Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I asked this in the elapidae forum also. I'm not sure how true this is but a friend of mine said they heard this on the news. I'm not sure of what part of Texas. The cobra is alledgely attacking people & was found under a house.

Never read about that, but I did read about escaped king cobras escaped in Florida. Anyone hear about that?

creep

I've herped in Forida since 1954. If there were king or any other kind of cobras loose here, you'd have heard about it somewhere other than the rumor-ridden web. The only exotic snake of consequence that has established a breeding colony in Florida is the Burmese python in the extreme south end of the state. We also have the Brahminy blind snake in quite a bit of south Florida, as well as too many exotic lizard species to count. You might want to verify your sources before you make another unsubstantiated statement like that again. Thanks.

~~Greg~~

Actually, I was watching a tv show recently, its a new show called Miami animal catchers or something like that. I don't know the exact name of the show. Anyway, there was a guy who had a farm and his girlfriend had spotted a snake she thought was a king cobra. So they called the public service to get it removed. It turned out on the show that there was 3 snakes they ended up finding in this guys farm. A forest cobra, a king cobra and a spitting cobra. I kid you not. The homeowner had actually caught the spitter and put it into a gatorade type of cooler like they use in football games; its amazing he didn't get venom in his eyes. It turned out there was an accident near the farm the year before where a pickup truck turned over while transporting these 3 snakes thats how they ended up on that guys property. It was a really cool show, they usually just show the animal people going out on pitbull calls, etc.,,

Ok, I got the name of the show. Its called "Miami Animal Police" and the episode was called "Snakes on the Loose".

Excuse me! I also don't think I read about it on the web, and I never mentioned anything about an established population. The account I heard of stated that all six KC were killed. Speaking of verification, how about backing up that claim of exotic burmese pythons! Not that I would doubt it, but we should practice what we preach, right?

creep

Best I can give you is that I have spoken with a man who I consider unimpeachable. He lives in the south end of the state & has access to employees of Everglades National Park. He has been told by more than one of them that there is a breeding population of P. molurus bivittatus in the Park. If I'm not mistaken, he has even seen several there himself.

I consider this source to be accurate because I have known him for about 25 years, and he is a professional herpetologist. So was I when we first met, but while I got out of the field on a professional basis, he has stayed in it. You've seen him on the tube.

Didn't mean to fire you up, but I have heard stories of cobras loose in Florida for over thirty years. If every story I've heard were true, we'd be over-flippin' run with 'em by now.

~~Greg~~

That's alright. Florida is overrun with exotics, as you eluded to previously. Was there a book recently published in regards to this subject?

creep

I don't even own a television

You have no television? Now thats scary.
At least you have the computer.
lol
Jason Mc

I don't know about recently, but there was one that was co-authored by a friend of mine about twenty years ago. Since then, several more alien critters have taken up residence here in Sofla. I have Basiliscus vitticeps breeding where I live in Palm Beach County. I have seen them in other parts of the county as well. I have seen dor boas & ball pythons, but cannot confirm any established colonies. To my knowledge, the only established exotic snake in this part of the state is the Brahminy blind snake.

~~Greg~~

yes there are burms but they are a small part of the show.
exotic list

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Bud

Neat site, Bud man. Thanks! ~~Greg~~

n/p

Yes, it's true ! There are 2 cobras cruising around a condominium unit in Dallas. They apparently caught one but have yet to catch the other.There is a local snake remover trying to catch the last one. They are pretty good sized cobras. Around 4ft each.Kinda scary huh??

because it's stuff like this that is gonna make hot keeping illegal one day...very scary

AP

The snake that has been caught is on its way here.....yet another confiscation......Dealers need to start showing some responsibility when an animal is sold. People who buy them need to show some responsibility when buying.
The private sector should be up in arms about this kinda thing, or else there is soon to not be a "private sector'
Makes me wonder. thats for sure!
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It's what you learn AFTER you know it all that counts!

Terry

It's not the dealers responsibility if he sold it to an adult who he believed to be compitent. Especially over the net, it's nearly impossible to judge the skill of a handler when they order a snake. If they are 18, they are an adult and completely responsible for their purchase. Or irresponsible in this case. Any yahoo can go into a store and come across as a responsible keeper. Unfortunately, things like this will always happen, whether its snakes escaping or keepers being bitten. I agree though, the hot herp community should be up in arms about this. This is not good publicity by any means.

AP

It IS the dealers responsiblity to do the utmost they can to determine if someone they are about to sell a dangerous animal to is competant to care for it. Not just if they are of age.

