How did you get over the fear of.......

[razeunit]

How did you get over the fear of being bitten? I love snakes, I enjoy handling them but removing them from there enclosures where initially there more defensive always makes me nervous. Its not the bite I fear more the jump I get when they strike. I dont want to use gloves anymore or a hook just in and out with my bare hand. I fed my boy tonight so Monday evening I want to go in and grab him out but would love to hear from some people who overcame this irrational fear.

 

[saximus]

It's not irrational, it's instinctive. The only people I know who don't jump are breeders who have been bitten a million times and just don't care any more.
Why don't you want to use a hook? I love mine.

 

[timske]

by gettting bitten would be the best way, why be scared..

 

[razeunit]

My mate is my inspiration to not use a hook or a glove. He isn't a breeder and only jumps slightly and will pick up just about any wild animal. He told me when he was young he was walking through the bush with his father they came accross a carpet python and he looked to his dad and yelled snake! His dad calmly told him to pick it up. So he did. That experience is probably where it all started. Also the old hook I have is a telescope type and is broken because its not heavy duty enough and when I had a check on ebay they were all telescope types that look flimsy.

 

[pretzels]

my hook broke within a week of getting it :/ id like to think that its just a matter of time. hell i got so scared i couldnt even pick my hatchie up at one point. slowly getting over that. like saximus said its not irrational its just how we are programmed. just give your self time and take it slow. being bitten isnt the worst thing in the world. i wouldnt say its the best way to get over your fear tho..god knows iv been bitten so many times and it hasnt made it any easier LOL.
goodluck to you!

 

[Skeptic]

Just reach in and see what happens I guarantee its not that bad. Having said that, after a while you can gauge what your animals going to do just by looking at it's posture. There's nothing wrong with using a hook sometimes. Sometimes you'd be silly not too. As for getting over your fear, either get bitten a bunch of times or watch somebody else get bitten a bunch of times

 

[cwebb]

My bredli has bitten me alot as a hatchling but since growing to 6 foot i havent been bitten since like sept last year.. so ill admit im scared once again

 

[daniel.g]

Most of the time you will reach in and all will go well I've been bitten HEAPS. I had the same fear when I got my first python. Now it's nothing to get bitten

 

[NuKL7]

What skeptic said is so true.. about three months ago i was scared of snakes even. Then i stumbled upon SnakeBytesTV (i am a big youtuber) and watched hundreds of their shows... i have probably seen about 88% of their shows.

They were the spark that got me intrigued into snakes but i was not sold. I love animals and all (4 dogs 4 goldfish 1 axolotl) but snakes was something that was over the top for me back then. I started searching on APS for all the info for roughly 2 months changing between my snake of preference from GTP, albino darwin then finally bredli. The change was mainly due to the prices of each, I have planed a trip to thailand at the end of the year and need to save up so i was planning to buy the snake next year after i return... but when i found the bredli i was instantly in love.. they look great and are so cheap! so i decided that the investment of roughly 300 was acceptable for everything inc setup + snake.

Bought my beautiful girl 2 weeks ago and i absolutely love her... When i picked her up and the breeder told me to pick her up and see if i wanted this one or that... i was so stiff. That was my first time i held a snake, not including snake pats at the zoo of course :lol:. i was so scared to pick her up the breeder had to do it for me and place her in my hand LOL.

When she got home i would handle her roughly 4 times a week (this is excess from the views of some breeders but i have limited handling as much as i could... remember she is my first snake and 4 times is a lot better than twice everyday) she has settles in well, on her 2nd feed now and cant wait till she sheds... But i have the same trouble as you Razeunit, the initial grab is the hardest... when i first got her out i would touch her for her to know that im there but since she is a little flighty it stresses her out... after a few times i changed to just reaching in and grabbing, with confidence as snakebytes would say. Works a treat.. they can definately sense the confidence in you and are less likely to get angry.

But my little zora isn't cage defensive most of the time... she may get into a small s but nothing majorly troubling. I know she wont be as bad as as your cage defensive snake Razeunit but in my opinion the confidence really helps, some may say its useless but it sure makes me feel better to pick her up. I'm also one of those do it not and think of the consequences later type of guy so its a little different than everyone else and believe me this trait has put me in many regrets lols.

The key i think is to read your snake, you will know whether or not they are in a mood to bite, if they arent then reach in with confidence and pick them up but if you can tell that they are just use a snake hook, no harm in using it!

Sorry about the long essay haha i just wanted you to know the journey i went to overcome it but be sure to take some time maybe 30 mins to 1 hour to just watch SnakeBytesTV (or any snake biting on youtube) and get yourself familiarised with the bites it may seem stupid but it got me from being scared of snakes in general to handling one regularly.

Nuttanai

 

[Bluetongue1]

As Saximus said, the fear of being bitten is not irrational. It is a very normal reaction. That aside, I think it is very important to realise that there are two sets of variables involved here... the snake and... the handler.

As a handler you tend to develop confidence with practice. However, get bitten or struck at repeatedly and you can quickly lose confidence. Confidence only comes with success. Purchasing a docile snake to start will certainly help.

Stress affects a snake’s behaviour. If your snake is continually pacing the front of the cage or striking at anything and every thing that goes past, it is clearly stressed. In which case, you need ascertain the reasons and address them. Continuously hiding can also be a reaction to stress.

