Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
This all gets easier...I never expected to get into snakes at all, but that ship sailed over 3 decades ago, lol. I'm an animal-lover & kept an open mind, even though feeding rodents bothered me at first. (I've had many rodent pets before I got into snakes...) It's so nice that you can share this interest with your son, & it should encourage him to read & learn more too. (pretty sneaky, lol)

The locking hemostats are also called "clamps" in the medical world...they're used to "hold things" firmly, like during a surgery. Very awkward though for feeding snakes, & fyi, the 12" tweezers are the most comfortable to hold & use, at least to me, but if you're wanting 18" (over-kill for a ball python, IMO) you don't want the tweezers; for that length, non-locking hemostats are easier to use. 18" tweezers are too long to easily squeeze & control- too much distance to transfer your hand pressure effectively.

If you're wondering where to get them, here's one place I've bought from in the past: https://tongs.com/

Here's a link to their giant tweezers: https://tongs.com/product/tweezers/ They have them with rubber coated tips (good idea!) https://tongs.com/product/rubber-coated-tweezers/
and they also have the hemostats in various sizes: https://tongs.com/product/hemostat-straight/
Thanks! I am very glad we got Lilith. I talk to her when I'm home by myself (in a non-crazy way). I think I got the longest tongs I could find because I'm still a bit nervous of her. My son has no such issues, though. He adores her. And I'm getting used to her and better at "reading" her movements. We have a lovely business in town that makes reptile enclosures (both custom and standard) and also supplies lots of equipment. They have both 12" and 18" non-locking hemostats.