BIG snake backup?

When I was 15 years old (that was a VERY long time ago) I had a 15-16 foot retic I took care of myself. Looking back at those teenage times of keeping huge pythons and catching rattlers with my bare hands I'm amazed I'm still alive. I now only keep corns and boas and wouldn't touch a venomous or own a large python if you paid me.

My largest girl is MEAN... I always make it a point to make sure Jessica is there when I take her out to clean... Jess couldnt help me any, but could get someone that could.. I dont think the 7 foot girl could kill me, but she sure could tie me up for a while, and those teeth dont look fun!!

You would be well served to teach Jessica how to help you vs relying on additional help arriving in a timely manner. Even the 7 fter could be a problem if you found her with a coil around your neck, compressing the carotid arteries. (not saying it is likely, just that the possibility exists)

right now the biggest critter i have is a six and a half foot bci , but in the past i have had a couple over eight and a half feet and always had someone in the house that could come to my aid if need be . i used to help a friend with the cleaning and maintenence of his burms(18 feet +) and it was always a 3 person job getting them out of their rooms and even then it could get hairy . if i were keeping truely large snakes i would want to have someone atleast very close at hand just incase the worst ever happened .

When I used to keep Crush my 5' boa I used to handle him alone, as he was a sweet heart I was also dumb back than, and let my girlfriend put him around her neck.... now she dislikes snakes, but still tolerates them for me.

I actually traded my Burm, because I realized my helpers would really be no help.
I pretty much deal with all my snakes alone. Due to the fact that I am only 5'2" I always use a hook with the bigger kids. 7ft & 6ft. I try to have someone in the house at least, if I find I have to do any major moving.
I have not had any bad things happen, and I pray that this continues.
But I am reserved to stick with my Boas, no more Burms.

My largest is a female boa going on 8ft. She is great once I have her out but getting her out safely requires a gentle touch on the head or neck with the round side of a snake hook to let her know that it is holding time and not feeding time. After that, she is wonderful, totally non aggressive. If she were prone to be aggressive, I would want somebody around just in case. Under the right circumstances, however unlikely, if she were to rap around my neck and catch one or both hands in a coil as well, it would be a handful to get free.

I had a big bcc named Ginger a long time ago that was a monster boa. Never really weighed her, but she measured best we could at almost 12 foot and thick as a mans leg. Anything her size or larger, i would probably make sure someone was present. (though i admit i didn't practice this rule back then.)

Now I only have BCI so i don't worry about it too much. After 30 years of keeping boas, I can usually anticipate their mood well enough to know if they are going to put up a struggle or act out. Then i proceed with more caution. I don't feel like any of my snakes could have their way with me though if it came down to it. That's me though. I bite back.

Depending on your size though, (most women being smaller) it may be a good idea to have someone there while handling the bigger ones. Better safe than that freak accident we read about in the paper later on.


Rick

Originally Posted by hhmoore

You would be well served to teach Jessica how to help you vs relying on additional help arriving in a timely manner. Even the 7 fter could be a problem if you found her with a coil around your neck, compressing the carotid arteries. (not saying it is likely, just that the possibility exists)

I hate to admit it, but your point was proven sunday. My largest female has been sick, and I was checking her mouth, like I have done several times. I normally grab her head and use the specula with no problems. She doesnt like it, but never is too much to handle. Well she must have gotten her strength back, or was in a cranky mood, or both, but she decided she didnt like this time, and coiled on my arm.. I had her head but couldnt unwind her by myself this time.. I called for Jessica, and when she saw I was having a problem, all she could do was stand there nearly in tears telling me she didnt know what to do.. I explained to her to help me unwind her from my arm, and I could let her back into her cage then.. It took a minute, to do it, but we managed.. If I had let go of her head, or she had pulled if from my hand, Im sure to have gotten a few nasty bites.


Your point proven, I showed her how to unwind from the tail, keeping sure to not get wound up herself, and showed where a bottle of alchohol was. Explained to try not to pour down the throat, but if worse came to worse, not to worry bout it..

And Harald really hates being right. LOL


I am glad it all worked out and nothing unfortunate happened.