- Maybe we could share some of those experiences that they just don’t write about in snake books... -


Boy, can I relate to your story. I remember this one time I had just come back from a Hamburg show with a good sized captive raised adult female Eastern Gaboon Viper. Its previous owner, a very friendly leather-clad bearded dwarf named skip from whom I had purchased it from, assured me that he raised the snake from an itty bitty hatchling and that it was as docile a Gaboon as he's ever come across. When I arrived home, I proceeded to roll down the window shades in my bedroom, lit a few scented candles, and put on some soothing ambient music to calm the snakes jangled nerves. I dumped the snake on the satin covers of my bed and quickly poured two glasses of red wine. Apparently the snake was well hydrated, as she showed no interest in the wine. Now here was where I made the mistake. I decided to drink both glasses of wine myself and before I even new it, I had completely forgotten about putting the snake inside its previously arranged enclosure and instead found myself gently caressing it and asking it what its dreams were and what it really wanted from life. Everything was going fine, until I crossed the proverbial snake-on-the-bed line and attempted to spoon my new specimen. Out of nowhere, this so-called docile Gaboon struck damn near sideways and backwards and sank two fangs directly into my left buttox, completely unprotected by the leopard skin speedos I was wearing. I let out a shriek and ran about my room screaming "you bastard serpent of hell, you have set my left cheek ablaze!". Luckily for me, it turned out to be a very minor bite and I escaped with minimal tissue necrosis, oddly leaving a small scar in the shape of the virgin mary...

I hope my foolish revelation will help other newbes from making the same mistake that I made...Good idea for a topic by the way, perhaps we can get one of the unbiased and non sensationalistic news outlets to report a small segment about our beloved hobbies dumbest mistakes with deadly creatures dreadfully feared by the vast majority of society...

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