Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just curious but for most of the rear fangs out there keeps in the hobby
do you treat them like say the front fang hots, with hooks, and grab sticks? or does it depend on the species?

ashley
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Just A Thought
Ashley
;P

Even though I'll probably get flamed for this, I'll just come right out and say it. I handle all of my rear fangs often (False Waters and a psammophis) just as I would any other snake. No gloves, no hooks, no nothing...I just pick them up. None of them are agressive with me.

I rarely have the need to handle the snakes, so I do not.

When I do need to I take it on a case by case basis, if one of them is being snappy I just grab my hook. Otherwise just a tail grab into whatever container it needs to go into.

I'd it greatly depends on species. I free handled my adult false water cobras, each of which was around 6' long each and could give a nasty bite if they wanted to (though they never did). However, you probably would not want to go free handling other rear fangs like boomslangs (Dispholidus), twig snakes (Thelotornis), or keel backs (Rhabdophis), as each have had human fatalities attributed to them.
-Chance

thats interesting, so with the really low tox would you all say most of you could freehandle if you felt so inclined? so saw if some one was to get into hots the low tox ones would be the ones to go with, if the felt so inclined? any ways thanxs for the answers (and not biting at me ^_^)

ashley
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Just A Thought
Ashley
;P

Sounds like you got the drift of it. Like the other's I do on a case by case....But the vast majority I freehandle. Been nipped quite a few times but for me the reaction is so minor with the ones I do handle that it is irrelevant to the issue.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I'm with Frank on this one. As long as I won't be maimed or killed, I'd go on handling any snake or tarantula for that matter. It's also the reason why I don't keep the real "hot" snakes like cobras and vipers.

Me too!! I know I'd get myself in trouble...I know there's no way I could leave it alone! LOL!!

When it was warmer, I used to take one of my FWCs to the pet store with me. The guys there would always say, "Why do you have a rear-fanged snake on your neck?!!?" It seemed like every time I walked in, they'd ask me again and again. LOL!

One does have to exert a certain restraint when some of the children are "cute" as well as dangerous. My sidewinder (a xmas present from my wife) and her pair of Cerastes horned vipers....are darlings...To Watch only!

I keep one snake (a female Wagner's Viper) that we have named "Uber B---h". Two minutes around this nutcase of a viper will teach anyone to respect the don't go near without a long hook concept in snake handling.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Well... my only rearfang (somehow) is a western hognose. I freehandle him. I actually probably wouldn't do it but it's almost impossible to get most hognoses to bite in defense, mine included. I tend to have a bit of a reaction to animal saliva and venm in general, so I probably wouldn't take that liberty with most other species of rearfangs. Although it would be hard to resist with some of the cuter ones. (you know... cat eyed snakes, skaapstekers, puff faced water snakes.... cute!)
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch