I'm a terrible parent (pics)

[Cobra Kai]

Today I was doing some yard work and like usual I try to catch this Eastern Garter when I see her basking in the sun. I try to get her out of the way when I’m cutting the grass. She (I’m guessing she’s a she) lives in a pile of folded tarps with a wooden pallet on top. I caught her and placed her in a bucket with a night crawler and the worm was gone when I finished the lawn. I guess she was hungry.

So I had the bright idea of showing her to my 2-½ year old son before I release her. My 2-1/2 year old loves animals. When I took her out of the bucket, she was pretty grumpy. But seamed to calm down as I held her for a few minutes. Then I showed her to my son and said he could pat her. So all of a sudden he put his hand around her and before I new she swung back and bit his pinky finger. She just nicked him. Didn’t hang on or anything. It was lightning fast! Poor guy. He flinched a little, but didn’t miss a beat. Thankfully he didn’t get scared. I tried to keep it as positive as possible.

Unfortunately…his finger started to bleed and my wife got really, really MAD with me. http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/images/smilies/angryfire.gif So we cleaned it up with hydrogen peroxide and put Neosporin on it. I was afraid he was going to be traumatized for life. But thankfully he was like nothing happened. He was so cool, he even helped me release her back in the tarp pile.

But I felt soooooooooooo bad. I guess it could have gone a lot worse…right? To make me feel better, do you have any similar stories with your kids?

And my other question is: Do you think he will get an infection, like staph or salmonella? I've been bit a ton by garters when I was a kid and I never got infected. But it's different now with my little baby. :confused:

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[DrKate]

Do you think he will get an infection, like staph or salmonella?
It sounds like you did pretty good first aid. If this just happened today, and you didn't already do it, you might want to get him to the sink and really wash the bite site out with soap and a whole lot of running water. Then continuing the Neosporin while the wound heals certainly won't hurt.

You should probably take a look at the bite site twice a day for at least a week or so and make sure there's no redness, swelling, oozing from the wound, etc. If any of that happens, or any other general symptoms (tummy upset, loss of appetite, fever, just not seeming right) of course you'll want to get him to a doctor right away.

Snakes certainly can carry some nasties in their mouths, and I'm by no means a pediatrician or an infectious disease specialist - but maybe someone else here is! If you're at all unsure, obviously you should take him to the doctor instead of listening to any of us. (I suspect pediatricians end up treating parental anxiety much more often than actual pediatric illness anyway!)

Oh, and I think it speaks well of your parenting and effort to foster a love of animals that the kiddo reacted so well to the natural behavior of a scared snake!

[prattypus]

What really sucks is this may get held over your head FOREVER! 20 years down the road it's gonna be used as ammo in a disagreement. ...remember that time when he was two and you went and tried to feed him to a garter snake!

Good job on introducing the little guy to some of nature's miracles- wish I was able to have that early on in life.

[Cobra Kai]

It sounds like you did pretty good first aid. If this just happened today, and you didn't already do it, you might want to get him to the sink and really wash the bite site out with soap and a whole lot of running water. Then continuing the Neosporin while the wound heals certainly won't hurt.

You should probably take a look at the bite site twice a day for at least a week or so and make sure there's no redness, swelling, oozing from the wound, etc. If any of that happens, or any other general symptoms (tummy upset, loss of appetite, fever, just not seeming right) of course you'll want to get him to a doctor right away.

Snakes certainly can carry some nasties in their mouths, and I'm by no means a pediatrician or an infectious disease specialist - but maybe someone else here is! If you're at all unsure, obviously you should take him to the doctor instead of listening to any of us. (I suspect pediatricians end up treating parental anxiety much more often than actual pediatric illness anyway!)

Oh, and I think it speaks well of your parenting and effort to foster a love of animals that the kiddo reacted so well to the natural behavior of a scared snake!The wound was on the knuckle, and I can't even find it anymore. It was very superficial. Thank you for the great advice & kind words. I'll continue cleaning it, applying Neosporin and I'll watch for symptoms. And yeah...the "parental anxiety" never ends. LOL!


What really sucks is this may get held over your head FOREVER! 20 years down the road it's gonna be used as ammo in a disagreement. ...remember that time when he was two and you went and tried to feed him to a garter snake!

Good job on introducing the little guy to some of nature's miracles- wish I was able to have that early on in life. Oh man...I hope not. ;) Thanks bro!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

as long as you keep it clean it's nothing to worry about. Garter snake bites always look so much worse that they really are. the anticoagulants in their saliva kind of slow down the clotting process so you bleed more than you normally would with such a small wound. I have been chewed on my many a garter and some of those bites will literally gush blood but the next day it's hard to even see them!!!

