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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by ALA_snake33 on April 18, 2007
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In some cases it’s the Venders at the Reptile Shows that are to blame for young people getting their hands on these Animals. I have known a few Venders, that have sold Large Pythons such as Reticulated Pythons to youngsters. Now, we all know that there is no cure for the Big Squeeze. If a Large Boid ever gets its Coils around you and noone is in the room or house with you, you can pretty much write them off as “DEAD”. The good thing about a Venomous Snake Bite, is that if you are Bitten, you at least have the chance of living with the administering of the proper A/V.
John: I did not pick up the thing about “Mental Capacity” from Talk Radio and yes you are right about the Youngsters that are Members here, they are more Competent than some of the Adults that frequent this Site. But also keep in mind how many Young People are interring this Hobby Blind as Bats, with noone to Teach them the Ropes.
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by Cro on April 18, 2007
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Wally, you are right that "Young People are interring this Hobby Blind as Bats, with noone to Teach them the Ropes."
That is why this site is here, and why it is so important that the folks here support the young keepers, and help mentor them.
Just telling them they should not keep venomous snakes because they are too young serves no purpose at all. It drives them underground, where they will recieve no education at all.
The #3 item in the SHHS mission statement is:
"To encourage responsible animal husbandry by venomous reptile keepers."
That includes venomous reptile keepers of All ages !
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by silver_ingots on April 18, 2007
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If someone lives in an area with enough venomous snakes around to actually see them, I don't know how they could resist catching and keeping them as a kid. Whether they should or not won't matter to them. Its just like any other snake a kid finds to them, just more interesting. The dumb ones will be removed from the gene pool. The others will probably let it go after a while if it doesn't eat or they lose interest. Or the snake will die like any other wild snake you would catch.
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by GREGLONGHURST on April 19, 2007
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I still think we are not substitutes for a kid's parents. Worst case scenario is that some kid who gets encouragement to keep hot stuff from the board does so without getting his parents' permission, gets tagged, & mom & dad find out about the source of the encouragement & come after us.
~~Greg~~
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by earthguy on April 19, 2007
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I had a long response written, but I figured that you guys had better things to do than read the rantings of a lunatic. So I'll shorten it to this: Yes there are teens capable of being good hot herpaculturalists, but they are few and far between. Maturity does tend to come with age and life experience. We must balance our desire to encourage our hobby with our need to protect it in a lawsuit happy society.
I think that we need a statement (as the SHHS) concerning our view on the requirements of becoming a "hot keeper". It should say something about knowledge (of laws and husbandry), experience and MATURITY. We should also state that we feel parental/guardian consent is a necessity when you live at home, and many things (such as set-up, siblings, and neighbors) should be considered when contemplating keeping of venomous reptiles.
Perhaps we could answer this on our (as of right now non-existant) FAQ page.
How old should I be before I keep my first venomous snake?
Righ beside the question: What should be my first venomous snake (another hotly contested question)
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by squigy on April 23, 2007
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Okay I vote no on the under 16 keeping venomous. I think that it's pretty ridiculous. I didn't start keeping venomous until I was 19 and living on my own. I can see that someone that young that was bull headed enough to stick with it should be properly trained and aided but not turned loose to keep stuff on their own. Oh and Richard I was wondering about the short vs. tall logic, not trying to fight just curious. I'm 5'7 and my mentor is like 5'6 and I haven't seen or had any problems.....just curious.
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RE: This Months Survey “Interesting Answers”
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by Buzztail1 on April 23, 2007
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I have seen this debate come up quite frequently.
Some things to note:
1. Some states (including Florida) actually legislate the age for acquiring a permit to keep venomous. Therefore, it would be illegal for anyone under the legal age in those states to be keeping venomous and the SHHS has a stated position on the illegal trade of venomous snakes.
2. Some states do not have minimum age requirements for the keeping of venomous snakes. That means that "underage keepers" are not violating the law and it is legal for them to keep whether we agree or not.
3. Since we are not the Florida Hot Herp Society or the Georgia Hot Herp Society or the Illinois Hot Herp Society or any specific locality (we have had paid memberships from over a dozen countries all over the world) we do not exclude anyone who keeps venomous reptiles legally and responsibly.
4. It has been agreed to by most that "responsibly" is a relative term when it comes to age - some 16 year-olds prove to be more responsible and capable than some 40 year-olds. Age is not the end-all be-all that one might assume it to be.
GENERALLY SPEAKING - I believe that MOST children under the age of maturity (defined as being old enough to enlist and fight for your country but not old enough to buy and consume alcohol) are not mature enough to keep venomous reptiles without constant supervision from a more experienced adult.
PLEASE RE-READ THAT!!!
I said "I believe ..."
The SHHS position does not need to and probably will not change. Our goals will remain:
1. To provide a forum for the information exchange on the ecology, natural history and behavior of venomous reptiles.
2. To promote conservation and protection of venomous reptiles.
3. To encourage responsible animal husbandry by venomous reptile keepers.
4. To educate the general public to the benefits of venomous reptiles in nature.
5. To serve as a clearinghouse of information on venomous reptiles.
Just trying to inject some pertinent facts into this volatile topic.
Young people share a certainty about many things:
Someday bread will fall and land butter side up...
Alcohol can make me sound witty...
It doesn't matter whether or not I can spell (poor spellers invariably put in their profile that they want to educate the public!)...
People who have been bitten by their venomous snakes were not as good at this as I am...
I am too good for anything bad to happen to me...
Time and fate have a way of weeding out those who will not listen or learn.
Karl
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