Never heard of that done for snakes but I have heard of it used for bearded dragons. If your snake isn't aggressive, then just handle it and it will be fine. I never did that with Rosey my 6' BCI and she is puppy dog tame. I can reach in and pet her head straight on and all she does is flick the tongue a few times and then lay there. Of course when she is in shed, she gets kind of cranky so I usually just leave her alone during that time. I think its more about learning your snakes signs and patterns as simply handling them will get them used to you, you just got to learn to read what they are saying other than the obvious bite or hiss which is usually the last warning sign you get before its full on chomp mode