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tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake?
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by Venomjunkie on April 10, 2006
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i am surprised to see that so many people are against the use of tongs on snakes. please note, i am talking about Gentle Giants and M1's here. i wouldnt use something like a Midwest standard tong or a pilstrom tong on a snake but i think the ones with a rubber coated jaw would be fairly safe for the handler and the snake (IF USED CORRECTLY) i would think they would come in very handy when dealing with things such as speedy elapids. any thoughts on this?
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by Chris_Harper on April 10, 2006
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I am a huge fan of both the GG's and the M1's, and that's my personal opinion. Everyone knows that I'm friends with Dana, but the way we met was because of a critique that I wrote of 3 tong brands. He didn't get mad, instead he wanted to know what he could do to make his products better. He's the ONLY person in the business that has done something as revolutionary as the Gentle Giants.
Tongs definitely have their place.
~CH
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by Rob_Carmichael on April 11, 2006
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I'll second that. Our gentle giant tongs get daily usage whether its for moving venomous snakes to holding containers during routine maintenance, or, removing water bowls, re-landscaping, etc. there are many applications for these tongs. No tong is perfect but these eliminate a lot of the worry about putting undue stress on the snake; our's barely know that they are being moved and seldom put up a fuss. Dana is very open minded to suggestions which is why he has done so well. So, here's another ringing endorsement for Midwest.
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by LarryDFishel on April 11, 2006
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Personally I have never used tongs on a snake, not because I have observed damage from them, but based entirely on how I've had snakes react when restraining them by had. I've known quite a few snakes to trash wildly while being restrained and the only way to keep them from hurting themselves was to get the rest of the body under control with my other hand. I would not be comfortable grabbing any part of a venomous snake with my hand while holding another part with tongs, and two pairs of tongs sounds like more dextarity than I can muster.
Now, if a particular snake that wont sit on a hook happens to be OK with tongs, then I have no problem with that.
Most of the snakes I've worked with seem to fell into 3 categories:
Ones that sit on a hook with no problem.
Ones that are almost too heavy to hold with 2 hooks and I don't think I could possibly lift with tongs.
Ones that are totally insane and try to bite anything that touches them.
None of these sound like good candidates for tongs.
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by pygmybait on April 13, 2006
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I bought a pair of GG's a couple of years ago and had a hard time adjusting to them. I'm just more comfortable with hooks. But not all snakes are going to ride a hook, like Larry said...
I found that when dealing with wild caught animals, the Tongs are much safer to use and that all you need to do is hot glue some foam to the jaws. I use the same stuff that comes in Pelican boxes or some of the SKB guitar cases. It's cheap and very available and easy to cut. It allows you to get a firm hold of the snake without crushing it and also make the jaws harder for the snake to slip out of. Easy fix for an otherwise GREAT tool. I use mine all the time now.
Also, for larger venomous species like the Gaboons, I cut down one of the Midwest Python hooks to 24" and it works like a charm. Normal hooks seem to "dig in" to heavier bodied snakes but the Python hooks wider jaws are a great fit.
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by Buzztail1 on April 13, 2006
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I have been using just hooks for years.
And then one night (picture backwoods GA darkness) a couple called me out to get "some rattlesnakes" that their dogs had found in the backyard.
They turned out to be two very large, very unhappy Canebrake Rattlesnakes. The crowd of neighbors did not want to believe that they could be in any danger with me there and the snakes would not sit on a hook to be boxed. This was well before Midwest came out with the Pro Bagger, which is an awesome gadget.
Anyway, in that instance, tongs made all the difference in the world. I used Gentle Giants and a hook to transfer the two large snakes into a transport container (and later relocated them to good homes) while The Boss spread her arms wide (with a hook held outstretched in each hand) to keep the less-than-bright neighbors from getting too close to the ticked off snakes. It would have been near impossible to get the snakes out of that yard, in the darkness, with the crowd of crazy onlookers, without tongs.
I am real happy that I carry them in the van (just in case).
The picture of the two snakes that night can be seen here:
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/libraries/showfilepage/1663?offset=42
Karl
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RE: tongs- are they really THAT harmful to a snake
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by Venomjunkie on April 14, 2006
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well im glad to see that at least a few people also use tongs. however, hooks still seem to be the number one tool when dealing with hot snakes. i would almost always use a hook before i would use tongs but i believe there are a few species that almost require the use of tongs to be handled safely.
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