Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi... i've recently bought a garter snake (my first snake) and i've been doing a lot of reading on snakes and garters and stuff... i've had my garter (a 36inch female) for about a month now, and i've handled it a few times when i had to clean the aquarium i keep her in...

anyhoo, my question is, is it a good idea to just hold your snake just for the hell of it? i've seen people standing by ball parks with a python around their neck, but i've read people say it's good and bad... i've read people say you should keep handling to a minimun, as handling your snake will always stress it out, but i've also heard people say that the more you handle your snake, the better, since handling it more and more will get it used to you and will tame it down and stuff...

so what are your thoughts on this issue and should i keep handling my garter only when i definately need to?

thanks!

Garter snakes in my experience don't respond well to handling. They tend to be very skittish but this may change if you handle her more often. So to answer your question it varies according to species and the individual snake. Cornsnakes and ball pythons are pretty laid back (relatively of course) and don't seem to mind handling as much as a garter snake would.
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Agreed. Overall, it is a good idea to not handle the snake often. In my opinion, snakes do not exactly "enjoy" handling. At best, they are indifferent to it. Worst case scenario, they get extremely stressed, which leads to biting, musking, and can affect the snake's health.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
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Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

And the sign says "No long hair freaky people need not apply." So I put my hair under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said you look like a fine outstanding young man I think you'll do. So I took off my hat I said "Imagine that Huh Me working for you."

A good way to handle your snake is outside, because it can absorb the UV rays from the sunlight. The garters that I've handled over the past couple years were all a little skiddish, but over time they did calm down and they tolerated being handled more often.

Handling is not a bad thing, just try not to do it too much.
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Currently have:
0.1 Antherystic Elaphe guttata - Corn Snake
1.0 Elaphe vulpina gloydi - Eastern Fox Snake
1.1 Morelia Spilota Cheyni - Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Leucistic Elaphe obsoleta linheimeri - Texas Ratsnake

Saving for:
Agkistrodon Contortix mokasen - Northern Copperhead
Large Lizard (undecided)

I have found that the more you handle your snakes (and that includes my 2 garter snakes which I got as babies 2 years ago), the calmer they are when handled and the less stressed out they seem. My ratsnakes don't seem to get stressed at all any more, and my garters settle down now after about 30 seconds. I can hardly remember the last time I was musked, and the only one of my 11 snakes to ever bite me was my Texas Rat, and he NEVER bites any more. Yes...Handling can, and probably does, stress snakes out to some extent. But I try to handle all of my snakes on a regular basis, and that approach seems to work for me. Better with some species, and with some individual snakes.
And finally...Snake don't need UV light like other herps. Especially snakes that are eating whole organisms such as rodents or fish (my garters are both on pinkies now). Whole organisms give them all they need, and most snake owners are doing so with no special UV considerations. That said...I do like to take my snakes out into the fresh air on a nice day. Duffy

A lot of it depends on the species....and sometimes individuals.
However...people who wander around in public with their snakes wrapped around their necks are NOT benifiting the animal at all. I cringe when I see a Ball Python (which likes temps around 90F) out on some fool's neck in temps in the low 70's. Plus there is so much movement around them the bright sun which most snakes feel uncomfortable in, that it adds up to major stress...just so the owner can look "cool".

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

okay, thanks everyone for the replies... i'm gonna start holding my garter a little longer in my hands now whenever i need to move her to a separet container when i mess around the tank (change water bowls/newspaper, etc...)...