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like you did a good job. It's something to watch but I don't think it's something to be over concerned about. Treat it like you would treat any cut. I think all 5 of my kids have been biten, some multiple times and I've never had an issue. I've been biten many times by snakes other than garters and never had any problems.
Some extra hugs and kisses from dad will make everything fine. Maybe a trip to DQ.:)

[Cobra Kai]

Thanks everybody for the encouragement. Now I can sleep a little better tonight. Steve, I like the DQ advice the best. :)

[prattypus]

DQ does sound good- but they don't put NERDS in blizzards anymore. Someone broke their tooth and they sued. I was craving that so bad after getting back from Iraq, and BLAMMO- nada. Sorry, not garter related, but DQ. HMMMMMM.

[guidofatherof5]

You wanted a kid bite story.
My daughter Gabby is my partner here at the T.radix Ranch. She really loves our radixes and others. She's 9 now. When she was 6 we were in the backyard. She found a big female heading across the yard. She yelled for me to come and get it. She said it was being mean. I told her to pick it up and bring it to me. Being the great daughter she is, she did as I instructed. She had it just above the cloaca and was walking towards me. I looked at her and said :see I told you it would be okay" right at that moment this female pulled herself up from the hanging position and grabbed Gabby by the underside of her upper arm. It was a full mouth bite and she had a good grip on her. Gabby let go of the snake but the snake didn't do the same. Now my daughter is running towards me crying with the large radix swinging from her arm. I peeled the girl off and dried the tears from my daughter. I think the radix was laughing. A few moments later she out herping for another one. That's my girl.

[k2l3d4]

Oh Steve... lol lol... Good for you Gabby for going after more snakes.... lol lol.... I can so picture this one......lol

I was catching garters as a kid back home in the Rocky Mountians in Montana..... never did get bit, but man I have been musked a few times.... once my mom smelled that she decided that the garter I had in a bucket on the floor of the truck had to be relaesed and I was not to ever be able to keep any of my catches......

Now I have three Garters, and 1 ball python...

[Mommy2many]

We were all out in the yard on Sunday, I was hunting earthworms for my crew and my husband was mowing the lawn, the kids were doing who knows what... My seven year old daughter caught her first snake, a garter about 16 inches. Of course the first thing the snake did was to bite her on the hand. Then she dropped it and the hunt was on! I did end up catching the poor thing (notice how I'm showing sympathy towards the snake???)

Well, all in all, my daughter is absolutely fine and our snake Stewie and our brown snake have a new pal.

Also, as a side note, about a month ago I was napping and my four year old told me after the fact that he tried to hold Stewie. I immediately checked the vivarium to make sure everybody was still accounted for and weights were back in place (which they were, sneaky kid). Connor said that Stewie had bit him when he was holding her so he put her back. Just goes to show you...

To play Devil's Advocate, What do you think the snakes would catch from the kids???

[MoJo]

Your son will be fine. As long as you washed his wound and put a bit of antibiotic ointment on it he will heal up just fine. If you can't see it already there is probably no significant opening in his skin.

Salmonella causes diarrheal illnesses and is transferred by eating material (i.e. feces) that contains salmonella.

Staph is everywhere and any skin cut is at risk for developing a staph infection. So unless you plan to bubble wrap your son he is at risk for skin infections all the time!

You are NOT A BAD PARENT! Your son is adorable and he will get many scrapes, cuts, bruises and worse and it is all a part of being a kid!

[Didymus20X6]

Better yet, Ben & Jerry's. Or as I like to call it, "creamy frozen crack."

[DrKate]

Salmonella causes diarrheal illnesses and is transferred by eating material (i.e. feces) that contains salmonella.
Thanks for the reminder, Joanna, I had meant to make a comment about Salmonella... One thing any parent should *definitely* add to kids' reptile-handling routine (wild or captive) is hand-washing immediately after touching any reptile. (Carry a bottle of hand sanitizer if you're not going to be near a sink.)

It's true that Salmonella is a diarrheal disease, BUT reptiles are very commonly asymptomatic carriers - they shed the bacteria in their feces their whole lives without being obviously "sick" (this is why it's important with captive reptiles as well as wild). Maybe it's not so likely that the kid would just eat the reptile's poo, but say there's a trace of fecal material on the animal, and then kiddo rubs his eye or picks his nose or sucks his thumb... Or picks up the sandwich you packed for lunch...

