Handling big snakes

[Squirtle]

How do you guys handle your big snakes? What's the appropriate way? I started handling my burm today instead of the usual cage interactions I did with him and I can safely say he is NOT aggressive anymore I want to start taking him outside now that summer's near and the weathers getting warmer but want to know the safest way to hold him.

[BarelyBreathing]

-Always have a spotter who knows that the best way to unwrap a large snake is to start at the tail.
-Never let your snake wrap around your neck.
-Never make any sudden movements.
-Always make sure your snake is not in feeding mode before you handle it.
-Hook train it.

[mykee]

"How do you guys handle your big snakes?"

With a second person.

[exwizard]

A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 1 person per 8' of snake

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by BarelyBreathing

-Always have a spotter who knows that the best way to unwrap a large snake is to start at the tail.
-Never let your snake wrap around your neck.
-Never make any sudden movements.
-Always make sure your snake is not in feeding mode before you handle it.
-Hook train it.

Originally Posted by mykee

With a second person.

Originally Posted by exwizard

A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 1 person per 8' of snake

These are all excellent suggestions that you will most likely hear in one form or another on the big snake boards. The size recomendation ranges from 6 to 10 feet, my best advice is go with what you're comfortable with, then subtract a foot or two in case the snake surprises you. Hook training and be cautious of feed mode are imo two of the biggies.

[krippler]

when i first got my burm he was really annoyed not use to being handled and i guess never been near a hook ever so with was fun taming down a 6 foot burm and getting it use to a hook at the same time, but i did tame him quickly but he did bit me once but was my own fault for picking him up after i was warming his rat up, lucky he knew it was my hand he bit cause he only put 1 tooth mark on me and moved back instantly. but i always had my brother around incase he did try something.

[cenecker]

My 35 lb 7 ft P.Curtus is the largest snake I've ever owned. Not exactly a giant. While she's not aggressive I had the pleasure of giving her oral meds for a couple weeks.

I was completely unprepared for how powerfully she became when she didn't want meds. I am a big strong guy (6'2, 210 lbs) and I had serious problems holding her down. I even had my wrist sprained by her twisting to get away from me.

The point of my self-indulgent story - NEVER underestimate the power of a big snake. I'd recommend having the help of someone experienced.

[Norm66]

I think, depending on your size and the girth of the snake that 7' to 8' is a good cutoff for one person handling a snake. 95% of the time when our burm is out (he's a little over 7') there are two of us here. My wife never handles him alone. A friend of ours who is a lot more experienced than we are even has her 6' boa on the two-person list (it's a real list in her reptile room) along with her burms.

I looked for a picture of my preferred method but couldn't find out handy so I'll try to describe it. I try to get their front section in one of my hands and run the body back across one of my shoulders. From there I try to get them to go across my back and down to my waist. It seems to me like I have a way out if something goes wrong that way.

I've only gotten into trouble once and honestly it was a) not that bad, and b) entirely my own stupid fault. I was trying to show Malaki off to my dad via Skype and he decided he wanted to climb on my big aquarium which is right next to my computer. He wound up around my neck with a good grip because he was extending himself over to the aquarium. I was never choked but it was obviously a dumb position to be in. I could have gotten him off myself but my wife came to my "rescue" anyway so she could make fun of me to my dad.

The moral of the story is to pay 100% attention to what's going on with big snakes.

[millertime89]

Originally Posted by Norm66

The moral of the story is to pay 100% attention to what's going on with big snakes.

best. advice. ever.

[hellosugaree]

Learn how to handle somebody else's big snake before you get one of your own. That's probably the safest bet, but maybe it's too late?

[Lankyrob]

NEVER underestimate the power, we have a 6foot SD retic that when we want to put him back into his viv he will squeeze the arm that he is on to stop him being put away - he regularly squeezes enough to leave bruises/welts on my arms - imagine that squeeze around the neck or chest - then upscale the snake to something the size of a burm..............

[Squirtle]

Originally Posted by hellosugaree

Learn how to handle somebody else's big snake before you get one of your own. That's probably the safest bet, but maybe it's too late?

All of my friends who have big snakes always handle them around their neck and also using their arms.. but ever place I read says that's the wrong thing to do.

[Lankyrob]

Only ever let a snake near your neck if you fancy ending up unconscious or dead

[hellosugaree]

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Only ever let a snake near your neck if you fancy ending up unconscious or dead

I handle all burms and retics with my neck. They are too long to hold otherwise, so I just wrap them around.

[Gungirl]

Originally Posted by hellosugaree

I handle all burms and retics with my neck. They are too long to hold otherwise, so I just wrap them around.

You are just asking for trouble by doing that.... If you can not comfortably handle a snake alone without wrapping it around your neck then do not handle it alone.