Access to the enclosure is usually for one of three reasons – maintenance, feeding or handling. You can train your snake to know the difference. A good start is to distinguish the timing of feeding versus other. In nature pythons will set off once it is dark to go hunting. So feeding after dark is very natural. All other access should be during daylight hours only. It does make a difference but you must be consistent.

Rather than use gloves, try using a pillow slip, handtowel or the like. Place it over the head. Use another to lift the snake out. Allow the snake to move out of the cloth and into your bare hand with forcing it. Try that for a few months and then have the odd go without it. Gradually decrease the usage if successful or simply maintain it for a s long as needed. There is nothing wrong with this being a permanent technique to remove snakes from cages.

Good luck,
Blue

 

[solar 17]

l disagree with most of these posts......as fear most of the time (IMO)is a two way street l personally believe animals (and people) read fear to their advantage....get yourself a nice hook and if you get or make a well made/nice one it will last you for years.....just image this....there is an arm most of the time 2-3 times thicker than your body ripping you out of your comfort zone/ bed ....how would you react,not real flash l bet, where as a gently guided hook can be a lot less fearfull for your critter.....not everybody is "a natural" herper ,give it time Rome wasn't built in a day.....solar 17 (Baden)

 

[richardsc]

would love to see a breeder happily let a 5 metre scrubby latch onto them with out flinching because they dont care anymore,not to mention elapids

 

[yommy]

I use hooks on my larger stuff as a bite from them is more painful then a hatchie or juvi. but as was mentioned earlier a snake that is less stressed is less likely to bite. Got to find that happy medium that works for both you and your animal.

I find the hardest thing for newbies is the reaction to pull away when bitten, not good for you animal. breeding and dealing with lots of hatchies that think your going to eat them helps with this instinct. these days it's oh you bitten me, i'm not food silly........

 

[JackTheHerper]

if its under 6foot it wont hurt, lol

 

[yommy]

if its under 6foot it wont hurt, lol

good in theory you've never had a BHP or Woma lock jaw on you then

Yet to recieve a good bite from my roughies but i reckon they'd hurt too........

 

[konp69]

Mine took a strike at me when my girlfriend and I first got him, he was cranky because he'd just been relocated from an environment he was comfortable with to a much bigger and different-smelling place. He didn't fully hang on, just gave me a tap - and it happened so fast that by the time my reflexes had gone "HAY DUDE YOU SHOULD REMOVE YOUR HAND LOL" he'd already retracted back from the hit. Didn't hurt, it was just a painless impact on my hand, left a few tiny dots. Since then I haven't been worried at all.

Don't handle your snake hesitantly. Make smooth (but not sudden) confident movements and don't be afraid to grasp the snake firmly. Unless they're in a really bad mood they'll pick up on the fact that you don't mean them any harm pretty quickly.

 

[Khagan]

As Baden said, invest in a quality hook. Even make one yourself out of a golf club or such if you have to. I personally hook them out whether big, small, nice or evil. I think being hooked is less stressful than a giant thing coming in to snatch them up.

 

[solar 17]

if its under 6foot it wont hurt, lol

l dont mind saying this sought of answer gives me a rash ....IMO being tough has got very little to do with it sure some people are naturals but a lot aren't and having worked with exotic cats weighing 150+ kgs respect and going with the flow in most cases will get you there quicker and reap some deeper understanding of an animals projected thought processes than being mr. tough guy whom over the years l find these people in a lot of cases to be hard on animals for sake of being "tuff"....solar 17 (Baden)

 

[CrystalMoon]

I am a huge fan of a hook, mainly because it is less stressful on the snake imo I have a big parrot ladder in my 2.5 year old Coastals enclosure and I just lift it and her straight out, then she is great to be handled. I use the hook on my younger ones because it allows them to then come to me when they are ready, they will snap at me religiously when I put my hand in their enclosure. They never strike at the hook, and within a couple of minutes on the hook they will wriggle up the handle and onto my hand/arm, I have not been bitten since using this method. I am not worried about bites(I have had many) I just find them calmer using this method I know I can grab them and reef them out bare handed anytime, but to me there is no point if it is upsetting to my reptile Kiddies I want them to associate handling/me as something pleasant not as something to fear/stress.

 

[Skeptic]

Mixed opinions... I guess when I said just get bitten a bunch of times I should have elaborated a bit. I do own a hook and use it a fair bit. But I've had some of my snakes for 10+ years and I know that with some of them I can just reach in after holding my hand near the entrance for a few seconds so they can have a whiff and they'll meet me half way but I also know with others that if i stick my hand in there it's going to come out covered in blood so I always use a hook with them. The real problem with being too scared to take the occasional bite is that it leads to neglect of the animal sometimes. If the owner is too scared to get the animal out then it may not be cleaned out as often as it should and really, whats the point of owning a snake if you're not going to enjoy it. So if getting the occasional tag helps someone get their confidence up, then thats a good thing IMO.

And no, I don't think there is anything tough about getting bitten by a snake. I actually get really embarrassed when I've just being showing some snakes to someone and spent 20 minutes reassuring them it's harmless and then the bugger bites me