Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! I am relatively new to the handling of venomous snakes... and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips? I am used to working mostly with constrictors, but due to more indepth research projects, I will now be working with marking and recapture studies with viperidaes. I have gotten to the point where I can avoid being bitten by constrictors and even colubridaes... but seeing as how I have never worked with crotalus or angkistrodons.... would anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you so much!!!

Never touch a snake you do not absolutely have to..Always use proper equipment .In the field use a bagger system or a good set of tongs.I reccomend mighty midgets or m1 tongs for small snakes.Remember that one slip can cost you a finger or your life.Handle with care .Find a mentor and use there advice.Be safe and enjoy your new passion remember that any mistake will fall back on the hobby as hard as on you.Good luck.
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Archie Bottoms

Whoever you are working with for the mark and recapture should be able to point you in the right direction. What method of marking etc are you using?

Use the proper tools, remember that if you are in strike range, the snake can always win. Just because it didn't bite you when you slipped up last time doesn't mean that it won't ignore you the next time you are within strike range. Honestly, runny copperheads in the 2 ft range can be a royal pain to work with in the field at times.

And the advice that was given to me years ago: Keep your fingers out of their mouths! (Thanks Randal!)

well, as of right now, we are doing practice runs with my program with just capturing, running measurements and recording specific data (total length, weight, specific markings, color patterns, location) to basically get a sense of the capture/release of this order. (before we start marking them with the more expensive equipment... lol) and my professors and the park rangers are pretty in depth about what we are to do... but I don't believe they are that experienced with these creatures as we are meant to believe... at least not recently. That is why i am asking for advice from experts on this subject... I would like to have this new experience be as "painless" as possible. lol.

The best advice I can give is find some non-venomous that are notorious for being as*ho#es. Medium to large sized Banded, Green and Diamondback water snakes absolutely hate people. They are "flighty" but once you got one, they come after you. They also have the large triangular head that cottonmouths have so you can practice holding the head, if that is necessary. Index finger on top of the head right behind the eyes and thumb and middle finder behind the lower jaw.
Texas rat snakes also like to nail you. Only snake that ever bit me in the nose and it bled profusely.
Ideally it would be nice if you encounter native venomous in a defensive posture. This makes it easy to hook or tong and put in a bag or large garbage can. The closest I have ever come to getting nailed by a venomous snake is when it is trying to escape and I have it by the tail, and it came back at me with mouth wide open. They do this sometimes and it just takes experience to handle the situation. Until you get a full understanding of how a certain animal reacts when it is restrained it is better to let it go than force a bad catch.
Stick with your mentors and I think you will be fine.
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1.0 Albino American alligator, "Smoke"
1.1 American alligator,"Al Bite Ya & Molly"
1.1 Purple Albino Reticulated Pythons, "Gumbo & Abita"
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Help me find this snake!