I think you're going to get a lot of responses to this post, and most of the responses will be pretty similar.

I think a great deal of getting to trust your snake is learning to read his/her body language. Just like you can walk into a room and see if your wife is in a good mood or bad without asking, you'll get to the same point with your snakes, too. Most times, if you're going to be bitten by a snake, it will happen at the beginning of your interaction.

NEVER reach into a snake cage bare handed to remove a snake. You'll probably catch the snake by surprise, and something warm suddenly coming upon it will likely illicit either a feeding strike or a defensive one.

Use a hook to remove the snake from it's cage, or if the animal's too big to actually move with a hook, just wake it up with the hook and let it come towards you of it's own accord.

Now the snake knows that food isn't involved, so you can eliminate the feeding strike. If the snake doesn't head toward the cage opening, reach in and touch the back end of the snake. One of two things will happen. Either your touch will spur the snake to come out, or he'll tense up, perhaps hissing or bridging his body to try to 'toss' your hand off him.

There are two schools of thought wehn it's obvious that the snake is in no mood to be handled.

If the snake is a managable size, you can drag his butt out and gently let him hold you until he relaxes. Notice I didn't say 'hold him'. I've found that just about any sort of restraint really pisses off a snake. As long as the snake doesn't feel like he's being 'held', they usually stay pretty calm.

The other thought is that if the snake is obviously not in the mood to come out and play, to just leave him alone. The downside to this is that you're teaching the snake that if he hisses and acts a little aggressive, he will get his own way. You don't want a headstrong large boid.

Once you have the snake, the main thing to watch for is obvious panic on the part of the snake. If he starts swinging his head around or really getting antsy, there's a good chance you're about to bleed. The best way to stop that fast is to get the head and neck of the snake on the ground. He'll feel steady and like he's getting away. It'll probably calm him down enough to continue with the handling, or at least get him back in his cage without any undue stress.

My experience is that if you can lift the snake with a hook, or even just guide him to the cage entrance, you can always replace the hook with your hand, or gently provide support from beneath his body where he's first exiting the cage and keep the snake cool, calm, and breezy. Slow movement and no grabbing is key. I genuinely believe that using a technique like this would even work on venomous snakes, although I have to admit I'm not so sure of it that I'd actually try it with a hot one.



VinnyButch

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