Quote Originally Posted by Von Milash View Post
one mroe question.


whose approach to handling snakes do you like (or approve of) more: Steve Irwin (ie, gently by the tail and with a branch) or Jeff Corwin (by the neck with his metal stick)?

I once saw that British guy (big red gotee) say something about how crazy handling them by means other than by the back of the neck was. He didn't outright mention Irwin, but you could kind of fill in the blanks and tell that he was refering to Irwin..

Ironically, that guy (name?) had been filmed gettig tagged and taken to the hospital and in deep trouble. Irwin, despite the freak accident with the ray, was never once bitten by a venomous snake.
As far as handling, it really depends on the particular situation. You should always have a snake hook with you; though Irwin grew up improvising out in the bush and was an expert at handling some of the worst snakes in tight situations. The red goatee guy is Mark O' Shea and he shouldn't be talking, as he's gotten tagged a number of times.

I always use hooks and tailing methods to handle mine. But if I need to medicate a snake or soak it, etc.; I have to pin it and grab the head to control it. O Shea was just jelous because he never received the media attention Irwin did and was just running his gob. You have to know how to handle all situations so both methods are staples in the hobby.

Each snake is different. Cape cobras are notorious for being hard t ohandle, but my male is the easiest snake I've ever had to deal with. Will let me hook him without so much as a hiss, as long as I'm gentle. My egyptian cobra is the devil and you better be on your toes as he will climb the hook and has his mouth open at all times, just waiting to grab something. Forest cobras are the worse and they will chase you across the room and it is quite unnerving; knowing how to control them with a hook is paramount. I could go on and on but I won't.