Handling big snakes - Page 2

hellosugaree · 04-04-12, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gungirl

You are just asking for trouble by doing that....

If you can not comfortably handle a snake alone without wrapping it around your neck then do not handle it alone.

Maybe I should explicitly state that I was entirely kidding. I thought it was too crazy for someone to take it seriously. I sure hope nobody takes that as serious advice and does it. Then again, maybe we don't need the people that would do this in our gene pool anyway? Ok that's a bit harsh.

Squirtle · 04-04-12, 05:55 PM

So it's fine to hold him around my shoulders, but I must have someone within yelling distance?

exwizard · 04-04-12, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squirtle

All of my friends who have big snakes always handle them around their neck and also using their arms.. but ever place I read says that's the wrong thing to do.

Black Betty is no giant but she is a big snake at 9 1/2' long and 26 lbs. She is very strong even if she is tame. I never let her wrap around my neck. I do on the other hand let her ride on my shoulders. It is possible to do that without her wrapping around my neck. My advice is to avoid having any big snake wrap around the neck no matter what. There was a guy is Nebraska who made the news a couple of years ago because he was killed by a Ball due to this very thing

Gungirl · 04-04-12, 03:23 PM

Lol.. well I am happy to read that you where joking.. however you need to add in things to show us that....

..

hellosugaree · 04-04-12, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gungirl

Lol.. well I am happy to read that you where joking.. however you need to add in things to show us that....

..

Thanks. I'll try to remember to add in some appropriate smileys to convey my mood. However, eventually you will just realize that 95% of what comes out of my mouth is sarcastic BS anyway. Not the mean kind though, just the fun kind.

marvelfreak · 04-04-12, 05:22 PM

You can support a big snakes weight on your shoulder just be careful not to let it wrap. I was holding a 8.5' & 16lbs female RTB when she got spooked. In under 3 seconds she tighten around my neck and was choking me out. In under 15 i was out cold and fell. Which made her tighten even more. Luckily my brother and sister in law had just show up and got her off of me. They said i had turn purple. I am a big boy and a power house so i always thought i could easily pull her off by myself. But when you can't breath you don't have half the strength you think you would. Always have some one else there just in case.

hellosugaree · 04-04-12, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

You can support a big snakes weight on your shoulder just be careful not to let it wrap. I was holding a 8.5' & 16lbs female RTB when she got spooked. In under 3 seconds she tighten around my neck and was choking me out. In under 15 i was out cold and fell. Which made her tighten even more. Luckily my brother and sister in law had just show up and got her off of me. They said i had turn purple. I am a big boy and a power house so i always thought i could easily pull her off by myself. But when you can't breath you don't have half the strength you think you would. Always have some one else there just in case.

I would believe it. 10 seconds is really all it takes. They don't even have to stop your breathing. When you cut off blood supply to the brain by pinching arteries in your neck you go pretty quickly. Ever seen someone go limp in 10s from a choke in mma? It doesn't take much. In fact, the actual pressure on the neck is very little and someone can be choked to unconsciousness and death pretty quickly and easily without even blocking their breathing.

Caylan · 04-04-12, 05:53 PM

For me it completely depends on the snake, but the most I've handled on my own so far was an 8' female guyana red tail, or a 10' female coastal carpet python. The guyana was significantly more difficult with the added weight, but far more still and kinda just clung on to my torso and rested on my shoulders, whereas controlling 10' of curiosity can be way harder... I find the larger the snake, the easier it is to mishandle too, which they usually won't tolerate and will show aggression in someway or another. Just be smart about it, and don't take unnecessary risks. Always pay attention!!

Gungirl · 04-04-12, 06:09 PM

Risk the snake spooking and choking the crap out of you....

**millertime89** · 04-04-12, 10:37 PM

While I understand using your shoulders to support the weight of the snake, I still agree you should always have a second person around if the snake is big enough to necessitate that.

Caylan · 04-05-12, 03:07 AM

Drape the back 2/3's of the snake over your right shoulder, wrapping the tail around your left hip, supporting with your left hand(always control of the tail this way, and then you use your right arm and hand to guide the head around. You'll find once the snake gets to big for this, they won't like being supported by a single person anyway, its uncomfortable for them more then it is for you actually. This also removes the chance of carotid artery blocking, since one half of the snake is actually under your arm when it choses to constrict, and you already have its tail. Should give you a bit more time to call for help

