From the beginning, you should "hook train" your Burmese Python. Get a snake hook and tap or stroke your snake with it before handling it. Do NOT use this hook at ANY time when you are feeding the snake. In time, the snake will come to recognize the hook as a sign that no food will be forthcoming: this will help to slow down its feeding response and ensure that you don't get mistaken for lunch when you reach in to change the water.

Warning: you will not be able to use the snake hooks to lift a Burm of any size. You may see pictures of people handling slender-bodied snakes by transporting them on one or two hooks. If you try this with a full-grown Burm, you will likely break the animal's ribs and/or bend the hook past repair. Use the hook as a signal, not a transporting device. (If you don't want to use a hook for this, a length of broom handle or something else large enough to allow you to touch your snake softly from a distance will work).

Wrestling with your Burm is likely to prove counterproductive. You will have more success by gently placing your hands behind the snake's neck and guiding it to where you want it to go. It may resist a few times, and even hiss to show its displeasure - but in the end it's likely to follow its head and slither merrily to your chosen destination. To use a New-Agey definition, "power with" is going to get you a lot further than "power over." Use the Burm's size to your advantage: allow inertia to lead it back into its cage or temporary holding container (we use large Rubbermaid tubs)

Burms and booze is a bad, BAD combination. Burmese Pythons, like other snakes, find the smell of alcohol unpleasant. Intoxication makes you clumsy: you may grab your snake more roughly than you intended. Because your judgment is impaired and your inhibitions lowered, you may do something stupid that will get you in trouble. If you're not fit to drive, you're not fit to handle your snake... and that goes for your friends too. You should also be careful about handling your snake when taking certain types of medication or when you are stressed or preoccupied.

Wash your hands before and after handling your Burmese Python. By washing them before, you help to get rid of any scents which might trigger a feeding response in your animal. (Burms hunt by heat and smell, and their olfactory sense is stronger than ours. You may not be able to notice the smell of your neighbor's bunny rabbit an hour after petting it... but that doesn't mean your Burm won't). After handling, you should wash your hands to prevent the transmission of salmonella. (While you are far more likely to catch salmonella from preparing chicken than from handling a snake, there is some risk of disease transmission: a simple scrub with antibacterial soap helps alleviate that).