Reptile & Amphibian Forums

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXyInFHXoE&NR=1

Found this on youtube. The last comment made really "rattled" me some (no pun intended). I am aware that this species isn't considered "Highly toxic" but I certainly feel that it demands considerably more respect than stated here.

Chris
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Yeah, I dont have personal experience with fwc's, but I think letting children handle one is extremely irresponsible, regardless of how "tame" it is.
Too many people assume "mildly venomous" or "rear fanged" means "safe", when often times, there arent even enough bites on record to accurately describe how dangerous they are.

While handling a FWC that large in such a manner as exhibited in the video is ill-advised, even if it were to bite the person, the consequences are HIGHLY unlikely to be anything serious in nature. The worst bite I've heard of was from a large adult (7 ft. or so) who chewed for well over 5 minutes before being pryed off. There was swelling significant enough to prompt the bite victim to go to the ER, however it ended up subsiding on it's own with no further effects or permanent damage.

Still though, these snakes DO have very powerful jaws. I've sometimes heard what sounds like bones crushing as they chow down on f/t rodents. Getting chewed on by a 7 ft. snake as thick around as a coke can would NOT be a pleasant experience, regardless of the toxicity of the snake.

All that said, I treat mine like I would any other venomous...being chomped on by one of those guys is not high on my list of things I'd like to happen to me
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Abhishek Prasad