Rachel, I don't know that snakes truly enjoy being handled or touched as say a dog would (which by it's nature is a pack structured animal). I think snakes more likely become used to it over time and a structure of firm, gentle interactions with the humans around them. Some of ours seem to "like" it more than others however.

With our 5 females of varying ages and backgrounds we cover the spectrum from one that actively seeks to be in constant contact with a warm friendly human to one that would rather bite us than do much of anything else. We have another who will allow us to handle her for about 5 to 10 minutes and then slithers off to explore the area, quite without fear or obvious stress....she seems to be our most inquisitive snake.

So for me anyways it seems to be very dependent on the individual snake, their past interactions with humans which may or may not have some bearing and sometimes just the time of day or mood they are in. Even our most easy going snake is quite capable of making us toe the line if she would rather not be handled when we want to get her out LOL.


~~Jo~~