I’m more of a get ‘er done kinda fellow. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Fortunately none of my snakes are too shy anymore but even when they were smaller I just gently tapped them with the hook and then quickly & confidently swooped them up. I try not to give them much of a chance to get in a defensive striking position. They might be a little flighty at first but they tend to mellow out after a few minutes. Two of my snakes were pretty defensive as young ones. If I approached them too cautiously and slowly I was sure to get tagged.