Quote Originally Posted by rabernet View Post
Well no one has answered the question asked in the thread title.

I personally don't believe that "a lot" of handling is good for your snake. I do believe that handling is for our pleasure, not the snake's, and we need to be able to respect that they simply tolerate us.

It does make us feel better to think that our snakes desire the interaction as much as we do, but I don't think any of my snakes "miss" me when I'm out of town, or have snakey dreams about our interactions together.

A more relaxed animal that has adapted well to handling may make their keeper feel that they "love" to come out, when in fact, they're simply an animal that doesn't stress as easily.

Behaviors such as stretching up to the top of the enclosure makes some keepers feel that the snake is desiring their company when in fact the snake is checking the enclosure for signs of weaknesses to exploit in an opportunity to escape. How many escaped ball pythons have sought out their owners because they desired to be handled or be in their company?

So, I voted the last option. I love interacting with my snakes - I have enough of them that I don't have to overhandle any one of them. They do get a daily handling of a few minutes to check them over for overall general health and time for me to say "man you're a gorgeous snake - you're my favorite!" to each of them.
I pretty much agree with Robin on all points and I also voted the last option. I generally handle them only to give them a regular inspection to check for any health problems or when I'm cleaning their cages, or because I just feel like holding a snake (I find snake handling very calming and relaxing). I have a few snakes that don't seem to care if I hold them or not, most of them tolerate it after a couple of minutes of squirming around and a few that are very timid, stress out easily and really hate being handled at all. I don't have ANY snakes that I can honesty say like being held.

However, there are a few exceptions when it comes to handling where they'll be handled for much longer then normal periods of time. I often do a number of educational shows every year where I'm showing off my snakes to the general public. In these cases I'm holding snakes for the public to touch and pet while I explain a little bit about their background. These snakes may be exposed to petting and touching for up to two hours at a time so it's important to know your snakes personality and how well they can handle being touched. Most of the snakes that I use for these programs come from the 'don't seem to care' group. I NEVER bring out a snake that is in the 'timid, easily stressed' group, and I NEVER bring out a snake that has ever bitten me for any reason.

Yes, many timid snakes can be desensitized to handling and come to tolerate it better, however these are also the ones that can suddenly strike out and surprise you at the most inopportune times. When allowing another person to pet or touch your snake, it's better to stick with one that has always demonstrated an easy going attitude rather then one you think you've tamed with a lot of handling.

Mark