Blue Racer

Question
hi there,

as i understand you work mostly with ball pythons, but i couldn't find anyone who knew anything about blue racers, and with your high rankings i thought i might just try and ask you.

i recently started working in a pet store, i'm responsible for the entire reptile section and all my reptiles are good and sweet, except for one. a blue racer, she has practically bitten every single staff member at the pet store, and when we first got her, she would strike at the glass if you put your hand near her vivarium. we tried to move her the other day to a new and better viv we got her, it took us nearly an hour of trying to avoid unbelievably fast strikes, so i just through a towel on her and caught her as fast as i could while she was distracted. as you understand, we cant keep doing this, we could hurt the snake or one day someone is going to get bit on the nose, and with her jaws, the bite really hurts, she has gone though each and every set of gloves that we use to take her out, practically shredding them to pieces, and whenever its time to feed or change her water, everyone is always pointing at the other one to do it from fear of her bite.
i believe shes about two years old, she obviously doesn't like people, and lately we have noticed some ticks on her but we don't know how to get her out without hurting her or one of the staff to treat her. how can we help her relax around us, should we move her away from an area where there are allot of people viewing her. and also shes in a viv now where the glass is in the front of the box. so she can strike directly at us when we open the glass, should i transfer her to a box where the opening is from the top, so we can just pick her up with a hook?... please any help would be nice, because if we don't find a way to cool her down, she could lose the chance of getting into a good home, and one of my staff members could lose a finger.  

Note: our store is somewhat new to the care of reptiles, i have some expireince but none with an agressive species, so we all feel really lost.

Answer
Hey Bug,

The best thing may just well be to place her in an area where a lot of people pass. This will desensitize her to people within a few months.

The best way to handle her is to cool her down literally. Cooler temps will make her slower and more relaxed. To my understanding they are a very aggressive snake and do not like to be handled.
They are more meant for show then a home pet. Meaning that the owner should not expect to handle her often.

To treat the mites or ticks you are going to need to remove her from the tank and place her in another clean tank with paper towels on the bottom. This will help you see the mites or ticks better when they fall off. You can use some of the mite ridding oil in a spray bottle to spray over her body. Another thing you should do is quarantine her to another room away from other animals. This will help prevent them from spreading. Take her home or have someone else take her home till they are gone.

I hope this helps,
Eric Rovegno