Head shy

[Motorr]

I was in a pet store yesturday chit chatting with one of the clerks about snakes and he recomended that I touch my BP's head so it doesn't get head shy. The reason behind it was so when the snake gets older it's suppose to make it less likely to strike the handler. I thought I read that you shouldn't mess with snake's head cause they don't like it. I wanted your guys opinion on this subject since I would tend to believe more what is said here on this forum than just some random guy I just met in a pet store.

[littleindiangirl]

I try to go out of my way to massage and touch their heads. I believe it does help make them less head shy.

[kneepoles]

A friend of mine who owns hundreds of huge snakes (anacondas, retics, etc) told me that if I started while my snake was young, that I could "teach" it that I'm not a threat, and thus get SOME of the head shyness out.
First handle your snake as a baby, and let it learn your scent, be very gentle everytime you handle it. It should begin to associate your scent with safety and security. then once it quits trying to get away from you and becomes "lazy" acting, start by very gently touching the top of it's "shoulder" area, slowy working towards it's head. Once it jerks it's head back the first time, stop for few minutes and let it get comfy again. then start over. Just watch it's body language and if it gets tired of you touching it's head it'll get less lazy acting, then you should put up, it wants to get away from you. It will jerk it's head back for awhile (months maybe) but eventually you can get it to be a little more comfortable with YOU touching it's head. Other people may still freak it out a little though. This has worked for me so far, but Vlad still does like "petting" like a dog would.