Python Bite?

Question

What if a python or boa bit your arm and it's fang went right through your artery?

Ok...just a detail I should have stated. I have not been bitten. I thought they had fangs and I got to wondering if it could be possible if it could bite through someones artery.

Answer 1

First you should be very still. They are constrictors (not poisonous) and will wait for you to stop breathing. Constrictors will still bite in defense and try to wrap around you so you need to be as still as possible and hold your breath. Once they think you are not breathing....they will release. Apply pressure and Call 911. If it was not a major artery like your question said, you need to cleanse the wound throughly and apply pressure then bandage. Still you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Answer 2

Okay, it's unlikely that you're sitting here with an arterial wound, bleeding to death as you type. So I'm going to chalk this question up to "someone who's bored."

Pythons and boas don't have fangs, only small gripping teeth to hold the prey while they strangle it. The teeth can still give a decent bite, but they would be unlikely to go through your artery. So basically soap, water and normal clean wound care would be the way to go, along with some antibiotics/maybe a tetanus shot.

And by the way, if they bite you, don't stand still and let them wrap their coils around you--if they're big enough, they will strangle you.

Since most bites against humans are defensive or due to mistaken identity (if you're feeding them they can't tell where the mouse ends and you begin), the snake will not usually be trying to strangle you--humans are usually too big to be a meal.

Unless you're writing from the Amazon, in which case, stay away from the water.

Answer 3

pythons and boas don't have fangs...they are not venomous. they do however have sharp teeth. they can and sometimes have bitten people. the bites are not too deep, but can get infected if not treated right away. don't worry about your arteries....they don't bite that deep.

Answer 4

Well, pythons and boas are not poisonous, and so you don't have to worry about that. But, you do want to clean the wound thoroughly and probably still go to the doctor to make sure it is cleaned well. You are at a big risk for a bacterial infection.

Answer 5

pythons don't have fangs. A bite won't hurt much and it is doubtable if it can bite through an artery don't worry about it you will be fine

Answer 6

pythons and boas have loads of small needle like teeth that they use to grip onto their prey and the likely hood of one of them punching through any main artery is very very small unless the snake is over 25ft long. All python and boa bites must be cleaned as they something in their saliva that stop the blood from clotting. and if the snake is over 10ft for Christ sakes don't stop moving once it starts to wrap around you as it will think you are dead and start to crush you to make for easy swallowing if a python or boa wraps around you, you MUST grab its head and its tail and unwrap it using its tail first once it is unwrapped then you can pry its mouth away from you trust me its easier that way i used to own a very nasty carpet python and she was around 11ft when she attacked me and I'm still here and haven't bled to death.

Answer 7

call 911! IT WOULD BE VERY VERY SERIOUS. because if that happens the poison would easily flow through blood vessels and arteries are main blood vessels. it would be very dangerous indeed. first lie very still and have someone stem the blood flow by tieing a piece of cloth on the place you were bitten on not too tightly and not too loosely. try not to panic and if you are by yourself you should do the task with the opposite limb and try not to move that much. then count one 911 to be there

also....this is a theory from me. spit on your wound. saliva helps kill germs on your mouth, why not a wound?

Answer 8

They dont have fangs they have backward facing razory teeth...so the chances of one of them going through an artery would be highly unlikely...

Answer 9

they dont have fangs, just rows of small very very sharp teeth, depending on the size of the snake, it may or may not bleed, if it bit into and was a large snake and if your arms bled alot, then your big worry would be with infection, reptile bites can cause nasty infections.

Answer 10

the previous answer is inaccurate - pythons and boas have no poison. If they bite they are more likely to constrict...that will get you faster then the bite wound will