Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have no venomous experience to speak of but I am absolutely fascinated by them. Do venomous "personalities" vary widely? For instance ball pythons are generally demure snakes while some asian rat snakes I've known are down right electric. Obviously the mambas are hyper and copperheads fairly placid but what about species like the gaboon? I would assume there is as much variety in venomous but everyone talks about the venom but not so much about the personalities. Forgive me if this seems a very dumb question but it is not likely I will be spending any quality time with venomous snakes any time soon and it is behavior that I find interesting. Thanks for being patient with a venom virgin!!!

yes there are a wide range of dispositions in both venomous and nonvenomous species and even within the same species ,you will always have the ones that fall into the norm for there type and then you have the exceptions to the rule, for the good or bad . but they are all different in one way or another . David

Yes, even within the same species temperament very greatly. 20 years ago when I extremely foolish, I had a black and white spitter that when I first got it, it would spray the tank every time I walked by.I handled that snake so much that I would have to hold him up and blow into his face just to make him spread his hood. I eventually got to where I held him like a garter snake. I'm not kidding and I realize how stupid it was and I know I'm lucky to be here.But this snake was the tamest thing I ever saw. The father of this snake bit and almost killed Albert Killian, a well know herper now at everglades outpost. I now have 4 copperheads and 3 of them are very calm but 1 of them thinks he's a diamond back.

Actually, individuals within the same species can vary greatly in personality.You mentioned copperheads being placid, wild caught specimens can be quite spastic to say the least.But I have some that are LTC that are pretty mellow. I have 2 eastern cottonmouths, one is "dog tame", the other one is nuts.I have 3 canebrake rattlesnakes, 2 are fairly docile and easy to work with, the 3rd one can't be hooked. I don't care what anyone thinks, your not gonna hook this snake. And it will try repeatedly to kill you.I guess the bottom line is, you can't group any species as being docile or wild as they differ individually. Except mambas. They're all nuts. Marty

not all mambas are nuts we have a large male black that is very hook friendly and has not been a problem as yet , but our female is a hook jumper and will chase you down the hall behind her exhibit ,so we use a shift with her as much as we can but there are times when you have got to face her , and both of our greens are OK as well . but I will say what is OK for a mamba is not OK for most other species . thanks David

Those are good questions. Any time you are working with a venomous herp, you just want to assume that you are going to catch it on its worst day. With that being said, most venomous herps that get regular interaction with a hook or some other manipulation tend to settle down in captivity. Contrary to popular belief, mambas (particularly blacks) will calm down quite a bit once in captivity for a while. Forest cobras, however, tend to remain flighty. Gaboons appear a bit aloof but don't let their girthy figure lull you into a false sense of security - they can strike with lightning speed and from different angles. Most king cobras start off as little spasters but in time, if worked with regularly, tend to calm down quite a bit.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake forest, IL

>>I have no venomous experience to speak of but I am absolutely fascinated by them. Do venomous "personalities" vary widely? For instance ball pythons are generally demure snakes while some asian rat snakes I've known are down right electric. Obviously the mambas are hyper and copperheads fairly placid but what about species like the gaboon? I would assume there is as much variety in venomous but everyone talks about the venom but not so much about the personalities. Forgive me if this seems a very dumb question but it is not likely I will be spending any quality time with venomous snakes any time soon and it is behavior that I find interesting. Thanks for being patient with a venom virgin!!!
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

And not to try and contradict anybody, but just to illustrate a point relevant to this question of attitude varaince:
I had a Forest Cobra for years that was the calmest elapid I have ever owned. Something else to consider is, many hots I've kept will change or "flip" if you will, their attitude as they age. Case in point: my Green Mamba was just as sweet as you please during her 1st year of captivity(purchased as a CB neonate) and now is that snake that you put off handling for the very last and has a stereotypical Forest Cobra "out to get you" attitude.