this point the biter and the bitten should be free of each other. If the snake is being uncooperative in releasing, get a beer. (Don't drink it yourself.) Pour some into the snakes mouth. This will encourage him to release because snakes don't like beer. If you don't have beer, any alcoholic or carbonated beverage will do.

Once the person and the snake are free of each other, the first thing to do is put the snake back in its enclosure and be certain he is secured. Then examine the bite to determine if medical attention is needed.

The bite of a large snake is more like slamming your hand in a car door than having a dog bite. There is more of a crushing effect that a bite from the snakes powerful jaws. The bite will swell, bruise, and look pretty bad for a few days. If your initial reaction was to jerk away from the snake, stitches may be required, as snakes have dozens of (relatively) small but razor-sharp teeth.

Clean the wound well with soap

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