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"
0.1 Eastern Gaboon Viper, "Gabbie" Recently passed away at 24 years old
Help me find this snake!

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