|
11-17 of 17 messages
|
Previous
Page 2 of 2
|
|
RE: Can I train myself with non-venomous species?
|
Reply
|
|
by agkistrodude on September 29, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
I believe that with non venomous snakes, you can "condition" yourself to using hooks instead of your hands. I wouldn't go as far as saying it will train you for venomous, simply because, no matter how much you pretend that the black racer is a black mamba, you know that it really isn't. But the more that you can familiarize yourself to hooks, tongs, tubes, etc., the better off you will be when the time comes when you hook that first copperhead. Take Care, Marty
|
| |
|
RE: Can I train myself with non-venomous species?
|
Reply
|
|
by RattleAbe on December 25, 2014
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Hi
to everybody
i'M A LOT of passionate about snakes from ITALY
I don't have yet an animal as a pet ( snakes)
I personally have some experince about countries and snake habitats ans also about snake venom
I hope in the future to buy a specie of snakes to breeding at my home maybe starting with non/venomou kind of species
|
| |
|
RE: Can I train myself with non-venomous species?
|
Reply
|
|
by Traveller on February 10, 2015
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
You have received a lot of info. RE: subject of "training" w/ "cold" or Rear-Fanged.
About 45 years ago, when I was 14 years old, I wanted an Agkistrodon- you will live- minus a pinkie if exceptionally slow/ stupid. NOBODY wants to be bitten by a Boiga (Mangrove, "Powdered Tree (Africa), or Blandings ("Boiga also; people like me think those two should be moved to genus: "Toxicodryas"; why? Read the name of proposed genus- HINT.
Vipera (=Daboia), almost every opisthoglyph you can name in a minute- Bungarus (will ruin your day); every semi-common Crotalus/ Sistrurus in U.S. I NEVER "Choked" (lost concentration)- actually the opposite- too concentrated- fingers, reaction times, anticipation- FREEZE- Your Bitten.
My "Epiphone" came w/ a Spitter- I CHOKED- but 40+ yrs. saved me; plus RESTRAINT- see your little green Dendroaspis slide from the cage does something to you- and your bladder; remain in control; know the "Suite of Movements" Hots have- but NEVER trust them; curve balls are thrown by more hot snakes than any big League Baseball pitcher- BELIEVE IT!
Now: CHOOSE.
|
| |
|
RE: Can I train myself with non-venomous species?
|
Reply
|
|
by LarryDFishel on February 11, 2015
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Warning: Another novel follows.
Traveller, a few things you said made me think of a point that may not have been made in this thread yet.
With the possible exception of foot speed while maneuvering around your snake room after a big mamba, or cobra (which you shouldn't be handling until you've has a fair amount of experience) decides it no longer wants to be on a hook I tell prospective handlers that if you're even thinking about how fast you can move your hand when a snake strikes, you've missed something important. You shouldn't ever have any part of your body even close to striking range of any venomous snake while handling it. The first pieces of handling equipment you need are at least 2, 40 inch or so hooks. If you have tiny snakes you might want some smaller hooks, but only use them for the small snakes.
Speaking of which, this may not seem obvious to a beginner, but do NOT start with a tiny snake. They will throw off your (mental, not optical) perspective. A 12 inch snake can strike the length of it's body in a fraction of the time it takes a 6 foot snake to do that, and you might not be thinking that way when you reach for something too close to the snake. They can also slip (or launch themselves) off a hook quicker.
When I volunteered at a refuge, caring for their snakes, I trained a few new handlers. One gentleman started off fairly confident because he had kept quite a few nonvenomous snakes. I wasn't really thinking things through at the time, and the first snake I had him handle was a pigmy rattlesnake. He confided in me later that he had almost walked out and given up after that first snake, because he thought "if this 12 inch snake is this difficult, how am I going to deal with a 4 foot rattlesnake?" I reassured him that many pigmys still gave me problems and explained what I did above, and he ended up working with venomous for quite a while. I was more comfortable working with the refuge's 14 foot king cobras than with most of the pigmys. Not exactly for beginners, and the consequences of a bite would have been much worse, but they didn't slip off a hook in 0.1 seconds and refuse to get back on, and you could hold one in your hands without being within 4 feet of the dangerous part.
|
| |
|
RE: Can I train myself with non-venomous species?
|
Reply
|
|
by Scott7590 on May 21, 2015
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
If you want to "train" yourself with a non-venomous snake, start with a water snake. They are usually feisty and quick to bite (for awhile). DO NOT start with an elapid, many of which are pretty active and quick to bite.
Make sure you have health insurance that will cover you if you get bitten by your "pet" snake. You also need liability insurance in case your hot gets loose and bites someone else. Even if it doesn't bite your neighbor, a hot excapee may get you a lawsuit for terrorizing the neighborhood. You won't have any defense and will probably lose your house and everything else you own.
Make sure you know where to get treatment if you or someone else gets bitten. Most doctors have never treated a snakebite and don't have a clue about treating them.
I have had dozens of hots in the more thsn 50 years that I collected snakes, which ranged from copperheads to a Gaboon viper. I only touched two of them: a baby copperhead that I needed to force feed (pinkies were not available back then; and an adult copperhead that went nuts when he dropped off my hook when other people were approaching my capture site.
Don't try to train yourself. Find a mentor to show you the ropes. There are plenty of them around. And remember what my father often said: "Familiarity breeds contempt."
There are a lot of good points on this forum. Observe them, particularly regarding secure cages and rooms.
Good luck, and be careful.
Scott
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
