Photographing ball pythons

[CeraDigital]

I've got experience with this, if the animal is used to being handled on a regular basis, they wont react to the flash. HOWEVER, if you have animals that arent handled often and live in rack systems (from my experience) they will twitch when the flash goes off. Its not painful to them, they dont strike but they almost jump. Its just because of the sudden increase in light. You'd jump too! They get used to it after a few fires though.

They do definitely restrict your angles (the tents) BUT, they also kind of help keep the snake corralled and in an area for you to photograph without getting stuff in the background.

Even calm snakes used to being handled will freak or twitch when the strobes go off....

Saying an animal that isn't handled often, is a cheap shot. You can't handle snakes too often, or any varanid. The stress, and possibility of damage with the rate they feed leaves too big an open window for damage to occur internally, from "frequent" handlings. That, and unless you're standing there constantly flicking a light on and off, how would handling them make them less inclined to jump, twitch, bold, or tweak from studio strobes or flashes going off?...