Handling

Message shane castello on facebook or jake klotz (SC Constrictors, and JK Reptiles). Both of them are located in Chicago and have amazing retic collections and love helping people learn.

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

The answer is truly, it depends.

I handle my 13' 8" Purple Albino solo a lot. I usually have my wife home, but I use to do it with no one home all the time. Is it the safest way? No. But if she urinates everywhere and needs a clean cage do I wait till someone is able to be there, again no. But when I'm doing cleaning its not about handling an animal and just letting her run around. I only do that with other people around due to the nature of the situation. But as far as cleaning / feeding goes, I get a giant tub, and move her into the tub while I clean her cage. Then grab her and move her back in - again its my personal preference in this matter.

Rule of thumb is a second person is needed at 12 ft (you need 1 person per 6 ft - but many wait till you're at the max spectrum to mandate the second person.

If you read death reports from giant constrictors, usually a few things are common.

1) Alcohol was involved
2) Live feeding was involved
3) Cages were left open

Bites happen, its part of the game, but most if not all fatalities occur due to one of the three reasons above or a combination of all.

Cheers

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Cage cleaning is a little different because you're not so much handling the snake as encouraging it to move to a different location. With mine I can just tickle them a bit and get them away from the mess, and they know the routine so there's no fussing on their part.

OTOH we took a nine foot male to the vet this week for an abcessed tooth and it took three people to restrain him. Obviously he was in some pain so he didn't want the vet messing with his face, but there's more risk than not with giving an anesthetic to a reptile so they go without. BTW the poor vet tech - who was new - decided that the back end would be the safest part to handle. After getting hit with both urates and musk she knows better! Now that the abcess has been drained and it doesn't hurt any more, either my husband or I can apply the antibiotic to it each day without a helper.

Heh people never believe me when I say the tail is the riskiest part to handle :)


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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Heh people never believe me when I say the tail is the riskiest part to handle :)


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So true! Our big girl, Percy, will grip your wrist so tight that it'll turn purple whenever she isn't ready to be put away

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Originally Posted by SCWood

So true! Our big girl, Percy, will grip your wrist so tight that it'll turn purple whenever she isn't ready to be put away

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1.1 Red-tail
0.1 Albino corn

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Nope. Definitely not what I'm referring to. . . More so the potential to be blasted with recycled rats and water :gj:

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Nope. Definitely not what I'm referring to. . . More so the potential to be blasted with recycled rats and water :gj:

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Ahhhh ew lol that too

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1.1 Red-tail
0.1 Albino corn