This mess is way out of hand. All you have to do is read a few of the posts on this board and if you have a bit of sense you will see that many of these people dont have the sense that god promised a pumpkin. They are not capable of keeping a ball python in a cage but they are enquiring about buying a cobra? It passes belief.

The dealers SHOULD be on the vanguard of wanting to make sure that these fools (what other word is there?) do not acquire a venomous snake. When the private keeping of venomous is completely banned where are their sales than? That day is coming and coming sooner with every report of a bite or any other untoward incident involving venomous snakes. But many of the dealers alas are not much better than the dealt when it comes to smarts.

Here in Louisiana we are in the midst of trying to maintain our rights to keep venomous and exactly what we dont need is the newspaper full of accounts about Suphan Cobras running amok in Texas. Anyone want to take bets if this inspires the outlawing of venomous keeping in Texas? I'm giving 3-1 odds on "yes" at the moment. Whoever let those animals loose needs to be tracked down and made to walk barefoot from Langtry to Del Rio to knock some sense into them.

I have been keeping venomous for over 30 years now both in zoos and at home. I have sufferred as many attacks of dumbness as most people but I have been preserved because I have had the good sense to make sure that my plant and my operations have been as safe as I can make them. If I havnt been able to adaquatly ensure safety doing something I dont do it. If I see someone doing something stupid I tell them. We ALL need to be doing this. If your protocols are not safe and of a professional level than you are endangering yourself and you are KILLING the hobby you profess to love. This includes posting pictures of yourself or someone waving a mamba around like a green snake. I know that lots of folks will say it is their buisness what they do in their homes and to themselves but that right stops when their actions start to impact the rest of us and that point has been reached long ago.

A good place to start might be getting Glades Herp to delete their cobra picture on the classfied board although it is funny its not the sort of thing that needs to be posted because its sending a wrong message to lots of people that dont have the brainpower or experience to appreciate it. (actually the last words are "hold my beer and watch this"

Anyway, I am sorry if I have maligned or offended anyone but the time has come that people who claim to be responsible, claim to be adults, want their rights preserved, realize that with those rights come responsiblities. Responsiblities to act safely and responsibly themselves and to do everything that you can to ensure that others do as well. Including such things as not making venomous snakes available to people who are not competant to safely care for them.

Be safe all
Peter
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Peter and Sara
Beouf River Reptiles

"Any yahoo can go in a store and pass as responsible keeper"
Not likely, a knowledgable, responsible and experienced dealer can identify the "yahoo's" in less than a 5 minute conversation!
Alas....there are less than a few fingers worth of responsible dealers that care about the hobby that pays there light bills future. They only care about that almighty 100 bucks for a cobra that day. It is there responsibilty.
And just a quick read of the posts on any given thread...show how many people should be reading a book instead of buying a snake.
The internet is a wonderful tool for dispersing information, even though a large percentage of the info is usually incorrect. The internet made things far to readily available and in essence will be the downfall of the hobby privately.
Responsibility.....it's a word that no one seems to know the meaning of anymore?????
There is nowhere in any definition of the word "responsibility" that states "it's my right".....
Your rights stop as soon as they infringe upon someone elses!

"All you have to do is read a few of the posts on this board and if you have a bit of sense you will see that many of these people dont have the sense that god promised a pumpkin"

That is THE BEST analogy I have ever seen!!!!!
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It's what you learn AFTER you know it all that counts!

Terry

THIS IS UNREAL!!!!!!!!!
Everywhere I look I am seeing Venomous Reptiles running loose becouse some Stupid Punk got them to be cool and kept them in a rubbermaid or let them go or took them outside to show friends how "Neet" They are. This is SICK. I am in Alabama now and Cannot keep my passion burning becouse of some Punk that decided to Let a Cobra get out.
ALL IT TOOK IS ONE.
Texas Get ready for it you will no longer be able to keep these animals if you dont start caring for them.
Money rules over the conscious.
HOW THE HELL CAN YOU PEOPLE SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING THAT YOUR SELLING SNAKES TO THESE MORONS THAT ARE TRYING TO KILL YOUR HOBBY...
If the money is more important than keeping Hot snakes then GET THE HELL OUT OF HOTS.
All I see is a bunch of people Crying about something that they are doing NOTHING to change. IT MAKES ME SICK!!!
Have a good day
Justin Monroe

Very well said. We have to realise that keeping venomous snakes requires a huge responsibility, and we as keepers should make the effort to house and keep them properly and safely.

sean