Frank,



For starters, this will not turn into a flame war or pi**ing match. I as a rule generally agree with most of your past comments/opinions.







"There are a lot of people in the venemous community who seem to try and make out that you must be an "Expert" to keep venemous snakes responsibly. This IMHO is certainly not the case, usually the people who perpetuate the myth that keeping hots is extremely dangerous and very difficult is by other venemous keepers themselves and this in turn feeds on their own ego (Them being the so called elite)."



The above statement has been mis-understood..what I meant was: It is usually the people who are most vocal about what snakes you should keep and how you keep them generally are so negative to the prospective keeper that they end up going it alone...this is when problems occur/newspapers called and the hobby gets slammed... when the person does it anyway and without constructive advice.



I like to think that this is not the case in general "mentor" types frequenting the forums, that these people understand how someone could want to keep hot snakes and try to assist in any way possible.



The elitist type of keepers (that also stop in from time to time) are the problem in which I refer....the so called experts that do try to make out that keeping venomous snakes is only for a certain few (in other words elite) and that is (keeping venomous snakes) only attainable after so many years of training etc etc ...



I don't believe this is the case.



I don't believe I am a fool, I am willing to take on constructive advice and I am well aware of what common sense is. I am not a "newbie" or "rookie" and don't like being spoken too as such.



"My "common sense" keeps me from working with certain hots that I feel my skills (I'm not so limber anymore) are not up to or that I feel might endanger my family or niebors. Thus I do not keep Cobras, Mambas, Brown snakes etc...Though I like them."



Fair enough knowing your own limits is important.



Ego....is when you think you have all the answers and act accordingly. Like someone with little or no experience telling everyone he can handle snakes that kill...or making a statement like the one above.



I believe I answered this above



35 years ago I was a rank beginner. Fortunately I had "Experts" like Greg Longhurst, Fred Grunwald and Ron Dupont to guide me through my awkward early efforts till I learned. Thanks to those gentlemen, I still have NEVER had a serious bite (though plenty from rearfangs that were mild enough to ignore). By the way, it was those rearfangs that taught me what I could or could not safely do with the others. That is why I and others said "start with the mild ones".



The one species of rear fang that you can keep in Australia, (Brown Tree Snakes, Boiga irregularis) is not always easy to get a hold of (Buy) so as I have said I recommend 2 species of Pseudechis which are in my mind better than many other elapids that are about.



Regards,

Scott Eipper.

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