Larry,

You know, I have wondered a few times throughout all of this if a smaller snake would indeed have its outweighing difficulties to slightly larger, perhaps lethargic snakes. I will keep in mind Sistrurus miliarius ssp. may be a 50/50 ordeal.

That's funny about Your three most greatly dreaded snakes to handle with the Sistrurus miliarius ssp. being in there. I perhaps should have shared that I have had a 7'-8' 0.1* Eunectes notaeus since April 15th, 2006 (five (5) years next month). She was an angel when I got her at 3'-4' and through 1-2 years ago, but once she hit ~6 or more, having an extra helper wasn't enough. Id est, she is uncomfortable being handled solo or even with two people and thus would be more comfortable with three people. The result of going solo or duet? Musk and nip(s)!! ...but interestingly, only when being put back...?

I suppose the relativity of mentioning this (referencing the '...should have mentioned...' from above) is that I am experienced with handling larger snakes. Also--and I am not proud of this...ones familiar with August 18, 2010, RI news will know why I say this--I worked for Regal Reptiles as the 'snakeman' in 2004, and I of course worked with (large) Morelia amethistina, Python sebae, Python molurus bivittatus, Boa constrictor sspp., and perhaps others I can't currently recall.

I know such size in hots adds a whole new dimension--such as one mistake costing Your life!--but I think having worked with large snakes will aid in larger hots when ready down the road...at least in the smallest bit, I'd think. Agree?

I find it interesting that You say Agkistrodon contortrix sspp. are easy to handle when 2-3 others said they don't ride a hook easy...?

Timothy

*When attempted to be sexed by the vendor and I at a show, she was quite squirmy (didn't bite, though! ), so We did not want to risk pushing too far. Hence, her female gender is not 100% certain.

>>>>Speaking of rattlesnakes, what do You think of Steven's suggestion for a Sistrurus miliarius ssp. as a first hot? Small and manageable, right?
>>
>>I had a new trainee at the refuge try handling one of our pygmies on his first day. He confided in me many months later that he almost didn't come back, because he figured that if a pygmy was that difficult how could he possibly control a "real" hot snake?
>>
>>The lesson, that I apparently hadn't communicated well enough at the time was that small snakes can sometimes be more difficult than larger ones because they only have to move a few inches to be off the hook and are light enough to fling themselves in any direction if the feel like it.
>>
>>I would guestimate that 50% of the pygmies I've worked with were fairly easy to handle and the other 50% were some of the most difficult snakes I've ever met...
>>
>>I have 3 snakes at home that I don't look forward to handling:
>>
>>1) A 12 foot rock python that was never handled by it's previous owner and tries to bite me every time (and has about a 5 foot strike range).
>>2) A six foot forest cobra that has tried to kill me every time I've handled it for the last 8 years.
>>3) An 18 inch pygmy that won't stay on a hook long enough for me to move it 2 feet.
>>
>>Granted, of the 3, the pygmy is the least likely to kill me but he's still a pain in the butt.
>>
>>I haven't worked with nearly as many coppers, but almost all of them have been fairly easy to handle most of the time.
>>-----
>>What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.


-----
T.J. Gould

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