(disclaimer: I don't keep venomous or venomoid snakes, so I'm not an expert on the subject).

My first question would be, "is the venomous surgery 100% effective ... and are you willing to bet your life on it?" Even if the surgery removes most of the snake's venom glands, a not quite "venomoid" King Cobra or Black Mamba might still be able to pack a serious, even a fatal bite.

My second question is "how much pain does the surgery inflict on the snake?" Some bozo doing garage surgery with an X-acto knife is going to cause a great deal of suffering to an innocent animal. How would YOU feel about someone giving you a root canal with a power drill and suturing the results with dental floss? I'm not saying that all venomoids are made under these horrible conditions -- but a great number of them are. Before you buy a venomoid, you may want to ascertain who did the surgery and under what conditions.

Personally, I'd never own a venomoid. Because the surgery doesn't always take, I'd still want to handle the snake like it was hot -- and if I'm going to do that, why not just keep a hot? It's certainly easier on the snake -- and it keeps me from getting careless and making a stupid and potentially lethal mistake when I discover my "venomoid" ain't.

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