first hook

[hex a holik]

we just purchased our first snake hook from someone on craig's list ( cuz it was cheap). it's about 4 feet long. we wanted to start hook training our 8 month old burm, but she doesn't like it because it has a rubber padding around the actual hook part. i was wondering if all hooks had this padding, and what can we do to make it not so "sticky". our burm gets her face stuck on it and flips out so its hard to get her used to the hook. any suggestions will be appreciated. thanx:pray:

[Lorelei]

I would scrape the rubber off of that one if it is sticky so it doesn't stick to her. Not all hooks have that - we have several that are just metal on the end. Brad's are the best - he has a pvc coat on some of his that are great.

[The Snake Guru]

If you are having a problem with the coating on the end, like Lori said it can be scraped off, on the bad side to this depending on material was used underneath the hookend could begin to rust....do you know what they used for it?

Seems like an odd material to use for a hookend if it's still sticky.

~B~

[hex a holik]

If you are having a problem with the coating on the end, like Lori said it can be scraped off, on the bad side to this depending on material was used underneath the hookend could begin to rust....do you know what they used for it?

Seems like an odd material to use for a hookend if it's still sticky.

~B~


its like a thick covering of rubber, almost like you would find on the handle of a golf club but without the grip, a little smoother. it's like a rubber sleeve or something.
i was just wondering because it does seem odd that it would have a coating like that on a snake hook knowing it would be difficult for the snake to move on it easily. i was watching the jeff corwin experience tonight and he had a hook almost like ours, but the snakes he handeld w/ it seemed to move freely on it.
i'll try to get some pics of it up. thanx for the tips guys.

[danthony428]

some of brads hooks are pretty cheap, and they're awesome, i got the black beauty 2 for like 35 dollars i think, and its awesome, no rubber coating at the end of my hook, and my boa doesnt mind it at all

[The Snake Guru]

A lot of the hook style depends on what you are working and personal preference, I have found some rubber coated hookends do come in handy with smaller quicker species (they don't slide off as easy) PVC coating is usually a bit more smooth but also affords more grip than the standard non-coated hookends. There is such a wide range of uses and possible coatings it is hard to know exactly what you got, but it definitely should not be "sticky" to the touch.

Also part of it may be your snake needs to get used to it....with a drastically differnt surface than it is used to it may take a few rounds before it figures out that it's not nessicarily a "bad thing" all part of the training process.

~B~

[The Snake Guru]

some of brads hooks are pretty cheap, and they're awesome, i got the black beauty 2 for like 35 dollars i think, and its awesome, no rubber coating at the end of my hook, and my boa doesnt mind it at all

That's another neat coating....of which I'm the only one that offers it to date. Anodized Aluminum is a hardened coating on the aluminum styles, it is smooth....yet still provides a better grip to it than a standard polished hookend....fast became one of my favorite coats....looks pretty sharp too..LOL

~B~