Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my cusin would like to get a gaboon viper, i would like to get a monical cobra. we were told by some breeders not to just go out and get eather one of them snakes, (i thought to my self duh)but that is all he told us. so what what b the best venomous snake for a beginner, that is a beginner to venomous snakes.
thanx
nevin

get a copperhead dont bother with the rear fangs.i think they can not give you enough training with a venomous sakes becous you are to realaxed that it canont seresly hert you so get a copperhead make sure it is legal in your state.make sure you are over 18 and here is a good site http://www.coastalreptiles.com oh yah i am 14 but this is what probly everyones going to say.if you were to get a gaboon somthing 10 times wors then this will happen.

ISH!!!! ack.

If that is enough to bother you, maybe you should change your username. You should see a wound like that BEFORE it's been cleaned up! I've seen pictures of MUCH worse...
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Larry D. Fishel
Side effects may include paralysis
and death but are generally mild.

the pic a bit horrific...IE the countless children on the forum.

A 14 year old with a brain in his head....... I thought I would never see the day......LOL...... The advice was not bad..... Not the best but not bad...... And the pic was a good touch......LOL......

Just a note for thought. My sister was a critical care nurse at an Atlanta hospital back in the 80's. She used to talk about a young woman who had been bitten by a Northern Copperhead. The woman had to undergo periodic amputations as her body could not fight off the increasing necrosis from the gangegrene that had set in. The prognosis was that she would die from it. Sorry I can't tell you the end. I called her for an update and but my sister did not want to talk about it.

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

What snakes do you have experience with? Why do you want to own something extremely deadly(answer this one)?

What state do you live in? Can you work with someone else who's kept venomous snakes for some time?

It would be ideal if you or your friends could work with soemone elses snakes for a few months.

boas, pythons (big ones, burms and ratics), calumbrids. im 20 yrs old iv been around snakes my hole life, i live in PA. so yeah venimous snakes r leagal here. the advise on hangin with ppl that aready have them, im ganna take it, i kno a couple of viper breeders, so thanx for that advise. and the reason i want sumtin so deadly is because it is one of the most absolute beautiful creatures i have ever seen. my cuzin wants a gaboon cause hes really into vipers, there his favorite animal, hes only in 10th grade and has aready been accepted in to the herp classes in florida state university.
thanx for all the advise im deff ganna use all of it please let me kno ne thing else u can.
nevin

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Besides reading and working with others that are experienced I would do some feild work with your native venomous snakes. Finding snakes in the wild can help you learn how to work with them beings they are usually quite a bit more defensive. Plus if you get bit there is going to be an antivenom that will be easier to get. Gabbys are huge powerful snakes that will have no trouble at all killing someone or taking there limbs. Do some reasearch and start with something less deadly. Pigmys, sidewinders, copperheads and such are good starters. I have been catching and dealing with venomous snakes for the past 6-7 years and I still feel I need more knowledge and practice before I get something as dangerous as a gabby. Best of luck and I hope you are careful if you and your cousin deside to start off with such dangerous snakes.

Jeremy McManmon

Amen! Read not only about the animals and what their captive care requirements are, but also about what their bite is capable of doing to a person other than causing death. Both those snakes are capable of doing some really nasty harm to you even if you survive. I have kept both monocled cobras and gaboon vipers (among many others) and I can tell you for a fact that neither is a starter hot. Neither, in my opinion, is a copperhead, but at least that one is debatable. If you want to start with the genus Agkistrodon, you'd probably be better off with piscivorus. The bite is worse than contortrix, but they are much easier to maintain.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

hey guys thanx for all the advise, but i can ssure u all that im not ganna start with a cobra, and my cuz sure as hell isnt ganna start with a gaboon. we mite b walkn on the line of crazy adn stupid but we lean a lil more twards the crazy side. its pure stupidity to start with snakes that dangorause, basicly all we really want is to eventually make our way to those snakes, deff not start out wiht them. so again thanx to all
nevin