Handling my BP - Don't laugh!

[Patricia]

All i did was open the cage, reach in coming from behind his head, and scooped him right up. He had no chance to get nervous or even know what was going on.

Do most of you approach from behind or in full sight of the snake?

Although not bitten, ours has lashed out at me in that lightning fast defenseive strike, scaring the bejeebers outta me (it was about half a year old), and I still haven't fully gotten over that fear. So after letting our BP know I'm there (tapping on hide before removing it), I always approach from behind to pick him up. It also avoids that quick head flinching.

So, when you folks say you "just scoop it up," is your hand approaching from in front or behind?