Sorry to hear about the wake-up call you got from Yafe, but actually, there IS another way (assuming we're talking about harmless snakes here, not venomous):
If I need to tidy up or change a water bowl & my snake is in a hide, peeking out at me (the typical scenario), I just put something in front of the doorway to their hide to block their view & make it very impractical for them to attempt to bite me while I'm doing what I need to do. Actually, I have a ping-pong paddle that I usually use for this purpose, because it's the right size, easy to hold, & has some weight to it when leaned against the doorway of a hide.
I've never had a snake that didn't respect this temporary blockage of their view- never had a "gate-crasher" or bite this way. And the handle on the paddle makes it easy to pick up again to remove. I have some very food-motivated 7' rat snakes that I use this for, so it's an option you might consider. I suspect that after a few times, the snakes might also recognize the paddle just as they would your "hook tapping". This has worked well for me- I've been doing it this way for years, & it's better for both us AND our snakes to prevent bites.
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