In my opinion it is BEST to get them started as early as possible. The reason for this is known as "classical conditioning" as coined by Pavlov. Even in a brain as primative as a reptilian one survival is dependant on being able to relate cause and effect. When your snake "learns" that the hook = handling and that it NEVER = food it will be less likely to mistake a hand for a mouse or be startled into a defensive strike. I start hooking my animals as neos. I find that they "ride" a hook better as adults as well if they have been doing it since being juviniles. All of my boas are tame enough NOT to use a hook (half of them have only eaten frozen/thawed food so they don't even strike and constrict their meals) but out of habbit (left over from the retic days) I hook them anyway. I know at first it may make you feel like a wimp to hood a 3 foot snake...lol...but (especially if your girl is going to be heavily envolved) it may pay dividens in the long run.
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