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why use tools
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Anonymous post on August 24, 2004
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alot of people criticize people for free handling. And they also criticize steve irwin. Steve has never been biten by a venomous snake and he never uses tools. Steve didnt influence me to free handle but I respect him more for having the complete understanding,the complete patience,the complete knowledge of exactly what the snake is going to do.
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RE: why use tools
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by TCH_Zoological on August 25, 2004
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I know people who were on the set with Steve on one of his rattlesnake shows. Every snake was pre-placed, pre-caught and PUT IN AN ICE BUCKET before the camera turned on.
In some shows you can actually see the rattle NOT rattling but funny enough you still hear the rattling sound on your tv at home.
I do respect his attempts at conservation but keep in mind that not everything on televison is what it seems. I do believe that some of the elapids he works with might be completely wild. I'm sure he has handled many snakes long before he was ever on tv.
The question of why use tools BECAUSE WE CAN!!!! Why wear a seat belt in a car or why do football players wear helments. Because no matter how good you are there is always something that you CANNOT control. If you have tools available I would suggest using them for your saftey and the protection of this hobby's integrity.
And please note that just because a person uses tools that doen't mean that they don't have a patience and knowledge to understand their animals. Steve DOESN'T know what the animal is going to do, he is just using an educated guess which WILL eventually lead to a wrong answer/mistake at some point in time.
Irwin also knows when it's time to "go grab a stick." He does use tools, he ofen uses a stick on animals that pose too much of a threat i.e. snakes that haven't been "iced" enough before the camera is rolling. Steve's usage of sticks is the poor man's equivalent of a snake hook.
To anyone who might free handle, please don't risk you saftey and the possibility of negative publicity toward this hobby. There are tools made for every job. Most professionals don't free handle when tools are avaliable. People will still think you are "cool,manly, and macho" if you use a hook. I have yet to have a person question my manhood while hooking a snake.
Even professors and zookeepers who write books about animal behavior use tools when avaliable. They know more about behavior than most people including Steve Irwin. They know that behavior is something you cannot control completely, and thus a split second of unexpected behavior could land you in the hospital and cause lawmakers to crate laws banning venomous snakes.
Thanks,
T.C.
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RE: why use tools
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by elapidking81 on August 25, 2004
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WELL SAID, Use the proper equipment, they dont cost that much, hook + tongs $120 you at least need these two tools.
shane kissinger
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RE: why use tools
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by thenewdisciple on August 25, 2004
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i agree, i made an amazingly sturdy and light weight snake hook myself out of a broken golf club shaft and a small bar of metal
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RE: why use tools
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by Scootertrash on August 25, 2004
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Hey disciple, I did the exact thing you did, a broken golf club and a piece of metal for a hook. It works very well plus you have that rubber grip for stablization.
Clayton
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RE: why use tools
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by AquaHerp on August 25, 2004
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Steve may indeed free handle. But 99.99% of the people who watch his program are nowhere near the caliber of seasoned veteren that Steve is. Most "wanna-be handelers" are 10-15 years old and have never dealt with a venomous snake in any circumstance before and think that they have some "knack" for free-handling snakes. Trust me, snakes could care less about your "knack".
The sad truth of the matter it that people who insist on free-handling do nothing for the advancement of herptile keeping except to drive it deeper into the ground. Everytime they get bit, as they inevidibly do, it makes headlines and only goes to bolster the fears that others have of these animals and the misunderstandings that they have of the hobby itself. This is why ridiculous laws are so easily passed and the rights of so manys keepers are stripped away in town after town and State after State. This is the reason that thousands of responsible snake keepers who have done everything right, can no longer keep so much as a boa constrictor at home. All because of a few who think they know it all, and in reality never really had a clue to begin with.
Does Irwin encourage people to go out and free handle? If I remember right I hear him ask others not to do this. Does he forgo the use of tools? No. He may not have a hook in his hand (although others on the set do) but he certainly uses other means, "Terry, get me a branch" "here's a nice stick". "I'm gonna need a stick for this one". So albiet primitive, a tool nonetheless. From what I have seen around his zoo, and those I know that have been to his place, tools are quite readily available in every reptile area.
Don't be caught up by what the producers push for good ratings and what makes good common sense. Myself and my staff can handle venomous snakes all day long. But as soon as I catch someone handling one without some common sense gear, they'll be doing all their snaking from the couch too.
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by timberrattlesnake89 on August 26, 2004
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Well said aquaherp. Steve knows what he is doing. He does have hooks and others things in his zoo. I have seen them use midwest too. Once the used the puthon hook for a retic and the used a gentle giant tong to rescue a bird. I personally try not to free handle. I like tools. I feel cofident when working with venomous snakes and my mom does too. She is the one who takes the pictures with the snakes. I only like to use midwest.
Phillip
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RE: why use tools
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by AquaHerp on August 27, 2004
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My sincere apologies for my butchering of the English language on that post. I have a bad habit of typing first and then going back and proofing or relying on spellcheck to clean it up before I post.Obviously I didn't do that, and I seem to get worse as I go on. Another drawback to our "advancement" of today's world. What's sad...LOL...is I really could spell at one time!!!! (Although I never could type worth a crap, so there's my cheap excuse)
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RE: why use tools
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by Hotherps on August 27, 2004
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With respect, the reason why Steve Irwin and others are criticised for free-handling is because of the number of stupid people who try and copy what they see on TV!
Much of what is seen on the TV is often filmed under controlled conditions, if not actually staged and the final program will have been extensively edited.
There is a huge difference between free-handling a pet corn snake and carefully controlling an elapid by hand. I can and do sometimes control snakes on set without the use of tools when the situation calls for it, example: metal, shiny hooks can cast reflections and shadows. Sometimes you don’t actually have a hook with you when you find a snake in the wild and so you do have to improvise.
Another benefit with hooks apart from the safety aspect is that they speed up your work no end. I can extract (“milk”) venom from a rack of Echis in about an hour. That is 56 snakes caught from their box, milked and the paper an water pot changed…. Try that with your fingers!
The problem with watching an expert is that they can make handling look so easy. The viewers often forget the amount of time that these experts have spent to get to that level. they are at. Personally, I spend at least 40 hours per week working solely with venomous snakes…. have done for the last 11 years and prior to that spent a number of years as a reptile keeper (zoo) caring for a mixed collection. I’ve probably done at least 25.000 milkings, so yes I might make it look easy.
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