Last night I was called for a “python” in an apartment laundry room that turned out to be a Dumeril’s boa, and I went hook-over-tongs to verify head scalation and avoid rib damage before tubbing into a latching transfer box. For those working urban calls, when do you default to 40-inch tongs for initial control versus a hook with a bite shield, especially on pitviper lookalikes when you can’t confirm heat pits or pupil shape at a safe distance?
In a studio laundry call last month, I went 40" tongs first because there were two escape gaps and a small crowd, then switched to the hook once I confirmed non-venomous and got it clear of the machines… My rule is “clutter + unknown ID = tongs first,” but if it’s calm and in the open I’ll hook with a forearm shield to spare ribs on boids — tongs are a parking brake, not the steering wheel.
If it’s a laundry room with low washers and slick tile, I run hook plus bite shield for visual ID and slide control, and only grab the 40” soft-jaws if it’s driving for an exit or I can’t confirm pits fast. Did the same on a Dumeril’s last winter to spare ribs and tub straight to a latching transfer box. @ajenkins99 the only time I go metal early is when bystanders or open gaps make containment the priority.
I use a hook plus a clear clipboard as a bite shield for the first look, then a silicone push broom to funnel into a latching tote — kind of like curling for herpers. If I can’t maintain line-of-sight to the head (“no head, no hands”), I’ll rotate to the 40" soft-jaws briefly, but avoid them on skinny or dehydrated pets.
I usually start with the hook and a thin plastic cutting board as a bite shield and to block under-appliance gaps; if it’s driving for a doorway or there’s a blind corner, I’ll open with the 40-inch tongs to steer the head before tubbing. @jordan67p, crowd pressure pushes me to tongs too, but one caveat: under ugly flicker I pause for a headlamp look at head scalation so I don’t miscall a pitviper lookalike. The cutting board is a mobile doorstop.