Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i really want to do the responsible thing and find a mentor so i know how things are done correctly and such, but ive had no luck finding one in the area. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance

btw im in hilmar, california. i already spoke to dfg and they said that we can keep hott just the ones native to california.and only 2. can breed them just cant sell the babies etc. no permit is required just a fishing licsence. but id like to do my homework before i go looking to collect one. again thanks for any help

I would recomend spending time in the field so you can get used to the temperment of the Crote(i assume thats what you will be keeping because thats the olnly native venomous group) you want to keep.

Read up on the subject, read alot, and then read some more. Talk to people who work with hots, talk to alot of people, then talk to some more. Volunteer at any facilities that maintain venomous in your area. Find yourself a mentor if you can.
All of this will help prepare you for working with venomous.

If you are near the Bay Area, the Academy of Sciences in S.F. could be a good start for a volunteer position.

Good luck

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Cheers
Lateralis
"I would rather be precisely wrong than approximately right"
Marion "Doc" Ford

What you need to do is join your local herp society, spend time on your local forums and learn what you can on venomous forums. Buy the tools of the trade be sure to have cages set up and ready.

While you are doing all of this I am sure you will come across Cali HOT keepers. Go from there for mentoring and animal adoption.

There is no need to take animals from the wild. As you said those who have them cannot sell them so are in need of good adopting homes
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Dan S.
Crotalus & Company-- Captive Bred Reptiles
Venom-Center -- Venomous Community
Wisconsin Reptile Community
Hybrid Herps-- Hybrid Community

thanks everyone. i have been reading about them for about a yr just tryin to learn as much as possible before i do actually get one. as for local herp societys, were would i go about looking into find one in the area. again thanks a bunch