midwesttongs.com

[Reticsrule]

i am planning on getting some tongs for field herping. i am trying to decide what to get. i was thinking either the gentle giant or the m1 tongs. for any of you who own either of these are the gentle giant tongs more for thick bodied snakes such as boids? i live in pennsylvania so the thickest thing im going to find is a timber rattler lol. from what i can see it looks like the m1 tongs are just gentle giant tongs that are for thinner snakes like colubrids(which is what i will probably be finding). is this true?

[Scales Zoo]

We have gentle giants and love them. I have never seen an M1 except for the tongs.com website.

To me, it looks like the m1 is an improvement over the gentle giant - being mostly the same, but lighter and with no cables showing. But it is also $10 cheaper, which is suprising.

So, unless I am missing something - I'd think the M1 is a better buy, but hopefully someone who's seen it can fill us both in.

Maybe it is not as strong as the gentle giant - we have a gentle giant with a heavy tube, but I've never needed anything more than the regular.

Ryan

[Reticsrule]

i think the gentle giant looks good but i wont be needing to handle heavy bodied snakes (which i think is its main purpose). the M1 looks just like it except for thinner snakes. right now i think im going to go with the M1 but i would like to get some more opinions. thx

[BWSmith]

I have not used the M1, but for Timbers, I would go Gentle Giant all the way. Crotalids are actually very fragile and the Gentle Giants are ....... well ........ very gentle compared to other tongs.

[Scales Zoo]

I thought it looked like the M1 was equiped with the same end as the Gentle Giants.

Ryan

[Reticsrule]

yeah thats what i was going to say. it has the same end the only difference that i can see is that the M1 looks like it would be for thinner snakes.

[BWSmith]

It is not really the head that i was referring to. I was talking about the pressure control mechinism in the GGs. There is a maximum amount of pressure that can be exerted, unlike pilstrom styles.

[Reticsrule]

i would think that the pressure mechanism in the M1 would be the ssame as the gentle giants because they look exatclt the same in every other way.

[BWSmith]

I am not sure, so I wouldn't make the assumption. Particularly since they are listed on the same page as Pilstroms.

[Reticsrule]

ok but can someone please answer this question for me. are the gentle giants made for heavy bodied snakes or can they be used for thinner species as well?

[ETET]

I think gentle giants can use for snakes of different sizes. From my experience, they are not very easy to control if the snakes are too heavy or too thin. My opinion is depends on the speed and agility of the snakes you are working on.

I use it mainly to control some very agile species like bothrops, fast elapids etc. Gentle giants works very well for them; also I attached a layer of felt which improves the grip a lot since the finish is very smooth and some snakes seems slip between the grips very easily. Don't know if I answer your question or not.

ETET

[Reticsrule]

i would be using it on garter snakes, black rat snakes, and otherpennsylvanian species. The M1 looks to me like it would be better for these species but im not sure.

[Ontario_herper]

There's no need to use tongs on non-venomous species. In fact, the use of tongs should be used only sparingly on venomous snakes as well. If you can use your hands or ideally a hook on a non-venomous species then you should. Tongs can be dangerous to snakes so there's really no need for them unless you're handling a potentially dangerous snake.

[Reticsrule]

i was planning on using the tongs to catch the snake. once i catch it then i will use my hands if its not venomous. i do have a hook, but a hook isnt going to catch a snake that is trying to flee from you so thats why i want a set of tongs to catch the snake.

[Reticsrule]

does anyone else have any info on the M1 tong?

[Reticsrule]

sorry to bring this thread back up again but i think i am going to go with the M1 tongs. i called midwest today and the guy on the phone said that the the gentle giants and the M1s wouldnt be good for pennsylvanian snakes because they dont close all the way. he recommended the standard tongs but i dont want the cables exposed because the snake can then get tangled in them. to me the M1 tongs look perfect for snakes such as garters, rats, and other thinner pennsylvanian species. If no one says anything to change my mind i think im going to order a pair of M1s.

[beanersmysav]

oops posted before I read your last post.

[BWSmith]

I still fail to see the need for tongs for catching Garters, Rats, or about any other nonvenomous with the exception of snagging Nerodia. But I finally got to play with the M1 at the Rattlesnake Symposium, and it is a great tong.

[Manitoban Herps]

Me too, even with venomous snakes, why would you take the risk if you are a amateur herper? Just watch them instead of handling them. And for garters and racers and all of those colubrids, you can use your hands, they will bite you but it's not like it will hurt. And why waste 70$, you could buy a nice pair of glove for handling those colubrids with ;)

[Reticsrule]

i wouldnt call myself amateur but im not an expert. the only reason i want the tongs is so i can ***catch*** the snake. some of the faster species can be hard to catch and especially if they are in the water. i dont see a problem with using the tongs just to catch the snake.

