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lessons in handeling
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by ian on August 25, 2000
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in response to the article lessons in handeling:
I too have a similar handeling experience. I've been catching snakes ever since I was 5 due to the fact that my stepfather would bring home snakes from hunting camp to show me at an early age(he now realizes that may have been a mistake). Anyway I've always been interested in hot snakes and have even gotten in trouble a time or two for messing with them. it wasn't until three and a half years ago that I started to realize the ease at which it was to obtain them through dealers. My first was a timber rattlesnake. The last thing from my mind at the time was handeling him but as I got more and more familiar with him I realized he my be more dangerous than any of the hundreds of ill temered nonvenemous snakes I had caught in the wild but he was after all still a snake and if treated correctly, and pinned on a softer surface to prevent injury he could be held. since then I've kept gaboons, waglers viper, a rhino viper, crotolus terrificus, and now a cobra. One lesson I've learned is to try to judge your snake before you hold him. for example the terrificus, he's a crazy bastard w/ a fatal venom. he's unpredictable and quick and did I mention deadly. In conclusion I thought, why handle him. I'm not conducting research, I'm not milking, and I'm not treating injury so why handle him. In other words, ask yourself, Is it worth handeling this snake just for the sake of handling him.
Anyway I did mention I had a similar experience. I lost my poor wild caught waglers viper about 10 month ago and last oct at the sc hot expo decided I needed a replacement for my aboreal cage. eyelash vipers were too expensive at the time so I got a mangrove snake. The guy warned me he would be fun to dodge and that's just what I found out when I got home w/ him. since then I use him for practice. I mean although he's lethargic until you really start messing w/ him, once you get him going he's a complete asshole managing unbelievable lunging strikes that seem to be 2/3 his body lengnth. I now enjoy getting him out cause he's good practise. If I can hold this guy w/o getting bit I can probably handle the others and if I get bit then hey its just a mangove I'm not going to die.
The last time I got him out for the first time he almost got the best of me. I managed to get a good hold on him behind the neck and he simply wasn't having it. He refused to give up the fight. He twisted his mouth and teeth around in a more flexible manner than I thought possible. Here I have this guy secured by the neck and he still twisted to the point where his little teeth didn't have too much futher to go in order to attach to my awaiting fingers. Well, I didn't panic of course, got him to the sofa and quickly released him with a new found respect. Lessoned learned was don't under estimate a crazy snake. They all have there own personalities, their own habits, their own amounts of unpredictability, and their own level of determinancy and agression. So when you choose to hold hot snakes that's fine, but use proper judgement. for your sake and for everyone else that keeps these beautiful creatures don't become a statistic....ian
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Lessons in Handling
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by CASCABELLADONNA on June 25, 2001
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OK---ALLOW ME A MOMENT TO GET ON MY SOAPBOX ABOUT HANDLING (PLEASE FORGIVE ME). TO IAN: DUDE, ARE YOU STONED? NOT THAT IT MATTERS---BUT COULD YOU PLEASE FILM EVERY "FREEHANDLED SNAKE EVENT" SO THAT WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM YOU:)~. RATHER YOU DIE THAN ME....AT ANY RATE: DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ABOUT TUBES??? GREATEST INVENTION KNOWN TO MAN AND GET THIS-THEY'RE EASY TO USE!!!!! NOT THAT I CAN'T RELATE TO MOMENTS OF BEING STUPID WITH THE SNAKES (GETTING DRUNK AND CATCHING A PIGMY RATTLESNAKE WITH BAREHANDS FOR EXAMPLE-SO DON'T GET ME WRONG-WE ARE ALL DUMB AT TIMES), BUT SINCE THE TIME OF MY OWN PERSONAL "I.D." (INTELLIGENCE DAWNING) SUCH INSANE FEATS ARE OVER. OF COURSE, WE ARE STILL FACED WITH HAVING TO HANDLE THESE LOVABLE KILLERS AT TIMES REGARDLESS; I RECENTLY HAD TO FREE-HANDLE MY LARGE MALE SOUTHERN COPPERHEAD FOR PURPOSES OF HAND SHEDDING. LET ME TELL YOU IT'S A GOOD THING MINE ARE SO CALM OR ELSE I WOULD'VE HAD TO MAKE A RUN FOR THE E.R.! I LITERALLY HAD TO HAND SHED THE CONTORTRIXS' FACE! NO TWEEZERS WERE ON HAND AND I HAD NO CASH TO RUN TO THE STORE AND GET SOME--SO I JUST CAREFULLY (AND MILLIMETERS FROM ENVENOMATION) MANIPULATED THE SKIN FROM MY COPPERS FACE.THIS GUY WAS GREAT----DIDN'T EVEN GAPE AT ME! HE TUGGED BACK A LITTLE, BUT HEY---WHEN YOU HAVE A BIG PINK MONKEY PULLING YOUR SKIN OFF OF YOUR FACE--YOU'D TUG TOO:)~. I ENJOYED THE ARTICLE AS I LIVE IN VIRGINIA TOO AND HAVE CAUGHT EVERY SNAKE POSSIBLE HERE EXCEPT FOR THE EASTERN HOGNOSE, IT IS MY GOAL TO ADD THIS LITTLE BOOGER TO MY COLLECTED REPERTOIRE THIS SUMMER. AT ANY RATE--THANKS FOR THE ARTICLE AND STAY SAFE EVERYONE!!
:)~ :)~ :)~
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Lessons in Handling
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by TransPecos on October 4, 2006
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I am an amature and have recently made the same mistake. I have usually caught southern coppers around the house on the local black tops at night. In the past I normally didn't have any tools handy and simply picked them up behind the head as I had often seen on tv as a kid and been doing it ever since. for some reason all the ones I have caught in the wild like this they seem very passive at first untill they know what is going on. However the one I have at home stays well feed and maintained and has become much more agressive. we took him out not long ago and handled him to make measurements to keep record of his progress. I decided to measure his fang spread. I used a thin rocks glass and a latex glove and intended to make puncture holes. make a long story short he has a 3/4" spread at a 25" body length and left five heathy drops of his yellow hemotoxin as a suprise for when we where done. two weeks latter I had to clean his cage and had to put him back in. the hook is not his favorate toy and the room was a little cluttered "broken rule" so I decided to pin him and place him in by hand. He was not having it and nearly got me in a split second thrash. I now no longer handle lincon except quarterly for measurments or with plenty of room and quiet. Since he is not leathal I do concider him a good tool to practice with. I realize that a bite from him could put me in a world of pain for over a week and this keeps me on my toes. If he doesn't seem in the mood, it can wait.
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