Handle Length?

How long do you handle your snake(s) for?

I've had my BPs for about a month now and I handle them for around 10min. I try to handle them longer but I don't really have anything for them to do (not that they do much :snake:)

I just got mine about 2 weeks ago and have held them twice after their first feed for about 5 minutes each the first time and about 10 minutes each the second time


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Mine is still new, but she seems to have settled pretty well and has successfully eaten for me twice... but I'm still keep it to small doses of like 5-10 min right now

I handle Balls for 15 min.. Usually any longer and they start to tense up or sit very still acting as if there might be a threat near by so they play Stick hahahahaha.
My Burm will come out if you open the enclosure.... He would rather stay out of the enclosure...infact he hiss's when inbut him back lol.

It depends on who I'm holding. My subadult albino Daisy curls on my arm like a bracelet and would stay there for hours if I had the time. Edith, my large adult normal, will also hang out, from my lap to my arm to my neck, for hours. Others do the stiffening thing after 15 minutes, so I only hold them for about 10 to keep the experience at an acceptable level.

My limit is usually about an hour unless they go into lounge mode, then it's fine until I go to bed or they decide to explore. Otherwise they simply just wear me down with their constant exploring. I get tired of having to check up on them every 10-15 mins to make sure they aren't going to break something like Rosey did to my torchier lamp when she thought it would be a good idea for a 7' boa to try and climb up it lol.

I handle my lemonblast female (hatched in october) more than my yellow belly male, because she used to hiss everytime i tried to pick her up, and she took a few bites as well, we have been improving, the hissing is gone and the strikes are gone as well, now i only get an S posture once in a while but its understandable, she is small and if a big hand comes at me i wouldnt start jumping from happiness either lol

5~10 minutes, unless I'm having a photo session. Then up to 15 minutes.

(I just want to point out that your less than and greater than signs are switched LOL)

Completely depends on the snake and its temperament.

Some handle "handling" better then others.

My adults are completely "chill". They know nothing bad happens with handling, so they are ok with longer sessions. That said, its usually 20 minutes or so. The one that likes to explore on my desk behind my monitor gets longer. He comes to the front of the desk when he is done exploring and slithers onto my hands while I type. That is when I will return him to his cage. That can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes or so.

When they are young and shy, you want to do shorter sessions, and more often. (daily, apart from after feeding and during shed)

When I have one that is overly shy or defensive, I make SURE I handle often, but I keep it short enough so I always return them to their tub BEFORE they start stressing. Stressing can be trying to get away and getting frantic about it, or completely balling up, playing "dead". You always want to end on a good note. When you return them to their enclosure, let them slither off and keep your hands still. In the beginning they are in a huge rush, eventually, they calmly return to the enclosure. With those I try to keep the handling to about 5 minutes or so.

I'd say I handle each of my snakes once a week for 10-15 minutes on average.