Quote Originally Posted by bonez
But usually confidence and not being scares helps the situation. My g/f for some reason isnt really afraid of gettin bit, she thinks all animals love her, so she just goes and picks them up and she hasnt been nipped yet....
That's likely a large part of it. I've always felt (and I've no scientific basis for this, just my gut feelings) that snakes like a lot of creatures, can pick up our chemical/body language type cues. Act nervous or scared and I believe it will create a handling experience that isn't going to go all that well (at least with some snakes). You may have to have a talk with yourself before handling the snake. Sort of "what's the worst that could happen and how will I handle it". Make sure you know the right way to grip a snake so the chances of it being able to bite are minimized. Make sure the room is quiet and there's no distraction for you or your snake. Glove up, if that will make you feel more confident.

Some snakes are nippy and never take to handling. Some, like two of ours, hiss every single time you go near them but neither have tried seriously to bite. In their cases they just like to register a complaint, grumble a bit but in the end aren't big on the follow through. We know this about them and just don't give them any reaction and they settle down quite nicely. We have one 06 whose very reactive to movement but again we just deal with him...firmly, gentle and consistently....after he's had his little hissy fit he gives it up fairly quickly.