Hehe....don't feel bad! I've handled tons of snakes....been bit a couple times...and I still get an antsy, nervous feeling when trying to pick up a wild baby corn or garter. I tell myself that I'm afraid I'll squish the tiny little worms....but the fact is, it's a knee-jerk reflexive reaction that is difficult to control when I'm not 100% confident about the snake's docility.
What has helped me to get over that sort of irrational reaction to a harmless snake is to visualize the "worst case scenario" and go with it. The animal is going to bite me. It's going to strike and bite, no matter how slowly or carefully I move. Will it hurt? No. Will it surprise me? Not if I'm expecting it to. I just decide in my own head that I'm going to pick up this little snake that IS going to bite me.....rather than trying to figure out how to pick it up so I won't get bit.
So far, I haven't been bitten by anything I approached in that manner.
I have been bitten by an 8' burmese that held on for 20 minutes or so before finally deciding she wasn't going to get to make a meal out of my hand....and I still handle her a couple of times a week. HER, I approach differently, and don't try to picture myself getting bit.But for anything harmless that can't do anything worse than startle and maybe draw a few drops of blood.......just decide you don't care if it happens and you'll find your confidence building quickly.
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