Tail tip

[Bogertophis]

When we first started handling him after he ate 3 times I was putting him back in his tank one day. Everything was fine as I was handling him and after I set him back into the tank he struck at me and missed as I was removing my hand, hitting his nose on the glass. One other time I was setting him on the scale to weigh him and he tried to strike when I was picking him up off the scales. Other than those two times we have never had an issue.

Snakes feel most threatened when you release them (set them down) or as you approach them. It's instinctive...they're predators but they are also preyed upon in nature, & I've seen many snakes that feel safe when held that as we let go of them, just panic & lash out at the nearest thing, even if it's the hand that just held them. Don't take it personally-they don't identify things visually...they know us best by scent & touch, whereas anything moving nearby is potentially food or a threat, so quick motion is apt to get a strike...silly sneks.