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CITIZEN-TIMES (Asheville, N Carolina) 08 June 04 Deadly snakes getting new homes after being seized from area vendor (Leslie Boyd)
Asheville: Six exotic and deadly snakes are headed to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh today by way of a flea market in Jackson County.
The two Gaboon vipers, an albino monocled cobra, an Egyptian water cobra, a sand viper and a cottonmouth had been for sale by a vendor at Uncle Bill's Flea Market in Whittier before someone called the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
The Sheriff's Department couldn't say whether it was legal to sell the venomous snakes. They called county animal control officer Chris Tyson, who had to do a little research himself.
"He wasn't breaking the law by selling the snakes," Tyson said. "But I told the sheriff we could seize the snakes on the container law."
The snakes were being kept in violation of the law because their glass containers could not have withstood a fall. The containers also had unlocked lids.
The vendor was charged with six misdemeanors. Flea market owner "Uncle" Bill Seay said the vendor had the right permits to sell the snakes but didn't know of the container requirements.
"Now we know," Seay said.
Tyson said he wasn't about to seize the snakes himself. He called the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and was told to call Bob Fay at the WNC Nature Center.
The snakes are small - the two Gaboon vipers are about a foot long each. But Fay, animal curator at the WNC Nature Center, handles them with the utmost respect.
"Some people call them `six-step vipers' because that's about how far you'll get if one bites you," Fay said as he picked up their locked, unbreakable container at the Nature Center.
The snakes have been housed at the center since they were confiscated Saturday. The people at the Museum of Natural Sciences will try to find them homes at zoos or museums.
They are not native to the North Carolina mountains. Only one of the six, the cottonmouth, is native to the southeastern United States. That means local hospitals don't have the anti-venom.
"The closest place for some of this anti-venom is Knoxville," Fay said. "If you get bit by a Gaboon viper, you're not going to make it."
"As for me, I don't think these are ever appropriate as pets," Fay said.
Deadly snakes getting new homes after being seized from area vendor

>>"Some people call them `six-step vipers' because that's about how far you'll get if one bites you," Fay said as he picked up their locked, unbreakable container at the Nature Center.
>>"The closest place for some of this anti-venom is Knoxville," Fay said. "If you get bit by a Gaboon viper, you're not going to make it."

This is exactly the kind of sensationalist bullcrap that will eventually be death of hot keeping. How many other people know of gaboon as the "six step viper." Sounds like something the guy made up on the spot. Sure they're going to mess you up pretty bad locally, but even with a bad bite there is quite a bit of 'survivability time.'

Oh, and I love the part about it being totally legal for the guy to have and sell these snakes in NC, but they just had to figure out some way to confiscate the snakes from him so they say his containers weren't perfect. I'm willing to bet they were pretty standard of what one might see at, say, a venomous reptile show. I noticed it didn't say what type of enclosure the museum was going to house them in. The guy probably didn't choose the best venue to try to sell his hot snakes (a flea market??), but this was obviously an overreaction on the part of some individuals that knew it wasn't illegal but wanted to do something about it anyway. That's the problem with animal laws, they are too subjective.
-Chance

"thats the problem with people who sell venomous snakes. They are NOT objective enough!"
Good for those authorities! More Authorities need to take animals from Irresponsible people, which in turn, keeps them out of even more irresponsible hands!
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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

>>Good for those authorities! More Authorities need to take animals from Irresponsible people, which in turn, keeps them out of even more irresponsible hands!

I completely agree that most venomous dealers need to show a bit more discrimination in their practices. I myself, in the past, have sold animals to a person or two, and then turned around after the fact and thought "Hmm, if this person were to die because of the snake I sold to him/her, how would that make me feel? What potential risks would I face?" I have since resolved to scrutinize potential "customers" much more. That doesn't just include my venomous sales, but soon to be my retic sales as well, as both types of snakes can definitely pose a lot of risk to their owners. Of course I'm only one out of umpteen hundreds of venomous sellers out there. It has been said numerous times by wise individuals that policing ourselves is the only way to successfully keep our hobby alive, otherwise legislation will police it right into the ground. I agree with this completely. Maybe there will be a day when more venomous dealers begin to show better responsibility with their sales, but then again, this is a capitalist society, and anything to make a buck, right? I guess only time will tell.
-Chance

Just go to the shows and buy anything your little two valved hearts desire.

Experiance haha
skills even more funny!
Just kick those greenbacks my way and yor the proud owner of a deadly snake jake!

what a joke this is how its done.

later
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Bud