I use a drumstick. lol I just give them a rub and if they look like they are in a mood to be handled I'll handle them. If not, I let it go. Just for the boas. I don't do anything special for the BPs. I just pick them up.
Rock on Cletus!
Seriously, I don't worry about Shayna (BP) at all. She has about the weakest food response of any snake I've ever met. She usually take the F/T rat gently and drags into her house quietly to eat. She also doesn't have a mean/defensive bone in her body.