Picking up snakes by tail - You should avoid picking a snake up by the tail only. Most snakes lack the muscles to be able to curl up and bite your hand; however, they can thrash and squirm enough to easily catch you on another area of the body.
Keep your legs and torso as far away from the snake as you can while firmly grasping its tail and lifting it upward, leaving the front portion of its body on the ground. Put the snake right away in a pillowcase or bag. Put pressure on it by positioning a forked stick behind its head.
For smaller snakes, grab or lift the snake around the middle of its body or lower. For larger snakes, grab or lift the snake approximately 1/3 of the way down its body from the head. You should never grab a snake by the neck, as this could cause serious injury and may make the snake struggle and bite you.
Never try to pick up a snake, even if it is dead. A snake's reflexes can still cause the snake to strike up to an hour after it has died. If you have an encounter with a snake, give it the right-of-way. Do not attempt to kill the snake, just move out of the snake's way.
How should I pick up a snake? To avoid making your snake feel stressed, you should gently scoop them out of their enclosure, placing one hand near their head and the other under their tail to try and support their whole body as much as possible.
What they actually do is that they hold them by the tail & try to keep its head away from their legs/crotch. By doing this, its easier for them to handle as the snake cannot lift its own body weight to bite back the handler, thus keeping his hands safe.
When handling a snake for the first time, it is safest to grasp just behind a snake's head before lifting the rest of the body. Be gentle when handling any snakes. Some species must be handled with care, even though they are non-venomous, since they can be very aggressive.
Holding a snake by its tail elicits a panic response from the serpent and will make it more likely to strike. If you need to pick up a snake, you can use the tail to control the snake, but equal support should be at the front of the body through the use of a snake hook or your hand.
Depending on the type of snake, you can handle your snake anywhere from once per week to every day. Snakes that are skittish should be handled less frequently to get them used to it gently. Tame snakes can be handled daily as long as they haven't just eaten, are shedding, or show stress signs.
Avoid going straight for the head of the snake when picking it up. Exercise caution when holding a snake, since some snakes may mistake your hand for food. Never pick up an aggressive snake without the appropriate training and tools. Avoid handling longer snakes when there are children in the house.
Snakes won't be receptive to your affection—they're wary animals who don't like being held, touched, petted, or passed around. It's stressful for them and puts them at risk of illness and injury, and because they don't whine or yelp, you may not realize that they're hurt.
Ammonia: Snakes dislike the odor of ammonia so one option is to spray it around any affected areas. Another option is to soak a rug in ammonia and place it in an unsealed bag near any areas inhabited by snakes to deter them away.
Self Defense: When they feel threatened, snakes will strike to let you know to back off. Most often, this is the kind of snake bite that a human will get. Sometimes, they won't even inject venom – 20-25% of bites are called dry bites.
Some snakes seem to enjoy a light massage down the length of their body, a head stroke, belly rub, or even a chin scratch, while others do not. Every snake has a different personality and may enjoy something different but being gentle and respecting your snake's boundaries are important.
Snakes are able to recognise and distinguish between humans and may recognise the scent of their owner as familiar or positive with time. However, snakes are unable to view humans as companions so cannot form a bond with their owner like other pets can.
Snakes do not have any sort of social bond, nor the intellect nor memory to recognise and remember an assailant.
Some snakes do seem to like being handled, petted, and some aren't as keen on it but can tolerate it. There are many factors that will affect this, as well as your snake's individuality.
While snakes don't like to cuddle, they will seek out physical contact for a variety of reasons. This usually involves being gently held in the hands of their owners, or sometimes climbing up onto them.