>>>>i have never kept these guys but i am thinking about it. any reccommendations or tricks with them? also how does their venom compare to that of green mambas and blacks im assuming its similar but i just wanted to know for sure. any other info that might pertain to these guys would be great. thanks in advance!

>>

>>

>>In my limited experience:

>>

>>Behavior is pretty much standard mamba. As far as I know, venom composition is similar to greens and blacks, potency is in between but closer to blacks.

>>



--almost, but no cigar. according to numerous references, venom potency of the five ssp. of Dendroaspis is as follows, starting with the most potent:

D. polylepis

D. viridis

D. j. jamesoni (including kaemosae)

D. angusticeps--



>>Have you kept other mambas? If not, I would suggest starting with an eastern green to get practice dealing with thier tricks before moving up to a jameson's or a black. And if at all possible, find someone experienced with them so show you how to handle them and supervise your first few times.



>>-----

>>Larry D. Fishel

>>Side effects may include paralysis

>>and death but are generally mild.



i've seen a few angusticeps that would scare the daylights out of you for handling, and polylepis that you could probably freehandle by someone insane. temperment is as individual as any other creature, and i think it's a dangerous assumption to generalize on any species. the "moving up to" reference trivializes the seriousness of keeping mambas, as if they were models of sports car or something similar, and should be discouraged.

presumption is the root of all error.

keep a Spilotes without being bitten for a year first. better yet, leave the mambas in the wild where they belong.

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