I handle them just prior to feeding and then about 4 days after feeding and 3 days after for the boas. I like to handle the boas before they are hungry again, they have a strong feeding response and I think that 3 days prevents them biting me mistakenly. They are a litlle different dispo than the balls. THey are all pretty laid back, either I lucked out 4 times or I am handling them enough to keep them happy. I mainly handle them for health checks, long enough to feel thier body and look at them from head to tail for any abnormalities and I try to get their weight regularly. I mostly keep their stats on a big calendar since I only have 4 snakes. I think a weekly weight is a good weigh to check health but if I miss a week when they are not holding still then it isn't as big a deal than it is to miss a month;ly or bi-monthly.