How to handle an aggressive snake

[twan]

I just wanted to know yall thoughts about this video and has anybody tried this and did it work.

YouTube - Handling an Aggressive Snake

[RR - Mackenzie]

Nevermind, I see it I think it depends on how comfortable you are with it. I've never tried it personally.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Ive been doing that for years. It does work. It also works to calm a hyper snake that wont stop trying to get away. Place your hand over the head cupped a little so you are touching the nose, and hold it there. Just barely touching the snake. If the snake keeps trying to race away when you lift your hand, just do it again.

I also always tell people to reach into the enclosure coming from behind the snakes head and cup your hand down over the head. This is so it doesnt strike from being spooked or feeding response.

[Falconsmith]

Good tips. Nice hat too!

[llovelace]

The male rtb that I acquired about a year ago, was so cage agressive, he did the whole strike the glass viv whenever someone one walked by,(his name is Oscar) but with frequent handling (daily, except feed days), he's like a 'lil puppy now. Just brought another one home (long story) who's the same way.


They are both under 3 ft., now I have "Big Girl" who's about 7ft., and her owner didn't handle her much at all over the past 9 months or so, but she never has displayed any type of agressive / antsy behavior.

As far as the video, I don't know, never tried that technique

[Aeries]

I've used a very similar technique with young retics. Basically something over the head, then pick up them up from the middle.

[blackcrystal22]

I have a little story for you that you might find interesting.
This technique does work because it calms the animal down and almost makes it impossible to reel back and strike properly.

I have a professor who is a Herpetologist (he's also a lawyer and a lot of other things, but he discovered a species of mud turtle). One day he was telling me that he was field herping a little bit, and he saw a snake under a board. He thought at first glance it was a little rat snake, so he lifted the board really fast and quickly put his hand over the snakes head.
Turns out, that snake was a young cottonmouth. He realized this immediately when his hand was on the head of the snake. The snake was coiled up with it's head laying in the middle of it's coils, and made no attempt to escape.
With a fast hand and a little prayer, he figured that the best option would be to pull his hand away as fast as possible, faster than the snake could strike.
He manage to do it, and wasn't bitten. But he said a snake will rarely be able to bite you if you have your hand on their head, because due to instinct they feel they need to strike from a slight distance.

[j_h_smith]

Well, I guess I'll be the only one to disagree. I've got a Lesser that would clamp onto your hand if you tried to go anywhere near her head like that.

Jim Smith

[WingedWolfPsion]

For the timid, just use a hook or other tool to gently push their head down, so that their chin rests on the cage floor--they'll most likely draw back defensively, and you can then pick them up safely. For some reason, having their head moved out of that raised strike position seems to send their mind back out of strike mode, and they calm a bit.

[mrmertz]

I was told that with aggressive snakes you should take them for a car ride.




j/k