I think there's something to being a confident handler. When a person is confident, has a plan for what they want to do and an ability to judge not only the snake's mood but their own skill level - then I think things just generally go better. Most animals react to nervous behaviours in us, why wouldn't a snake with it's highly evolved senses be able to sense a nervous, unsure person attempting to grab it.
Also when we humans are nervous, we sweat, our hands tend to make quick, jerky movements, we fidget, we breath shallow and quick. None of those things are going to promote a calm, assertive, confident situation and I'm not at all surprised when that translates to a hyped up snake that's defensive and antsy.
When we were first faced with an almost 2,000 gram female BP who was at that time extremely hard to handle, very willing to bite first and ask questions later - I did find it really helpful to just stop, take a breath and get my head in the right place before my hands moved.
Originally Posted by frankykeno
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