Terranaut · 04-05-12, 04:24 AM

Well the biggest snake I have isn't the one I need to be the most cautious with so the 8' or more = 2 people rule is a bit vague but a good starting point. My 7.5' JCP is about 1/2 as strong as my 6.75' Boa. She(Eva my Boa)gets uneasy when off the ground. Her previous owner always sat on the couch with her. She is very handleable but lift her up and she holds on hard. I know I could not unwrap her from my neck alone so she is never there. But I will drape her over one shoulder. Now my JCP I let lurk all over me. If she tries to go around my neck I sometimes put my hand on my chin and let her use me to climb. This way I have an arm in there already if anything goes south and I know that arm is enough to get her off me. Now all that being said. In my house I have 3 kids who all handle all of out snakes including Eva my female Boa mentioned above. We have both of the above snakes on the "do not hold unless mom or dad is here" list and 2 others on the "do not handle without another kid here"list. The other 3 are open access. Keeps them safe and us to.
So.... I guess what I am saying is the 8' rule is a rough rule and truly depends on the breed. Just because my snakes are less than 8' doesn't make them safe to handle alone. It is a good rule for the snakes comfort level though. 8' of snake is a lot for 2 hands so it becomes crappy for the snake.
Use common sense and play safe. Besides snakes are best enjoyed when shared with others.

zaroba · 04-11-12, 06:57 PM

A 5ft retic or burm will be much stronger then a 5ft corn snake simply because its a heavier bodied species of snake.
For holding alone, I wouldn't even say 7ft is ok. Maybe not even 6ft when it comes to them as heavy bodied snakes are *very* strong.

When it comes to handling alone, think of this:
How much can you do with 1 hand?

Snake length and weight is something to consider, but so is the size of its mouth. What if a 6ft retic or burmese mistakes your hand for food, grabs your wrist and wraps starts wrapping your hand? Are you going to be able to unwrap the snake and pull its mouth open with just one hand? Likely not, it will be one or the other and the snake will be fighting you the whole time.
Well, of course you could wait it out and the snake will eventually tire enough for you to remove with one hand, but I mean doing it immediately, not standing there with a 6ft snake hanging off your arm while your watching a 2 hour movie and waiting for it to tire and let go.

I'd say for safeties sake, anything up to 5ft and under 2" girth , solo. This would be Colubrids, smaller python species, garters, etc.
Anything over 2" girth OR over 5ft, *not* solo. Definitely have somebody else that can come to your aid if needed. Bloods, Retics, Burms, Anacondas, etc. Large, heavy bodied species. Snakes that are large enough to render you one handed if they decide to bite.
If over 8ft, make sure your not alone when opening the cage and handling. Meaning, you have somebody there in the room with you at the time. Somebody that can immediately see if you need help without you needing to call for it.

**millertime89** · 04-11-12, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaroba

A 5ft retic or burm will be much stronger then a 5ft corn snake simply because its a heavier bodied species of snake.
For holding alone, I wouldn't even say 7ft is ok. Maybe not even 6ft when it comes to them as heavy bodied snakes are *very* strong.

When it comes to handling alone, think of this:
How much can you do with 1 hand?

Snake length and weight is something to consider, but so is the size of its mouth. What if a 6ft retic or burmese mistakes your hand for food, grabs your wrist and wraps starts wrapping your hand? Are you going to be able to unwrap the snake and pull its mouth open with just one hand? Likely not, it will be one or the other and the snake will be fighting you the whole time.
Well, of course you could wait it out and the snake will eventually tire enough for you to remove with one hand, but I mean doing it immediately, not standing there with a 6ft snake hanging off your arm while your watching a 2 hour movie and waiting for it to tire and let go.

A 5 ft retic had better not be a heavy bodied snake.
I can hold a lot with one hand, probably not the best litmus test.
A 5 footer's mouth isn't going to be THAT big. Can it get a good hold on you? Yeah, but so can a 3.5 foot ball python. Its gonna be different for everyone. Just do what you're comfortable with, 5-8 ft is a good range, everyone needs to do what they're comfortable with from there.

zaroba · 04-12-12, 04:08 AM

When I said 'heavier bodied snake' I was only referring to the snakes girth.
A 5ft retic wont be as slender as a 5ft corn, it has more girth.

In my opinion, comfort should have very little to do with it. Comfort and Safe are 2 different things. When one is comfortable doing something, they do it often and their comfort will grow. As their comfort grows, they become complacent and that's when the more serious accidents happen. I'm sure most situations where people have been killed by pet snakes happened because the person was comfortable and didn't think anything bad would happen, otherwise they wouldn't have done the action in the first place. Cannot take for granted the power of a large snake just because you are comfortable handling it. They still have their wild instincts and must be treated with respect.

Yea, smaller snake can still get hold of you. Even a 2ft kingsnake, the difference is that smaller snakes can be easily removed with one hand and the risk of serious injury (to you or the snake) or fatality is much smaller. Their teeth are smaller, so usually not much work is needed to open their mouth and get the snake off, where-as the 1/4" long teeth of an 8ft burm do not come out of your skin easily (and I am speaking from experience).