This is mostly a concern for infants and toddlers, because they are most sensitive to Salmonella and most likely to develop really severe disease. Once you're talking about school-age kids and older, they *should* be washing their hands (as should you!) but it takes a higher "dose" of bacteria to make them sick so it's just less likely to happen.

[Cobra Kai]

Well, I'm happy to report that his finger looks great. I can't even find the site. As far as behavior and symptoms, he's had a bad cold this week. But he already had that before yesterday.

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words and thanks for sharing your war stories. :D

[drache]

hand-washing immediately after touching any reptile. (Carry a bottle of hand sanitizer if you're not going to be near a sink.)

yeah - hand-washing
hand sanitizer is pretty much useless; it's just enough to make the bacteria slightly ill
okay - being funny here, but seriously - that stuff does not much more than a baby wipe, and perhaps a baby wipe is actually better because one wipes stuff off with them, rather than just rearranging it on the skin
if one is concerned about bacteria and the like in the wild, straight up alcohol is more effective, and even those little swab packages are fine, as long as one is being reasonably thorough

[Didymus20X6]

When traveling, take two gallon jugs of water with you. In one jug, mix in some anti-bacterial soap. When you're ready to wash, pour some of the solution over your hands, give a good rub, then rinse with the pure water. Keep water for drinking in separate convenient bottles.

[jitami]

I'm coming in way late here and you've gotten tons of great advice. I just wanted to give you some kudos for exposing your incredibly cute kiddo to nature :) His lasting love for animals will far outweigh any pain caused by a skinned knuckle ;) Now go pick up that squirming toddler, blow raspberries on his belly, and tickle his toes for me <gg>

(wonders how much longer til I have grandkids to play with... hopefully a decade or so... it's going to be a long decade!)

[Zephyr]

Oh Steve... lol lol... Good for you Gabby for going after more snakes.... lol lol.... I can so picture this one......lol

I was catching garters as a kid back home in the Rocky Mountians in Montana..... never did get bit, but man I have been musked a few times.... once my mom smelled that she decided that the garter I had in a bucket on the floor of the truck had to be relaesed and I was not to ever be able to keep any of my catches......

Now I have three Garters, and 1 ball python...
Reminds me of my mother's famous quote from 2006: "Cockroaches? In this house? Yeah right."
:P

[charles parenteau]

THe only thing I really remember from my first garter snake is the multiple painfull bite she gave me.I think this is the trigger .

[guidofatherof5]

THe only thing I really remember from my first garter snake is the multiple painfull bite she gave me.I think this is the trigger .

Maybe there's something in the weak venom. A mind controlling substance. It attracts us to them. Many of us have said that as a child, Garters were the first snake we were introduced to. Maybe their control over us starts at first sight.:D

[Mommy2many]

I have to agree with Steve,

I have always been attracted to and sought out the garters, even as a kid. My Mom used to say I had an "attack snake" as one garter I had, I warmed up and would strike at anybody coming near us.

Love my snakes;)

[Didymus20X6]

I still haven't been bitten, so I'm free of their evil mind control devices. That, and I have a Tin Foil Hat, which gives me a +3 to Mind Resistance Bonus.

[guidofatherof5]

I still haven't been bitten, so I'm free of their evil mind control devices. That, and I have a Tin Foil Hat, which gives me a +3 to Mind Resistance Bonus.

The tin foil hat only works on aliens.:rolleyes: If you have looked into the eyes of any Thamnophis(and we know you have) you are under their control. The biting part is probably just ceremonial in nature. :D

[MichaelSmith]

Hi Steve,
I agree - my first exposure was in the outskirts of Denver, CO in the early '60s, and the snakes were T. radix (I figured later by process of elimination). I was hooked and no amount of "Garters Anonymous" in the past 45 years or so has helped!

[guidofatherof5]

T.radix, the *Root* of all the addictions:D

[Cobra Kai]

My boy is doing fine and he wants to catch some more snakes! I know someday he's going to be proud of being a member of the "Bite Club". :D

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks for the update. Glad your son is doing fine and ready to wrangle a few more snakes.
My daughter Gabby(age 9) and I were feeding a few last night. I had a radix pushing on my had where I had some worm slime. It took a quick bite and released just as fast. Gabby thought that was cute and said let me try it. She didn't realize she had worm slime at the tips of her fingers. One of the radixes did notice that and grabbed her. I couldn't tell if she as laughing or crying. She asked me to remove the hungry one. I peeled the girl off her finger. There was some blood but not much. The culprit was a snake named "The enforcer" She's not the biggest female in the enclosure but thinks she is. She also doesn't like Gabby. I don't know why, but she will bite at Gabby if I'm holding her or just touching her. The enforcer is a one person snake, me.