Handling feisty snakes - Info

[masticophis]

With most snakes i use the same methods, ie distract the head with another hand, then reach in slowly and pick up a coil, midbody. This works with most of the racers, coachwhips, ratsnakes etc.
Once they are in your hand then I will move my other hand underneath my arm to get up to the snakes body then when it's under the hand I bring the one holding the snake towards me letting my other hand glide under tilll i get to where i want to hold it. If need be you can let go quickly with one and wave it at the snake, this will give it a target again in case it's eyeing up something else.
Things like the boiga's it works with but as they slowly come up their bodies and do have a habit of looking at the hand they are on and biting then you must be prepared to let go quickly.

Most snakes it's better to hold near the tail and midbody, that way if it decides to go for you, then you can drop one hand away and the snake will drop towards your feet, this gives you a bit of breathing space.

A way that cheats but works well is to hold a flannel or similar between your fingertips and palm so the cloth drops before the hand, then go into the viv with this, the snake may strike but will hit this, then you chuck it over the head and grab a coil.

I have found that once you start to lift the snakes most will try to flee first.

Mike

P.S. Alex....... Malpolon are fun aren't they, they hiss very loudly and when they do go mad they lunge at anything. Bloody big fangs really.

[carpy]

Originally Posted by masticophis

P.S. Alex....... Malpolon are fun aren't they, they hiss very loudly and when they do go mad they lunge at anything. Bloody big fangs really.

indeed, but as i mentioned, if you have equipment, and relative experience with non venomous snakes then it is possible.

Alex

[RedGex]

I have a couple of cali kings that are particularly fiesty when in the viv, if you move to pick them up too quickly they will strike and then musk (they have an uncanny knack of getting it all over you regardless of how far away you are from its vent!). I find the the best way for me is to let them start coming out of the viv on their own, then support their weight and when they are about halfway out i just gently lift them out without gripping and hey presto! no striking and no musk.

once they are out they act completely differently and are really placid.

[Angi]

Well I can post on my experiences with various feisty snakes, but I'm only a novice with some of them - such as huge wild caught retics, large w/c boa constrictors, false water cobra.

Ive been very lucky to work in a reptile shop and recieve teaching from a couple of experienced handlers, not to mention visiting 3 reptile farms in Indonesia, so I have had the pleasure of interacting with quite a variety of feisty species. Many of which I had little or no previous experience with.

The ones I have found most difficult would be grumpy blood pythons (due to their weight), w.c retics over 15 and over 20 ft long and nasty african rock pythons.
With larger feisty snakes it has seemed easier to calm the snake down by covering their eyes and making them feel more secure first - useful with crocs too. One thing I would say to get right first is to never under-estimate the strength, speed, striking distance of the snake in question and always treat them as unpredictable. I always like to prepare everything I need before doing whatever it is that I need to do with the snake, and making the working space free of clutter so accidents are unlikely. If I am going to handle a species which may be dangerous, then I always do it when there are another 1, 2 or 3 people around to help( depending on the size) and inform them of what Im doing. Obviously a 20+ ft retic is going to need more people to sort it out.
I find my venomous training has been an invaluable tool and I have often reverted to utilising some of the techniques I have been taught for use with venomous snakes, with feisty snakes. Something as simple as standing behind the door, with your hand behind it too, as you open it can make all the difference to being bitten. Even the way you stand whilst handling can make a difference, I use tough, safe, flat shoes and keep my legs apart by a couple of feet. That way I am more prepared and less likely to lose my balance when a snake tries its acrobatics with me. Another simple thing is making sure you dont smell of anything the snake may wish to eat, or that may alarm the snake; I have experienced someone new to snakes insisting their hands were clean - recieve a nasty bite - they had eaten a sausage roll and forgotten about it, this snake had NEVER bitten anyone before.
I have only ever recieved one nasty bite, from a Sanzinia - normally pretty calm and easy to handle. The bite was totally my fault, I had taken it to the vets and handled it pretty much as I normally would do with hands only, supporting its weight, no sudden movements, what I was too stupid the think about was that it was a) slightly unwell and b) in a strange place, so of course it was stressed. It decided to bite me across the wrist and neither the vet nor me could remove it for around 5 minutes. The result were large haematomas on both the upper and lower areas of my wrists, I was lucky it had not pierced any of the larger blood vessels, only the small ones. As I said this was my fault, and stressed the poor snake out more Im sure, a lesson learned the hard way for me. In similar circumstance I now transport snakes to vets etc covered up and treat them witrh extra respect whilst ill, or in strange surroundings as they are more likely to be unpredictable.

Thats just general stuff really, I will post some of my more species specific experiences later, but my head is a bit fuzzy just now as Ive got some silly virus, with a headache and feel dizzy.

A great idea for a sticky topic Steve, hopefully we can all learn from each others experiences.

[LiamRatSnake]

I tend to run my hands under cold water.
Try not to surprise them too much.

Liam

[ratboy]

Another method I have used successfully is using the shed skin of another snake of the same species... preferably of the opposite sex and just wrapping it around my hand.

The snake is so interested in investigating the scent of the 'new arrival', you can simply pick it up.

[Rain]

Here's how I handle all of mine;

Corns - Lift tub lide, lift hides, grab mid body. Both are young and soon calm down.

Hognose - Just grab and lift (single most docile snake I've got atm)

Boa - After getting bitten on day one, and how hissy she is, I now hook her mid body and lift, then untangle her from what ever she's wrapped around (generally plants), once in hand she can be free handled and is perfectly calm. However, she is young, and should tame down a little on the hissing.

Adult GTP - hook a mid body coil, then whilst his sharp end is looking at the hook, I gently ease him off his branch. Once off, he will come up the hook to investigate, but is keep at a full arms length. He is only handled/moved when absoloutly nessisary, and not free hanfled on a regular basis what so ever.

Young (5month) GTP - hooked off using small tongs. She is VERY aggressive due to her age, and again, is only moved when needed.

I know that this isn't very helpful, but personally, I handle my GTPs as if they were HOTs, because I know how big their teeth are, and the damage they can do, and in turn the damage I can cause to their spines from not being careful.

[shaun348]

Hey everyone just joined this forum. when im dealing with feisty snakes mostly are rat snakes and blood python i tend to just lay my arm or hand next to them for few minutes so the get used to me. then most of the time i get them from behind the neck. i have found out from my experiences that they normally calm down after a minute or two then you can let go of the snakes neck and they will be fine.

[Deano]

I keep Tri Colour Hognoses, and a Western, who would like you to believe that they are big, nasty scary snakes who will bite your hand off if you come any closer through a combination of loud hissing, tail rattling, puffing up their bodies and (with the western) hooding up.

Through my experience with the individuals that I keep, this is a complete bluff and I just pick them up as normal - none of them have actually attempted to bite, and they quickly calm down once in your hand.

So hognoses = bluff. Enjoy the 'antics', and don't worry about getting bitten.

PS - I take no responsibility for anyone who gets bitten by a hoggie after reading this

[400runner]

i have found that with my scrub python, the best thing i ever did was to take the gloves off when handling. in my opinion gloves are to clumsy and do not make the snake feel at ease. the difference between how he was with the gloves and how he is now without is remarkable, he's a completely different snake. so i would not recommend the use of gloves and suggest people just get a bit braver!
thats th only real interesting thing i've found that i've never seenw ritten anywhaer else