Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am happy to inform you that after months of consideration and much research, I have decided not to get a Gaboon Viper. Actually now that I think about it I dont really know what I was thinking. I am planning to get some kind of constrictor though.

Your decision to not keep one is arguably MORE respectable than actually getting one and keeping it responsibly.
Well done
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

I agree wholeheartedly with Tom. Gaboons are not good beginner venomous, & truth be told, are not a good idea for any keeper without a lot of experience & a well thought out & executed caging facility as well as antivenin & protocol.

~~Greg~~

Out of pure curiosity how much is antivenom per vial?

Btw im not planing on getting a hot that i would need to stock my own antivenom for. Im going to wait five or ten years for that lol

For something as exotic a Gaboon, a hell of a lot, like SEVERAL thousand dollars per vial, and the Gaboons have the largest venom yield of any snake, so you could potentially count on more than 30 vials(educated guess).

Gaboons and most other Bitis vipers are covered under the SAIMR polyvalent AV. Last time I checked their prices (back in '03 or '04), they were charging $60 per vial of polyvalent. Unless things have changed greatly since then, it would not be unreasonably expensive to maintain 20 vials, even considering importation and doc fees. All told, it might cost you $2-3k.
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Chance Duncan
www.rivervalleyexotics.com