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RE: Snake shields?
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by FSB on February 12, 2009
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I've tried everything from stove-top splatter screens to garbage can lids (thanks for the tip, Randal), and many different home-made jobs that were basically a flat piece of thin wood or plexiglass on a straight handle. Shields are a really indispensable tool of day-to-day husbandry, and something I use at least as often as hooks, yet there are no standardized, manufactured makes that I'm aware of, leaving even professionals to improvise. Plexiglass seems like a good option since it allows for full visibility, but most of the time I find I don't need to see the snake through the shield, and snakes don't seem as inclined to strike at something opaque, like wood, thus injuring their mouths.
I'd like to see some options in regards to the handle, which could possibly be made so that it could ratchet backwards and lock into various positions, giving you a lot of options as to the angle. It would be nice to be able to keep your hand well behind the plane of the shield instead of straight above it. Some kind of plastic guard around the hand might be devised too. Another idea would be a lip or flare on the upper edge of the shield that projects outwards, over the snake, thus deflecting an upward strike. Actually, what is great about garbage can lids is that the grip is on the back (like a medievel knight's shield) so that the hand is fully protected. This principle could also work well with smaller shields, having the top edge flared backwards to protect the forearm.
Speaking of medieval knights, perhaps something like a molded plastic gauntlet that you actually wear on your arm would work. It would flare out at the bottom to completely cover the back of the hand, leaving the fingers free to work on the other side. That way you'd have both hands free and supreme maneuverability.
Shields should be maneuverable within the cage, so you don't want them to fit the dimensions of the cage snugly (that would be a divider). You might try making them for various common aquarium sizes (10 gal and up) since they generally reflect about the same size ranges of most cages. Vision cages would be a challenge, since they have an odd shape, so there's room for some experimentation there. If you made a variety of shields that were customized for some of the more commonly-used cage types, you'd probably have a pretty good item for snake show vendor tables.
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