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RE: Snakes as 'Pets'
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by longtooth on November 9, 2005
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great artical really should be required reading.My name is coy and i have read alot of stuff from you guys and you are all pretty well schooled.I myself have been keeping hots for 25 yrs but i had a great teacher my dad, he taught me the most important word when dealing with venomous snakes is respect for what and as he said and who you are dealing with.I try to talk young folks out of keeping these animals no experiance turns into a bad first lesson.I have been bitten only once by a cane and guess what one moment of getting lax cost a lot so newbies listen up not preaching just telling you if ya got to do it, please find someone to teach you right again great artical later guys coy longtooth
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Snakes as 'Pets'
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by Crotalusssp on October 24, 2006
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There has been numerous occasions I have tried to relate the very facts you state in your article. Nice work.
Charles B. (Crotalusssp)
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Snakes as 'Pets'
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by MeToo on July 24, 2007
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I don't know why anyone would think that this should be "required reading" for the general public-WE'RE not the ones who desire to keep venomous snakes, and WE'RE not the ones who would, in the main, consider them as "pets". To the contrary, I would say. The general public does NOT consider venomous snakes (spiders, scorpions, etc) or large constricters as "pets". You may recall that many hot snake keepers often have disdain for the "general public" asking why anyone would even want to keep such animals, much less consider them "pets".
Why do some venomous snake keepers, especially those who keep exotic (non-native) venomous snakes-as the ones introducing the snake (and the danger) into the community, think that the onus is on the public to "understand"? I like to read and learn about snakes, I find them quite interesting-from a distance. I can't say that I especially like them, but I find them interesting. I have no desire to seek them out to harm them-I don't want any interaction with them at all, if I can help it--and I would have to go a good bit out of way to ever even see most of these animals, much less have any interaction with them ( I don't expect to ever see a cobra or mamba in my yard, but with the rise of "hot" snake keeping, I'm starting to wonder!!!) I'm sure if the snakes could know this, they would thank me for not wanting to ever interfere with them in any way.
So just what is it that the general public needs to know about venomous snakes, especially exotic ones, other than to leave them alone? YOU'RE the ones owning them, importing them, etc-YOU'RE the ones who need to know-that they're not pets, that you need to make sure they can't endanger the general public, and how to take care of them. After that, if the general public chooses to learn more, it's a choice, not a requirement. The requirement is on you, as the ones who love snakes and want to keep.
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Snakes as 'Pets'
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by agibail009 on September 22, 2007
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Venomous snakes can definitely not be kept as pets. However, non-venomous snakes can definietly be kept as pets. I've owned many snakes in the past and none of them have ever even threatened to attack me as long as I treated them with the respect they deserve as animals.
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Snakes as 'Pets'
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by RTC on January 23, 2009
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I totally agree with you that many people out there are under educated about how to responsibly keep a snake. Many people out there think that it is very easy to care for a snake, but they do not realize that it takes time and responsibility to properly care for a snake; especially the kind that can pose a threat to your life if not taken seriously and responsibly. Being a responsible and respectful owner of any snake can save your life or anyone elses when taking care of a snake. Yes, snakes can be bought at almost every pet store, you should seriously consider where you live and how big of a snake you want to get. You also need to consider how big the snake is going to get before you buy one so that it will not outgrow its cage or the room it is in. Yes some people may see that snakes are not good pets because if they escape, they can be harmful to smaller pets, that is really the only threat, the snake getting out of its cage. But I still think that snakes make great pets if the owner is responsible, and well educated about the snake they want to buy.
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snakes as pets
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by atrox56 on July 2, 2009
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I have read your article with great interest and I think it was very well written. I have to comment on it from a different point of view though. First I am sure that some people will have a field day with my comment but I ask that you remain calm until I have finished my study and then you can scoff at the results.
In mid 1998 I read an article about the late Grace Olive Whiley who tamed a vast number of venomous snakes. I was intrigued and wanted to find out more because I believed they were either venomoids or drugged. I read all I could get my hands on and called several friends who had knowledge of her and soon found out that all of her animals were in fact "Hot"! How could this be possible? On October 16th 1998 I decided to write a paper on "Why venomous snakes bite"! I have been studying snakes and various reptiles since 1973 and have always had a passion for these misunderstood marvels of nature. I (like most) would never think of touching a non restrained venomous snake as over the years I have had a total of 37 bites and they are not fun. How did Grace do it? Did she have an atmosphere about her the snakes could see or smell and this calmed them? There were so many questions and too few answers. I have the usual variety of snakes in my Lab. EDB's, Cobras, tree vipers, copperheads and the like. On June 18, 2002 I picked a male copperhead (named Felix) to be my test animal. This snake was given a life that I would like to live. His every need was taken care of, A spotless habitat, food every seven days like clock work, fresh water twice a day, Temperature variants and several other comforts. I was with this snake constantly, I talked with him for hours a day. I have well over 2.000 pages of text for this experiment alone that lasted a year. On January 04, 2003 I decided to test Felix and see if my kindness and extra attention and care had in fact rendered him not fearful of me. I gritted my teeth, reached in and picked him up. Now you have to understand that I have always been a staunch supporter of the "Don't touch that snake club" ! and here, I was doing what I had preached to people for years, not to do. The snake was calm, placid and never once flinched as I moved about for 73 minutes. My wife came, saw what I waas holding, and I had to calm her down. I might have carried that snake all day if my wife had not entered the room.
Now! One snake does not a scientific break through make. Maybe the snake was tired, maybe it was sick, maybe it just had a soar jaw and did not want to bite at that time? I don't know but it did not bite me and I had to find out if Grace was realy onto something that might just be normal and no one but she, had realized it?
I picked two other species, a White lipped tree viper (Anna) and another copperhead (Toni). To make a long story short, I now have 18 venomous species of snakes that I am able to freely pick up, place on a table and clean their habitat and replace them with out the use of a hook. My wife Janice is my biggest critic and no one can say to me, what I have not heard from her, but she still admits that it is a mystery. I contend that it is not a mystery at all and I have the notes and the animals to prove it.
The last part of my experiment has not begun yet as I am still on the accepting phase of the project. I have no idea as to how my animals would respond if someone other then myself were to pick them up? I have yet to figure out how to accomplish this task, but that is in the future. As I said earlier, I have always been against wannabes gaining attention by ending up in an ICU ward after playing with a venomous snake. My experiment went horribly array when Felix accepted me, I had intended on proving exactly what I had always believed and that was snakes can not be tamed. Please hold back on the insults, we are supposed to be professionals here. I have been handling reptiles since 1973 and there has never been 48 hours since then that have passed without my hands being placed upon a snake. I have contributed several papers on the subject of snakes to the Herp community and have always given others the benefit of the doubt, when I was not sure of their results on an unusual experiment. My findings are just am much a surprise to me as they might be to you people but facts do not lie. Now I do not allow venomous animals run around my home, I do not carry them in public, nor are they appearing on "those amazing animals". This was a well defined study with unusual as well as unexpected results. I am willing to prove all of my statements at any time, to anyone who matters, that includes people of this club as well as the general scientific community.
Venomous snakes are not the wan ten, dangerous animals that most would want us to believe they are. Dangerous in the wrong hands? YES!! will they defends their lives? YES do they want to bite humans? NO.
All I ask is that you look at my study with an open mind, as it is far from complete and you only have my findins to date.
Thank you
Joel T. La Rocque
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RE: snakes as pets
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by MeToo on July 3, 2009
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"Dangerous in the wrong hands"? Are you serious? Any hands are the "wrong" hands for free-handling a venomous snake. Do you know how Grace Olive Whiley died? From a snakebite.
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