[Reticsrule]

my final question for this thread( i think lol) is will the M1 tongs WORK with garters, rats, and other thinner colubrids?(meaning will those thin snakes be able to slip through the tong because it doesnt close completely)

[BWSmith]

They close pretty tight. But I couldn't answer with certaintly because I would never think of using tongs on garters or rats ;)

[Reticsrule]

uhhhhggggg....... i just want to catch them with the tongs. is that so bad?

[ydnic]

1) I think it would be harder to catch them with tongs than with your hands.
2) If an expert (the guy on the phone at midwest) told you M1 tongs wouldn`t be good and that you should use standard tongs, why would you think otherwise, since you obivously are no expert with tongs
3) Why did you start this thread - you obviously don`t care about the opions you are getting - including a professionals

[Manitoban Herps]

It can injure the snake, why can't you understand that? Why take the risk of injuring a snake if the risk doesn't have to be taken?

[JonD]

Originally posted by Manitoban Herps
It can injure the snake, why can't you understand that? Why take the risk of injuring a snake if the risk doesn't have to be taken?
Kevin, its another case of asking for help then arguing cause they don't agree.:rolleyes: I don't understand it you don't want people's opinions don't ask... lol

[BWSmith]

This is really not meant to be offensive. But if cannot catch a Garter Snake, then perhaps you are not ready for field herping.

[Reticsrule]

ok ill tell you a couple of circumstances i was in that tongs would have worked perfectly.

1) there was a garter snake under a big boulder. i couldnt reach him with my hands and i tryed to get him with my hook but he easily slid off it. with tongs i could have easily got him.

2) i was walking along and i scared a water snake into the water. he was just sitting there waiting for me to make a move. once again i could not reach him with my hands and obviously you arent going to catch a snake in the water with a hook. tongs would have gotten him easily.

[Removed_2815]

Just a polite question: Why are you so hell-bent on "catching" these snakes? Field-herping isn't all about forcefully restraining these animals. Ideally it's about observing them in their natural habitat and *hopefully* getting a good photograph.
Cheers,
Ryan

[Reticsrule]

i observe them but i just enjoy handleing them. i dont really see a problem with that.

[HeatherRose]

There's a problem when you could be causing injuries to them...

[Reticsrule]

not to be rude or anything but i dont think that handleing them is going to do them harm. and if im gentle enough with the tongs they shouldnt harm them either.(the tongs also have that rubber top on them that should reduce the risk of injury at least a little bit but im not sure.)

[HeatherRose]

Well, you've asked, people have answered (people who if they said the sun revolves around the earth I'd probably believe) but if you're not going to listen....why bother? lol...

[Reticsrule]

well ive already ordered the tongs so thats that. but i was just trying to figure out why everyone attacked me when i said i was going to use them on non-venomous snakes lol.

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by Reticsrule
but i was just trying to figure out why everyone attacked me when i said i was going to use them on non-venomous snakes lol.
Because they're usually only used on venomous snakes to prevent being envenomated; it's the safest way to secure the snake, although it is easier to injure the snake if you're not careful. Thus, since there is no risk of being envenomated by a non-venomous snake, and tongs have the potential to injure (I can just picture you trying to rip that garter out from under the boulder, that's not what tongs are for), there's really no need for tongs with non-venomous snakes. I think that's why people "attacked" you.
Stick with a hook and let the ones that get away, get away.

Have fun!
Ryan

P.S. Please don't take this as an "attack", I'm just answering your question ;)

[Manitoban Herps]

We didn't attack you, we gave you the truth of what could happen, but you don't care.

[JonD]

Reticsrule:

Didn't you used to post on here as Don Meyer and as Burm Guy 87?
:D

[BWSmith]

Because they're usually only used on venomous snakes to prevent being envenomated; it's the safest way to secure the snake, although it is easier to injure the snake if you're not careful.

Actually tongs are rarely used on venomous snakes because of just that reason, injury to the animal. They are primarily used now for enclosure maintenance.

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by BWSmith
Actually tongs are rarely used on venomous snakes because of just that reason, injury to the animal. They are primarily used now for enclosure maintenance.
Sorry for the misunderstanding, I meant in the wild. I have very limited experience with venomous field-herping but my few outings in the US were with people who relied on tongs to restrain the animals. Also, in my limited experience with radio-tagging Timbers, the researchers were using tongs.
Cheers,
Ryan

[Reticsrule]

Jon d: no this is the only name that post on.

rmbolten: thanks for explaining that. i guess i could still use the hook but you never know what you might run into out there;)

manitobanherps: i never said that i didnt care what you guys said.

[ydnic]

die thread.....die