Somewhat rare snake.....and fat dude

[cobraman]

Is thig guy fat, or what??? the snake is pretty big too.

[cobraman]

Oh yeah, the snake is a 6+ foot GOLD'S TREE COBRA. We have waited a long time to bring these in. They are the Black Mambas of the cobras.

[jay72]

Ray,

Do you do the quick snatch with that to?

Sloane

[BWSmith]

OK, that's it! I gotta get the insurance for my exotics permit! ;)

[Mustangrde1]

Hmmm looks like my wifes cooking is taking its toll on someone...

[cobraman]

"Ray,

Do you do the quick snatch with that to?"

Yes, but it not as easy. it is a pretty spastic snake.

[Gregg M]

Hey Brian, I do not think you really want to mess with those...... Its like a mamba on speed.....LOL

[MsTT]

Oooh. Pretty thing. Tempting, but I am so out of cage space for any more really big elapids. :( I need to just remodel my damn house now.

[MsTT]

I've seen cobras with broken hood ribs because of the "quick snatch" technique. The handler in question who inflicted the injury was a very well known and experienced one. I think there is clearly a risk to the animal if you grab too fast or too hard. It can probably be done more gently at a greater risk to the handler.

It is harder to do hands-on restraint in a way that is safe and gentle for the snake. Also it takes a little longer, which is why venom labs generally use the faster set of techniques.

[cobraman]

Tanneth, in 17 years, I have never broken a rib, but then I don't "snatch", I catch (you have seen me do it). I know you were not refering to me, but I wanted to say this for the record. I am VERY concerned about the snakes welfare and health when I handle in any mannor.

[MsTT]

Nope, I wasn't referring to you. I do have real concerns about the technique in general, because it is very easy to injure snakes in that manner unless you are expert at walking a very fine line between your safety and theirs.

Similarly I do not recommend the use of Pilstrom tongs for snake capture, especially for crotalids, because the less experienced handler is very likely to cause injury with this technique. Very experienced handlers can use Pilstroms with very little risk of injuring the animal because they can use a precisely controlled amount of force.

So there are a few people I don't worry too much about who are using Pilstroms and "quick snatch" techniques, because they're gentle enough not to hurt the animals. And then there's everyone else who tries the same thing and fragile snake bones get broken. So my concern is that even if you, Ray, are being very gentle and not injuring the snakes, the technique itself is inherently risky to the animals and I would rather not see people imitating it just because it looks cool.

I take a few shortcuts at home that I would *never* advise anyone else doing, like sneaking up behind a snake with a 6" tube in my hand and quickly head-capping it. What I'm doing is fairly similar to your quick snatch only there is a tube involved to lessen the strain on the animal's neck. But the photos on my site demonstrate the same technique using long forceps to place the short tube. If somebody imitated what I am doing because I posted cool looking photos of a risky technique, and a snake or a person got hurt as a result, I would feel pretty bad.

[Gregg M]

I tube any snake that needs to be restrained...... I let them crawl through the tube until the head and neck are out the other side....... Only then, will I pin it down...... The tube will keep them from thrashing around and causing injury...... I like to take my time when it comes to putting my hands near the sharp end.....LOL...... Then again there is hardly any time pinning needs to be done, unless I am treating something for a spacific problem......