So... I am going to be away from the house Monday through Thursday. I have to teach my SO how to handle my snakes so that they can continue to get 15 minutes of handling everyday. This is what I plan on saying:
When handling snakes you have to be aware that any snake can bite, and even though a snake doesn't usually bite you have to treat each time you pick them up with care and respect. To pick one up you slowly pull out the tub. Then you look for the snake. If you can take the snake stick and tap the snake on the head a few times very lightly. This lets the snake know that it isn't feeding time, and that you are going to pick it up. If you cannot see the head, ie he is in the hide, you can remove the hide, and then tap him on the head. After you tap him on the head you can proceed to pull him out of the tub with the snake stick. (At this time I will show her how to do this.) Once you get him out you must support the snake. For the boa he will generally wrap around one of your fingers and will support himself from there. The blood python is a bit different. You have to fully support his body. Blood pythons do not climb, so he will not wrap himself around your hand or fingers. He is unable to support his own body. You have to support as much of his body as you can at any given point in time. (After explaining this I will take out both snakes and show her what I mean. )
Then I was going to explain what to do when bit.
So when you get bit by a snake one of the most important things is to not pull away. It does take some practice to not pull away, but boas and pythons have curved teeth and if you pull away you run a higher risk of doing damage to yourself. Generally when a snake is biting out of fear the snake will simply tag you. He will bite and quickly release. Usually the only time a snake will bite and keep biting is if he has mistaken you for food. So please do not feed them, or handle the frozen rodents around the time you will handle the snake.
Other General Husbandry
2x per day check the temps and humidity
mist 2x daily
check the water bowl when misting
When holding do not restrict movement
Overall this is what I can think of as the important bullet points I should tell her. I could use some help, is there anything I've missed? I will be there every Fri - Monday Morning She will be able to contact me if there is any major emergency.
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