Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a call from a guy in E. South Dakota. today, who just ordered an E. A. Green Mamba, A Death Adder and 2 albino Monocled Cobras. His questions to me was:
"How dangerous are the bites by these snakes?
Which one is worse?
How do I get them in there cage?
If he were to be bitten, would I care if he used our antivenom?"

He was told by the dealer that if bitten by any of the three, they would knock him unconcious and he would be sick for a couple days, but not to worry about it!

Right after answering a couple of the questions above, I started to ask where he bought them, just as he started to respond his cell phone started to cut out..... he said he would call me back. I think he didn't really like a good a_s chewing so he never called back....

I wish I knew the dealers name....does anyone know who has been selling death adders recently?

Also, I asked him if he had any venomous snake experience and his response was " a couple rattlesnakes "

I can't believe the dealers are that desperate for money to be willing to kill one of there customers!

Outragious!
TaPhillip
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It's what you learn AFTER you know it all that counts!

Terry Phillip
Curator of Reptiles
Black Hills Reptile Gardens

www.reptilegardens.com

I hope we don't see this fool in the headlines soon...

AP

My initial thought is "hey when you're dumb you suffer", too bad it will not be just the two goofs involved that will suffer.
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Peace
Derek

Not sure who I have less respect for here, the owner who asks a question like "how dangerous are the bites from these snakes?"
or the dealer who's obviously more than willing to take advantage of said owner. Probably the dealer.

Bill Huseth

This is why resposible people will have their rights to keep hots taken away! That dealer needs a beatdown.

Chad

I wouldn't necessarily assume that the customer was telling the truth about anything. There is such a thing as people who like to yank other people's chains, and there are also customers who tell dealers stories to get snakes. Then again, the customer could be telling the truth about what a very irresponsible dealer said. It's hard to say.

I have run into some small time dealers (more like brokers really) who buy from importers and resell to the public at shows. Some of them are very intelligent and responsible and some of them are...well...bottom of the evolutionary barrel to put it kindly. When you can't even spell "Gaboon viper" and you don't know the scientific name and you don't know what antivenom or medical protocol is appropriate for the bite, you definitely should NOT have this animal in your possession. Especially you should not be selling it at a show.

I don't know that any of the larger, established dealers who have an actual store address would tell a customer that a venomous snake had a mild bite when in fact it was lethal. I have run into some small time sellers at shows whom I'd say were likely candidates to pull a stunt like that. I know many of the larger dealers at the import houses and they really don't seem likely to misinform a customer in that manner just to make a sale. In fact many of them will turn down sales to inexperienced people because the profit on one snake is surely not worth the hassle of a lawsuit from an idiot who gets bitten. The small timers who operate strictly at shows and/or off the Internet know that they can disappear, so they worry a lot less about liability than the dealers who are well known and easy to find.

I have seen a certain "Big" dealer in FL. at the Hamburg show sell a man a N. pallida that had not one clue as to what he was getting. I had to tell the buyer not to look at the snake through the holes in the container cuz it could very easily spit through them..LOL. The buyer did not even know what the snake was until he asked the dealer!

Whenever I would sell spitters I produced at a show, I would have the snakes in deli cups that were taped shut & inside another larger see through sealed container & bags to put the delicup in if it were to sell. I guess my point is if dealers keep selling venomous to anybody for a buck, our rights will be taken away even quicker.

I'm Glad I'm all but out of this dying hobby, and the only thing I will miss is the animals themselves, and the few hardcore serious people I've met along the way.

Take care,
Chad

Definitely a shame you felt you had to give up the hobby, Chad.
You had one hell of a collection. Take care, my friend.

Bill Huseth

Well, had to move, and could not take them all with. I would love to get back in to it, but by the time I do, it will probably be illegal.

Missing the adult Kings the most. Gotta love them Kings!!

Thanks,
CB

***Gotta love them kings!***

As you probably figured out by my handle, I do. Still go to the Hamburg shows?

Bill

Yeah, and believe me, it's hard to not come home with any hots.

CB

It's really a shame that peoples stupidity forces other people out of the habits that they love. Your right....before to long it probably will be illegal to keep any hots and if not your going to have to pay $200 for a permit and use them for educational purposes only. I can't stand idiots who buy snakes ( hot or not) just to try to impress people, probably the same people who are going to shows buying hots are the same ones killing garter snakes in their back yard thinking its a cottonmouth. I see people all the time buying burmese pythons and the pet shop owner not even bother to warn the people of the size in which they grow to or thew money involved in the enclosre or food when they reach those sizes. its both greedy dealers trying to make a buck anywhere they can and ignorant people that dont know the difference between a Thamnophis sauritus and an Ophiophagus. There are very few devoted collectors that sit there and study every aspect of a snake before they even consider getting it. And here at kingsnake.com i feel that most of you are the best. if there is anything i've learned from reading these forums its that you actually care for and love your hobby. you are truly at the top of the line and im sorry to here that the fact that people are ignorant is causing your hobby to do all but die out.

Chris Stevens