Zoo Med Adjustable Snake Hook

• Telescopes 18 cm to 66 cm – enough reach to work the far corner of a 60 cm enclosure from outside it, then collapses to 18 cm for a drawer, a bag or a pocket.
• Smooth, ungripping hook – the snake rests across the hook and can move off it freely, which is what keeps the handling session low-stress.
• Easy-grip handle – the shaft is deliberately slim, so the handle is what gives you control at full extension.
• Made for hook-training – a light touch with the hook before every non-feeding interaction teaches a food-motivated snake that an open door does not always mean dinner.
• Doubles as a furniture tool – lift a hide, cork tube or branch to inspect the animal underneath without putting a hand into the enclosure.

Work from the reach you actually need, not the enclosure's outside dimensions. At full extension the hook gives you 66 cm of reach from your hand, measured along the shaft.

The collapsed length matters as much as the extended one. At 18 cm it fits a maintenance kit, so it travels to a vet appointment or a show rather than living in a shed.

Suitable for: children's pythons, spotted pythons, woma and other small to medium Australian pythons, corn snakes and similar colubrids, juvenile animals of larger species, and moving hides, branches and water bowls during a clean-out.

Not suitable for: venomous species of any size – Zoo Med excludes them, and venomous work needs a purpose-built long hook and appropriate authorisation. Also not the right tool for large, heavy-bodied adults such as a full-grown scrub or carpet python, where the animal's weight exceeds what a pocket hook is built to carry. Not a restraint device, and not for lifting a snake that is in blue or mid-shed unless you have to.

Never hook a snake by the neck or head. The hook goes under the middle third of the body, where the animal's weight balances, and the snake is lifted rather than dragged.

Support long-bodied snakes at a second point with your free hand or a second hook. A snake supported at one point only will twist to find purchase, and that is when it falls.

Check the telescoping joint is locked out before you take any weight on it. A section that slides under load will drop the animal.

Wipe the hook down with a reptile-safe disinfectant between animals. A hook that moves between enclosures is a realistic route for mites and for respiratory pathogens.

Collapse it dry. Storing a telescoping shaft wet is how the sections seize.

• Zoo Med Stainless Steel Feeding Tongs 10" – keeps your hand away from the strike zone at feeding time, which is the other half of hook-training.
• Zoo Med Creatures Feeding Tongs 15cm – a shorter, lighter option for hatchlings and small colubrids.
• Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding – the substrate you will be raking over each time you lift the furniture out.
• Zoo Med Reptile Hut Half Log – a hide light enough to lift on the hook itself.
• Zoo Med Repti Rock Water Dish – the other item that comes out at every clean.

Zoo Med does not publish a warranty term for the TA-25 hook. Any manufacturer warranty is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which apply to this product regardless of what the manufacturer offers.

Standard freight. The hook collapses to 18 cm, so it ships as a small parcel item with no oversize or dangerous goods handling.

How long is the Zoo Med snake hook?

The Zoo Med TA-25 snake hook collapses to 18 cm (7.25 inches) and extends to 66 cm (26 inches). It telescopes, so you can set it anywhere between those two lengths and work at the length that suits the enclosure.

Can it be used on venomous snakes?

No. Zoo Med states the TA-25 is not for use with venomous reptiles. Venomous handling requires a longer, heavier purpose-built hook and, in Australia, the appropriate state licensing – a collapsible pocket hook is not that tool.

What is hook-training and does this hook do it?

Hook-training means touching a snake gently with a hook before every interaction that is not feeding, so the animal learns to distinguish handling time from food time. It substantially reduces feeding-response strikes in food-motivated species such as pythons. Any smooth hook does the job, and the TA-25's short collapsed length makes it convenient enough that people actually use it every time, which is what makes the training work.

How big a snake can it lift?

Zoo Med rates the TA-25 for small snakes. As a practical guide, if you cannot balance the animal's mid-body on the hook and lift it in one controlled movement, the snake has outgrown this hook and you should move to a full-length hook with a heavier shaft.

Will it scratch or damage a snake?

The hook is smooth and lifts rather than grips, so it does not abrade scales in normal use. The risk is not the hook, it is a drop – always support a long snake at a second point and never lift from the neck.