Moving Rattlesnakes-Snake Tong or Snake Hook?

We are often asked what the best tool for moving snakes, especially venomous snakes would be. The simple answer would be brains. An inexperienced person should not be moving venomous snakes. If you cannot tell if it is venomous or not, walk away and leave it alone. If a snake must be moved we generally recommend a hook and tong combination. Both tong and hook should be at least 40 inches long to allow for a safe distance from a venomous or hostile snake, but still allow for working with the animal. The snake tong should have the widest jaw grip possible as this disperses pressure over a greater surface area of the snake’s body, eliminating the possibility of direct pressure between individual ribs, and reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injury. A wider, more gentle jaw allows faster gripping which is a great advantage when handling or capturing species of water snakes and tree dwelling snakes which are notoriously fast and difficult to restrain, lessening the chance of injury or escape. The snake should be grabbed with the tong in the first third of the body behind the head. this will allow for control. The snake hook should then be used in the back half of the snake for support. If you happen to grab the snake in the tail half with the tong then you can use the hook to pin the snakes head down until you can manipulate the tong to the correct end. Several commercial companies now make collapsible snake hooks for easy transport during travel or hiking into the field. Be careful to not use these hooks for pinning snakes down during capture. They are made for moving and lifting, not pinning and they may come loose at the joints if pressure is placed on them during the pinning process with nasty results if the snake is venomous or hostile. Now you know the safe way to move a snake if it must be moved. The best course of action would be to simply enjoy the snake in its habitat and when you are done, walk away.