Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bjorn » Tue Jan 31, 2012 4:04 pm

Qball, I am glad your happy with the tong and thanks for the punt!

Kinghero, Thanks so much for your ideas and in put. Just a concern with one end passing another it could cause some harm. I think with a firm lower jaw covered with sponge might be best.

I am thinking of having some of the tongs powder coated the next time around. Maybe black with polished grips and some pink for the ladies. LOL
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby kinghero » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:40 pm

True and was thinking the same thing, but with your rubber straps it should eliminate that, you see if you do it like in the pic I made were the top and bottom don’t pass yet both has the rubber, you stand a chance of losing some control on the animal. Unless it’s a rubber that doesn’t stretch to easily.

I think if you go for the sponge, and you make it a thicker hard sponge and not just a strip id would work well but it would have to be a firm sponge, as I believe some of your thicker snakes are quite strong. Either way it’s awesome what you are doing.
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bjorn » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:02 am

Thanks!I am thinking it will work well with a firmer rubber cushion on the lower jaw.
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Constrictor Girl » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:52 am

Either NEON pink or NEON orange for me please Bjorn!!!!!!! Thats a great idea!
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:14 pm

Hi Bjorn , please show your probes.
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bjorn » Thu Feb 02, 2012 2:48 pm

I don't stock probes as yet but will make a plan to get in next time. Maybe custom made. Looking at all probe options and personally I don't like the ball tipped ones. Not sure how other feel about this.
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 4:56 pm

It seems like most probe makers don't ever use them or they are making aesthetic probes.
They should not thicken 2 cm after the tip -as with all probes available today -the rod needs to be the same thickness all the way . The length of the biggest probe is never big enough- unless you only wanted to see if it's female and not be able to count how far the hemipenis goes back. The ball tip makes no difference in how it performs as having a thicker stem behind the ball simply makes it a normal rod - which I do prefer. The 2 probes in the middle of the set should not be identical as is with most sets- it is a waste of my money.
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:43 pm

Eish my post looks like a bunch of warra warra warra. Do you share some of my ideas?
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bjorn » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:57 pm

Here is a picture on my probe set which I am very happy with. I bought it a few years back from Deathskull on this forum. Not sure if he is still making these.

Image

Valid points! The ball probe is not to bad but haven't seen them first hand. the balls all look a bit bulky on the probes so I just thing for that small hatchling the ball might be a bit much by the looks of it. It's not really a concern for larger snakes. All depends on the make. There are so many options.

You can post pictures/links of probes you like. It's good to see the options available.
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:19 pm

Sorry for the long posts. I am looking for some probes but I seem to find problems with most things I see, probes included.

Here's the probes that I see most.

This one doesn't need three probes that look the same.
Image

Here's two problems. The rod gets thick too close to the part that you are using and the big one is not big enough to be an set used on all snake sizes.
Image

I like these ones but they can be smaller on the small probes so the rubber is in your hand while using them.
Image

Longer rod on the big one. Smaller handle on the small one.
Image

I already posted a wanted ad for these.
Image
Last edited by it_bit_me on Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:23 pm

Those were made by a member of the Eastern Cape herp association a few years ago, they were called ELM services. They have titanium rods and aluminium handles.
I would be happy to buy them from you.
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:29 pm

The picture is from this site. http://king-cobra-area.blogspot.com/201 ... g-and.html

It shows how long a long probe can be. Apart from the fact that 0,1 % of us own kingcobras I still wanna buy one set and not two.

Image
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby it_bit_me » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:52 pm

Here's the probes I requested. It's the ones you have from Elm.
Image

Image

The photos are from the site please excuse the copy/pasting.
http://www.elmprojects.com/elm_sexing_probes.html
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a Snake, y'know. Crazy Snake Man. And I'll get more snakes, call them my babies, kids won't walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy Snake Man, " they'll shout!”
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bjorn » Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:42 pm

No worries about the long post, it's great. I see what you mean about the ones going thicker. Not something I would go for and doesn't make sense.

Sorry but not parting with mine. I can get one with the red rubber handles and thinking of having my own made up like the set I have. They might be surgical steel all round though.

Looks like a knitting needle was used for the King Cobra! haha Not many of us will be sexing those and I thing the standard kit will work for almost every snake. Maybe having the big probe slightly longer than normal would be good.
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Re: Snake handling equipment and new ideas custom made

Postby Bushviper » Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:27 pm

If the probe is 10 cm long that is adequate. If you probe and it goes in that deep it is not a female. That means it is a male.

I have some really huge ones made from medical grade stainless steel but have only ever used them once on a male Madagascan boa.

The most important thing about probes is that under a microscope they need to look like a half a ball bearing on the tip. If it is not smooth then you damage your snakes. I personally do not like the ones with the balls on the tip.
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