Hissing Sand Snake Free handling
Quoted from Mona Sherif and Rashika El Ridi (Immunobiol., vol. 184, pp. 348-358 (1992):"Psammophis sibilans, class Reptilia, subclass Lepidosauria, order Squamata, suborder Serpentes = Ophidia, family Colubridae, non-hibernator, diurnal and
oviparous".
Super funny snakes, I see this guy out and about the entire day, while my sleepy little Corn Snake just hides most of the time and then appears for a while after 8pm.
As an amateur snake caretaker I would recommend slow and fluent movements, never grab or pinch (especially their tail since they can snap it off) and avoid approaching them near their head, always scoop them up calmly or they will quickly apt a more defensive behaviour. If this occurs, preferably wait for the snake to relax before making another attempt.
I have yet to witness them responding aggressively though, so in my experience it is a rather docile species.
Why do I go with free handling these snakes some might wonder:
I am a curious person and I firmly believe that a well housed animal will unlikely behave aggressively toward calm movements, ergo free handling an animal of this size should rarely be a problem.
Stay tuned for more!