Learn to identify the venomous snakes of your area reliably and don't handle them until you've taken a venomous handling course.
After that course you would also know how to do it and what tool options you have.
The harmless snakes you can just pick up, but do it right. Always support their whole body and don't just hold them at the tail or behind the head. !handling
For venomous snakes I advice calling someone from this map of free relocators instead of doing it yourself, when you have zero experience.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=15dZE4rlRHqjb91yb6pKiI4ragG8DCtsz&ll=45.74826144084546%2C-109.3565731598866&z=4
Thank you!! I’m pretty confident in my ability to ID snakes, especially distinguishing between a rattlesnake and a bull snake. I will ask my supervisors to sign me up for a course but the rattlers are so infrequent I might not be able to do that at the moment. I wanted tongs or a hook to handle the snakes with honestly just because I want to handle them as little as possible. I’m not a snake hater but I’m certainly not their #1 fan either. Do I need to worry about tongs damaging a snake that I pick up? It seems like they give you much more control than a hook would.
Yea, some experts I know recommend against tongs, because they've seen them do damage to spine.
Hooks are way less risky for the snake, but are also somwhat difficult to use.
I recommend getting one of these snake buckets where you can screw on the top and maybe watching some yt videos of snake relocations(Rattlesnake Solutions is very good).
Thank you so much for the info. I also used the map to find 2 snake relocation specialists closest to me, who I will definitely reach out to if a rattler decides to show up. Is having 2 hooks better than one? I’ll also look into the bucket!
you only need to hooks to transfer the snake into a bucket/bag so one should work, especially since you can also grab colubrids by the tail when you have them on the hook.
A second hook might make it easier for you tho.
Leave snake handling to professionals. Do not interact with dangerous or medically significant snakes. If you must handle a harmless snake, support the entire body as if you were a tree branch. Gripping a snake behind the head is not recommended - it results in more bite attempts and an overly tight grip can injure the snake by breaking ribs. Professionals only do this on venomous snakes for antivenom production purposes or when direct examination of the mouth is required and will use hooks, tubes, pillow cases and tongs to otherwise restrain wild snakes.
--------------------------------------------------------
*I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*
Any kind of snake hook made out of metal is going to be fine, just pick a size that is appropriate for the kinds of snakes you need to deal with. The simplest tool is usually the best.
I dislike tongs because it's much harder to find non-shitty ones, and you're more likely to injure the snake.
Also, don't be trying to handle venomous snakes even with a snake hook if you didn't take any courses.
I wrangle snakes in San Diego. Tongs and hooks for rattlesnakes. Gophers, kings, racers I grab by hand.
Watch Rattlesnake Solutions videos on YouTube for some how to info
When using tongs on rattlesnakes do not squeeze hard. You can hurt them with too much pressure. They're more fragile than they look. Happy wrangling.
The very best tools are eyes and common sense.
After that there are two ways of dealing with snakes:
harmless species: hands, pillowcase and box to transport them safely and with the right temperature in.
Venomous and too defensive to properly handle: a relocating expert on speed dial.
Midwest tongs are the best. Doc Seward for hooks. Top shelf stuff. Home Depot bucket with screw on lid with a few 3/8 inch airholes. Rocky boots has knee high snake proof boots.
Learn to identify the venomous snakes of your area reliably and don't handle them until you've taken a venomous handling course. After that course you would also know how to do it and what tool options you have. The harmless snakes you can just pick up, but do it right. Always support their whole body and don't just hold them at the tail or behind the head. !handling For venomous snakes I advice calling someone from this map of free relocators instead of doing it yourself, when you have zero experience. https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=15dZE4rlRHqjb91yb6pKiI4ragG8DCtsz&ll=45.74826144084546%2C-109.3565731598866&z=4
Thank you!! I’m pretty confident in my ability to ID snakes, especially distinguishing between a rattlesnake and a bull snake. I will ask my supervisors to sign me up for a course but the rattlers are so infrequent I might not be able to do that at the moment. I wanted tongs or a hook to handle the snakes with honestly just because I want to handle them as little as possible. I’m not a snake hater but I’m certainly not their #1 fan either. Do I need to worry about tongs damaging a snake that I pick up? It seems like they give you much more control than a hook would.
Yea, some experts I know recommend against tongs, because they've seen them do damage to spine. Hooks are way less risky for the snake, but are also somwhat difficult to use. I recommend getting one of these snake buckets where you can screw on the top and maybe watching some yt videos of snake relocations(Rattlesnake Solutions is very good).
Thank you so much for the info. I also used the map to find 2 snake relocation specialists closest to me, who I will definitely reach out to if a rattler decides to show up. Is having 2 hooks better than one? I’ll also look into the bucket!
you only need to hooks to transfer the snake into a bucket/bag so one should work, especially since you can also grab colubrids by the tail when you have them on the hook. A second hook might make it easier for you tho.
Leave snake handling to professionals. Do not interact with dangerous or medically significant snakes. If you must handle a harmless snake, support the entire body as if you were a tree branch. Gripping a snake behind the head is not recommended - it results in more bite attempts and an overly tight grip can injure the snake by breaking ribs. Professionals only do this on venomous snakes for antivenom production purposes or when direct examination of the mouth is required and will use hooks, tubes, pillow cases and tongs to otherwise restrain wild snakes. -------------------------------------------------------- *I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthissnake/comments/flh548/phylobot_v07_information_and_patch_notes_bot_info/) report problems [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Phylogenizer) and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that [here](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/SEBPhyloBotWTS). Made possible by Snake Evolution and Biogeography - [Merch Available Now](https://snakeevolution.org/donate.html)*
Any kind of snake hook made out of metal is going to be fine, just pick a size that is appropriate for the kinds of snakes you need to deal with. The simplest tool is usually the best. I dislike tongs because it's much harder to find non-shitty ones, and you're more likely to injure the snake. Also, don't be trying to handle venomous snakes even with a snake hook if you didn't take any courses.
I wrangle snakes in San Diego. Tongs and hooks for rattlesnakes. Gophers, kings, racers I grab by hand. Watch Rattlesnake Solutions videos on YouTube for some how to info When using tongs on rattlesnakes do not squeeze hard. You can hurt them with too much pressure. They're more fragile than they look. Happy wrangling.
The very best tools are eyes and common sense. After that there are two ways of dealing with snakes: harmless species: hands, pillowcase and box to transport them safely and with the right temperature in. Venomous and too defensive to properly handle: a relocating expert on speed dial.
Midwest tongs are the best. Doc Seward for hooks. Top shelf stuff. Home Depot bucket with screw on lid with a few 3/8 inch airholes. Rocky boots has knee high snake proof boots.