It really depends on the type of snake and whether it was caught from the wild or had gotten used to being in captivity. I once had a tropical viper coming into my office and they called in the wranglers who used their tool (I forgot the name, but it's a long hollow pole with a noose threaded through it) to sort of lasso the snake (it was probably 3-4 feet long). They managed to gently maneuver the noose behind it's triangular-shaped head gently lifted it up and put into a bag. Then they took it to the jungles further inland (I used to work on a tropical island) to release it.
