Training You: "HANDLING" Your New Snake

Training You! Handling the arrival and subsequent interactions with your new snake.

I was recently asked if getting a new snake used to handling, even if you have to use force-based or coercive methods, was important or if it was better to work on building truest and getting them used to your presence first.
If you want to be a keep who optimizes your snake’s wellbeing by opting for choice-based interactions, then you want to avoid any coercive or force-based methods unless there is an emergency. You want to avoid being intrusive, forcing yourself on the animal, forcing interactions, or making the animal do something against their will.
If your goal is to build trust with the snake and for the snake to perceive you safe, and even something they are curious about and may find interaction with reinforcing down the road then you need to listen to what your snake is telling you. Watch their behavior and recognize body language indicating they are experience fear, anxiety, or distress and back off if you are the cause. You cannot force the snake to trust you, like you, perceive you as safe, or find pleasure in being handled by you. They must come to learn these things on their own based on your behavior towards them.
When a new snake arrives here, I get them settled into quarantine or into their permanent habitat, depending on which is appropriate, and then I leave them alone. Any forced handling early on is usually detrimental to the long-term relationship. I like to let them passively habituate to my presence and then once they are remaining visible and not showing any signs of fear, anxiety, or distress when I am nearby, I gradually introduce more active habituation. That is when I start to do activities outside of the enclosure, working up to opening the door, and perhaps changing water or spot cleaning inside as long as the snake is not exhibiting escape/avoidance behavior, defensive behavior, or fear. Approach and retreat based on what behavior the snake is displaying is the best strategy to adhere to when things get to this point (note: I have an approach and retreat class which is linked in the card at the beginning).
I do start target training or puzzle feeding with the first feed independent of the general work I just discussed. Target training is a form of active habituation that you can start immediately, if they’re eating, they can be training. Once they are targeting and showing an interest in investigating the open door, and eventually coming out on their own or via targeting, then I start to work on introducing touch and eventually handling through gradual desensitization (note: I have a video about this linked in the endscreen).
The process as a whole should ideally start as young as possible but there is no need to rush into the handling part specifically, that will happen as part of the process down the road. The age when the touch training and desensitization to handling starts doesn’t matter as long as you have been doing the hands-off habituation methods to establish trust. The younger a snake is when they start the entire process the better but the specific age, they are at each phase isn’t going to impact the result. I have started snakes as young as 3.5 weeks old and others that have been adults and it all goes the same or progresses in similar way for the majority of snakes. The pace each progresses varies according to their species, individual temperament, and personality.
There is no reason to be in a hurry. These snake are hopefully going to be with you for 20 or 30 years and the time you take to establish a positive relationship now will make your life together positive in the long run. If an emergency happens then you do what you must to ensure the safety and health of you and your snake. Just remember that handling because you want to is not an emergency, cleaning is not an emergency, showing the snake off to your friends is not an emergency, and even cleaning water is not an emergency. You can easily set a cup of drinking water right inside the door and wait for a more opportune and less stressful moment for your snake to clean out their regular dish.
VOACULARY from the snake's point of view:
aversive, intrusive, force-based, coercive = bad/negative emotional valence
choice-based, freedom, control, opportunity, reinforcing = good/positive emotional valence

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