Personally, I don't think biting back would be a good way to get a snake off. I imagine that sometimes (especially if they're fed live) their prey may land a decent bite on them every now and then. Their skin is tough, and it seems like our weak jaws paired with our flat teeth would only agitate the snake more and encourage it to hold on more/grip tighter.

I plan on using tongs with all of my snakes for feeding (I've been nailed a few times from my past snakes missing their food), and I intend on getting a snake hook for any boas and large snakes so I can at least let them know I'm there before I go in to grab them. That way I can 1) Let the snake know I'm there, and 2) Get an idea of what mood the snake is in before attempting to handle it.

On a side note, I e-mailed a few stores, and one of them got back to me. They said that they don't have retics, but one of their employees does and he would be willing to talk to me and would more than likely be willing to let me come down and see them, if not interact/handle them.