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RE: snakes
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by Cro on December 11, 2006
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Greg, you have asked a question that comes up here quite a lot. It is good that you have 5 years experience with non-venomous snakes.
It is natural to want to start keeping venomous snakes after a while. But, before you start keeping venomous snakes, you have some work to do.
First off, do your parents approve of you keeping venomous snakes?
Are venomous snakes legal to keep where you live?
Do you have Very Secure Excape Proof Caging to use? Having a venomous snake excape is totally unacceptable. Screen top aquariums are not suitable for venomous snakes.
Do you know where the closest hospital that has antivenom is located, and have you talked with the emergency room or your family doctor about treating a potential bite?
Do you have a mentor that can show you how to work with venomous snakes?
If you can answer yes to the above, I believe that you might very well be able to keep a venomous local snake in captivity. I am talking about something like a Copperhead or Pygmy Rattlesnake that antivenom would be available for. I am not talking about an exotic venomous snake, as antivenom for them is often not readily available.
In this hobby, you need to start slowly, and learn as you go along. You have not told us what kind of snake you are thinking about keeping, or where you live, so you should add more to your profile to let us know what kind of experience you have had with snakes.
There is also your level of maturity and attention to detail that has to be taken into account. Many folks who are 14 are very capable of keeping local venomous reptiles, and you could very well be one of them. But, there are other folks who have no business keeping venomous reptiles, and many of them are much older than you, LOL.
Fill out more of your profile, and let us know what your experience is, and what you are considering keeping. And dont be surprised if some folks here say you should not keep venomous snakes at all, and others say they think you would be ok with it. That is the nature of an open forum.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: snakes
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by Cro on December 11, 2006
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Greg, thanks for filling out more of your profile.
You say you like Pygmy Rattlesnakes. That would be a good first venomous snake to keep.
You will want to avoid new-born ones though, as they are often difficult to feed. An established feeder that is about a year old would be a good starting venomous snake to keep.
And you would want to get some instruction from someone who has worked with venomous snakes before.
Also make sure it is ok with your parents, and that you have very secure caging, and that venomous keeping is legal in your state.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: snakes
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by Nephron on December 11, 2006
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The experience is relevant; the rest is irrelevant, and isn't enough to say so. For example, what kind of snakes have you had experience with, and what kind of hots are you interested in?
Well, okay, being 6'2" is something of a negative. Big guys tend to use muscle when in doubt, and when dealing with hots, that's a lose-lose situation.
But more importantly, I wouldn't say anything about anyone's skills until I'd seen them work with animals. There are details of body position and posture that convey emotion and strike range that I just can't describe in words.
One of the really nice things about Florida's license system is that it makes you go out and learn from other people. If even remotely possible, make contact with some folks in the area who you can learn from first-hand. Better yet, more than one.
Note that that will be a slow process; you'll talk your way in the door and then spend several weekends washing dirty water bowls. And then you'll be trusted to take the bowls from the keeper while he/she has cages open. And so it proceeds, until you get to "could you put that atrox in a bucket to soak? He's a bit naughty, so you might want two hooks."
Folks around here can certainly get you in tough with the right people.
In the mean time, get yourself some hooks (I'm really fond of the Midwest mini, but whatever you get, make sure they're smooth!) and practice handling your snakes hands-off.
(The Australian-style tailing you see only works on big elapids, which is why it's almost guaranteed that an experienced Australian snale-handler will get bit within a year of getting his first rattlesnake.)
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