Florida 2003

[shaggybill]

I think your right Jordan. I would probably pin it behind the head somewhere. Just somewhere close enough so they couldnt get their mouth onto my hand.

[JD@reptiles]

you can still hurt a racer if you restrain it. their bite does not hurt one bit. the only snake heads you should pin florida is the coral snake, cotton mouth, eastern dimond back rattle snake, pigmy rattle snake, canebrake rattle snake and the copperhead. i dont evan suggest pinning their heads... you should just use a hook. and evan if you find a venomous snake you just observe it unless it is on a road or somthing or you are doing somthing for education.

Jordan

[shaggybill]

I dont think you can harm a racer by just picking it up. I have handled hundreds of these snakes and ones like them and they were just fine immediately after, and when I checked back on them in the future.

[JD@reptiles]

they are a fast moving snake and if you restrain it i will more than likely thrash around and kink its self.

[shaggybill]

Im not sure we are talking about the same thing. By restrain do you mean holding or pinning? If the snake is fiesty and you try to pin it with extreme pressure, then I agree the snake could be hurt. But you have to use good judgement when trying to catch it. If the snake is acting in a way that could hurt itself, then I think the snake should be left alone. But if its just barely squirming, then I believe it would be okay to continue trying to handle it.

It also depends on how you pin it. I think its best to use a pinning hook that has the surgical rubber or something similar, not the metal hook.

I think pinning any snake can be ok, but you have to use extremely good judgement on the amount of pressure you use.