Handling a snake is one of the joys of keeping them. They’re fun and interesting and many species enjoy the exercise with humans. Some snakes, like Gumball, are excellent handlers, who are always looking for an opportunity to interact. However, those new to snake keeping can find it a daunting prospect. So in this article, we look at how to handle a snake.
Rules on When to Handle a Snake
It is important to know there are a few rules when it comes to handling a snake. These are listed below.
Can You Handle a Snake After Feeding?
One of the first rules to consider when handling a snake is feeding. Snakes are nervous feeders at the best of times, and while we get ours to feed almost every time, that still doesn’t mean that they like to be handled afterwards.
Always leave a snake that has recently fed for about 48 hours after the meal. So if you feed on a Sunday evening, it is best to leave until Wednesday morning before handling again.
This is because it takes between 24 and 48 hours for a snake to digest their food. If they’re disturbed and get stressed they will regurgitate their meals, which causes harm to their digestive system, and you would need to not feed them for two weeks, or you could cause further damage.
Should You Handle a Snake While It’s Shedding?
Shedding is another time when you shouldn’t handle a snake. During the shedding process, when the snake is likely to be off food and hiding more, the scales over their eyes are more opaque. So their vision can be relatively reduced. Therefore, they tend to sense any movement near them with significant mistrust.
And if they can’t see it is you, they’re likely to try and defend themselves. The shedding process can vary, with some snakes spending a few days in shed, whereas others can shed over a week or two.
These times, the snakes should be left alone.
Can You Handle a Snake That Has Just Come Home?
When it comes to handling new snakes in the family, the answer is contentious. Many advise leaving a snake alone for at least a week. But that isn’t always easy. After all, you want to do health checks and interact with your new family member. And it doesn’t help to socialise the snake either.
What we would recommend is to wait for the first feed, which some people recommend leaving for a week, but we recommend feeding as soon as possible. If you’re talking to a breeder, they should be able to tell you when the next feed is due. If possible, keep that schedule or feed as soon as possible.
Doing this tells the snake that there is food in the new home and creates a bond between you and your snake.
Once they’ve fed, wait 48 hours and you can handle them.
How to Handle a Snake
So if you’re now looking at how to handle a snake, then look at these top tips.
Avoid the Head
Most snakes, especially when they don’t have much handling experience, are very head-shy. So avoid the head as much as possible. Ideally, you want your hands to be at the third and two-thirds point along their body, this allows stability and a good distribution of weight.
Allow for Anchoring
If a snake wraps its tail and lower end around your arm, don’t worry, this is known as anchoring and what a snake would do in the wild for comfort and safety. Therefore, if a snake is exhibiting this behaviour with you, it is a good sign and you should allow it. Most snakes won’t grip too hard, but they do this because they’ve learnt to trust you.
Watch Behaviours
One thing that worries people is the behaviour of the snake. However, numerous common behaviours indicate the mood of a snake. If they’re not paying much attention to you, this is a good sign. It demonstrates that they’re not scared of you and they’re just taking an interest in what is around.
It is when the snake is still and is watching you that you have to be careful. Or when they go into a striking pose.
Approach From the Side
One of the things to remember is that snakes are prey as well as predators. Many of their predators will attack from above, so they’re more wary about being grabbed from above. So if possible, try to approach them from a side position. It will keep them calm.
Consider Environment
One consideration that is often ignored is the environment. Snakes don’t have good hearing, partly because they don’t have external ears. Instead, their internal ears tend to detect vibrations more, but that does make them sensitive to certain sounds, especially those that create vibrations nearby.
Even if these sounds aren’t there at the time of handling, they might impact the behaviour of the snake. So sound systems, heavy equipment, and being too close to washing machines/dishwashers might be a problem.
Confidence
Being confident of the snake is one of the key aspects of holding snakes. You need to show no fear of being bitten or being hurt by the snake. They will act a lot calmer and be willing to trust you if you act confidently.
Many people who have not been bitten will worry about the pain or injury. But the teeth on a snake aren’t particularly dangerous. Most bites are normally bluff strikes, where the snake doesn’t actually use their teeth. Even when not, the shock of the bite is worse than the actual bite as the fangs are tiny and any cut is usually a pinprick. Most snakes don’t hold on either, rather bite and let go.
Practice
There is no better lesson than to practice. All snakes are different and you need to get to know your snake to learn how to handle it better. Some snakes are faster and others will just sit in your hands. Practise with them for about 10-15 minutes every day (unless they’ve just eaten or are in shed) and they and you will get used to the process.
And if there is an accident (a bite or you drop them), don’t forget to get back to it. Being afraid of a repeat will not help and the snake needs to see that you’re not worried about the issue.
Final Word: How to Handle a Snake
If you want to know how to handle a snake, the best way to do this is to practise. However, the tips above are some of the ones we use here at DJL Exotics. And if you want to learn more information and are close to us here at DJL Exotics, you can book an experience session.
