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Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by ginny on June 9, 2006
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Hi guys and girls! My guy has been trying to get me a Black-Tailed Rattler but no joy!? However he may be able to get me a baby Crotalus vegrandis. Any remarks or experiances of keeping these in captivity? Thanks, Mark
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by Cro on June 9, 2006
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Mark: The Crotalus vegrandis are going to be more of a handfull as far as disposition or temperment.
Black-Tailed Rattlesnakes are more laid-back and easy going snakes.
Both are great learning experiences.
If you are not an experienced rattlesnake keeper, I would try to start with the Black-Tailed.
Hope this helps.
JohnZ
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by ginny on June 10, 2006
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Thanks for the very sound advice John. I would rather have a black-tail as it is a close relative of the western diamond back and seeing one in my local exotic pet shop was the reson i got into keeping vipers. However as you can see from my profile i live in the UK and venomous snakes are harder to come by as i cant just go in my back yard and catch a rattler like you lucky devils can!! To illustate my point i read in a lot of American based threads that Agistrodon contortix are regarded as venomous snakes to "practice" with and not as great snakes to keep in their own right as i'm sure if you wanted one all you had to do is walk down a road at night and find hundreds of these "common" snakes. As for me i asked my local reptile dealer to get me a pair of neonate Agistrodon contortix contortix 3 months ago and he is finding it very difficult to locate them for me even with his contacts in Europe looking out for them. He keeps telling me theres nothing about at the moment and i really, really CANT WAIT FOR MY BEAUTIFUL COPPERHEADS!!!! I hope you American guys appreciate your native snakes just think of me and what i have to go through to aqquire them as one of the few people who keep venomus [legally] in the uk!! Anywho, if i do want a rattlesnake NOW i may just have to accept whatever species comes along or have nothing! I guess i will have to be exta careful. In any case i would treat any hot snake as potentially lethal and aggressive whether it was placid or not or highly toxic or not! After all i keep Vipera ammodytes the most venomous snake in Europe, not bragging or nothing but she gets treated with the UTMOST repect. That being said i appreciate your advice and will take it into account if i do get a Uracoan Rattlesnake. Regards, Mark.
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by Cro on June 10, 2006
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Mark: If you can easily get the Uracoan Rattlesnake, then do so. You will find it an great animal to keep. They are just a bit more nervous than the Black-Tailed. What is interesting is that it is probably easier for you to Legally acquire a Crotalus vegrandis in the UK, than it would be for me to here in Georgia. We have some very backward and archaic Reptile Laws in this backward thinking state.
I wish we here could still go out into our backyards and catch rattlesnakes, LOL !, With all the land development here , I would have to drive about 120 miles just to have a chance of finding a Timber Rattlesnake, and about 240 miles to find Eastern Diamond-Backed or Pygmy Rattlesnakes. I have not found a Canebrake Rattlesnake in Dekalb, Fulton, or Gwinnett County in 25 years ! The US still has some wild places, but they are getting much more difficult to find.
As far as Copperhead Snakes, well, you are right, they are common to abundant in some areas. I saw a road kill just this morning, and have found a couple right out my back door. I would not agree though that they are not desirable to keep on their own right. I have been keeping various Copperheads for 39 years, and in the past have kept all of the different sub-species, and still love keeping them. They are Beautiful snakes, as you stated.
We here do often reccomend Copperheads as a beginner Venomous Snake, but not so much that they are for ``practice,`` but more so, that if you do make a mistake, it probably will not be fatal ! There are many, many very experienced keepers here who still love keeping Copperheads.
I wish it was not as difficult to ship reptiles to the UK as it was in the old days when Chris Mattison and I traded snakes accross the ``pond.`` I have 4 yearling Southern Copperheads that I would love to ship to Europe to someone who would give them a good home. With all the regulations these days, that is almost impossible. I hope you do find some available in the UK, as they are great snakes, and you will surly enjoy keeping them, and can perhaps breed them so that others in your area will be able to keep them also.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by ginny on June 10, 2006
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Thanks for that John, any advice is always appreciated. Maybe i overstated how easy it is for Americans to aqquire native snakes and i have read in past threads how different state laws and regulations can hamper serious and responsible hot herp keepers like yourself to keep venomous snakes. These laws are designed to prevent dangerous animals from falling into the wrong hands and unfortunately that hurts the people who really do respect these animals. Also i guess certain species may be endangered and are protected?? I admit i dont know too much about this subject as i am relatively new to the hobby. Anyway thanks again and i will patiently look forward to expanding my collection, which is probably better off happening gradually as i gain more experiance anyway! Mark.
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by AlQ on December 4, 2011
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Dear John ,
Most of the Southern American Crotalus are very nervous and have a terrible temperament , the Urocoan is not an exception ! Also the composition of their venom is highly neurotoxic , this compounds the situation in case of an accident as a neurotoxic venom delivered by long viperid fangs is very dangerous .
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by LarryDFishel on December 4, 2011
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My experience (though limited) matches what others have said, in that the Uracoans are a bit more "twitchy" sometimes bordering on "spastic". If you were here in the U.S., I would consider the Uracoan significantly more dangerous just because antivenom is harder to find (unless you live some place like Miami), but I don't know if that's true in the U.K...
The good news is that they don't typically get that big, which means if you are using 40 inch hooks (which I would recommend for an adult) you can always stay well out of strike range for those unexpected "spastic" moments.
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by stopgetinpopped on December 5, 2011
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I have had more than my fair share of Urocoans and I do not recommend them at all - many (most) have horrendously bad temperments and are capable of phenomenal feats of acrobatics when irate...and it takes very little to irritate these.... In my opinion these have the ability to be one of the most dangerous Crotalus to handle... Trust me - I really need to make a video of one of the ones I have now...it'll knock your socks off---
On the Blacktail, I'm not sure of what serum you have available over there but Crofab doesnt seem to work well on these - My guess is that Bioclon is probably readily available and is certainly a much better choice if needed...
Anyway, don't 'settle' on something just to satisfy the 'have now' impulse.... But I suggest staying away from the vegrandis for sure...
Cheers!
T-
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by agkistrodude on December 6, 2011
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Mark, I definitely agree with John about the Copperheads. Many say they're good "starter" snakes, and I suppose that's true, but I've always kept a couple in my collection. I have 2 that are over 20 years old. They're great snakes. If you find one it would be best not to get a neonate, as sometimes they can be difficult to get started with eating. Cottonmouths are also usually pretty easy to work with, and are usually "eating machines". They're a little "hotter" than a Copperhead,(but not as hot as a Urocoan) but the husbandry is the same. Take care and best of luck finding something! Marty
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RE: Uracoan Rattlesnake Question
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by Rob_Carmichael on December 6, 2011
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Overall, I agree with all of the comments. Ironically, we have a vegrandis that is fairly mellow and very easy to work with. It does get hooked a lot so it's probably gotten used to being "handled" regularly. Or, we just got one of the few rare laid back vegrandis. Our simus is very easy going but our culminatus is 6 feet of holy hell. Same with the guyana. Interesting how behaviors are so much different.
Rob Carmichael
Wildlife Discovery Center
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