Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what is the best species of venomous snake to start out with
in terms of keeping and caring for ? have several nonvenomous snakes ( green tree, balls, burmess, amazon tree, retic and redtails) that I have been keeping for several years and now would like to try venomous snakes

There is a great venomous fourm on this website. It is under the cobra pic in fourms. This is a question that is allways asked and some people get tired of answering it. The best answer is: There is no good starter hot. You are best finding a mentor you can trust. (Not some local Hillbilly). Who has many years expeience. Then going to their place sevral times a week. And watch them work with the animals. From there you will graduate to routine maintence. Then from there how to handle them (NOT WITH YOUR HANDS) with the proper equipment. While you are dooing this you should start thinking about snakes that interest you: pitvipers, elapids, vipers, or arboreals. Which ever you choose as a first, it is a long time commitment. You can't get rid of it like a corn snake. Also it is an animal and requires the same attention any other "pet" requires. You must have a vet willing to work on hots. Then when you find a type of snake that you like and go from there. If a ground dwelling pitviper, a copperhead or pigmy would be a good first choice. If an elapid, aspidelaps are great. If a viper, the rhombic night adder is interesting. If an arboreal, a popes pit viper would be a good start. These are all snakes that do not get monsterous and although there bites can be serious even fatal, there is more of a time frame for getting help or having modern medical technology work. I really touched upon this quick. There is also legality issues and proper housing issue to deal with. Please feel free to ask any questions. Educatng yourself is the key. Cheers Greg.

That was great advice. Nice post.
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Mark

In addition to what was said above, I would personally look into what sort of anti-venoms the local hospitals carry in the event of a worst-case scenario. You can stock or produce your own but I'm lead to believe that is very time consuming or alternatively EXTREMELY expensive. Up here since there are not many people with venomous snakes (none that I can think of) and the only local venomous species is the Timber Rattlesnake, there is only one hospital that carries anti-venom and it's only for Timber Rattlers. If I decided to keep an elapid and got bit, I'd be a little more screwed than someone living down south. If local venomous species interest you, there is at least one advantage to keeping those as opposed to exotics.

The most responsible thing to do is try and aquire antivenom for whatever snake you choose. However I understand it is not possible all the time. You can not rely on a zoo. However if you did get bit by a tropical snake and had to use a local zoo please make sure you pay them back right away so they can purchase that antivenom a.s.a.p. incase they or someone else needed it. If you choose a North American pitviper, it is a standard antivenom made of sevral N.A. crotalids. That is why a copper or pigmy is a good choice. This antivenom works well on them if even needed. Most times with them it is not. Some people think the worst with elapids. I rather be bit by an aspidelaps than even a copperhead. You would not have nearly as much tissue damage. Why people think a copperhead bite is mild is beyond me. It can take up to 17 months to recover from a copper bite. You can be maimed for life or loose digits. I think a bite from a cobra may be better than a Carolina or Georgia canebrake in some aspects. They have a very fast acting hemo and neuro toxic effect that can knock a man out in miniutes. I have heard of people making it from cobra bites hooked up to a ventilator until either the proper serum arrives or it passes through the system. A pitviper bite takes a long time to recover from and you will never be the same. Not to mention a $40,000 - $100,000 hospital bill. Stay away from timbers for a first hot. Not to mention they are probally protected where you live and that is a heavier fine than the hospital bill.