Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the next episode of Steve Austin Snakemaster he gets bitten. I just saw the commercial briefly. From what I understand he's be bitten plenty of times but they're showing this one. Everybody that said it was only a matter of time raise your hand.

My hand's been up ever since I first saw the jerk.

~~Greg~~

While not specifically relevent to the upcoming show, you're correct that the gentleman has been tagged before.

... {excerpts} ...

Q Ever cheated death?

A Years ago I set a world record for living in a cage full of 36 of Africa's deadliest snakes to bring awareness to the plight of the African gorilla, which is now on the verge of extinction. Right near the end, it was 95 days, I got bitten by a cobra while working with it, while being photographed. And that was bad. A doctor treated me in the cage, because if I had left, I would have lost the record.

More frightening than that, when I did the film Seven Deadly Strikes, I got bitten by a cobra. And I treated myself there, which we filmed--I always insist, whatever happens, keep the cameras rolling, because if I'm gonna die, I want it to be on film; otherwise it's for nothing. I don't want to die for nothing. I want to die because, 'Look, there's what he was doing.'
Once bitten

I believe I've said things such as "It's only a matter of time" and "I cant wait for the day...." and "oneday, his practices are gonna catch up to him". Yea, like many others, I've seen it coming from a mile away. Im interested to find out what he gets tagged with. I watched the seven deadly venoms show where he got bit by the cobra out in the desert. Pure carelessness. He was asking for trouble.
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

incredibly, the very next minute hes back in the desert letting a boomslang (with curiously shrunken sides of head) climb all over him.

oh and now hes freehandling a gaboon viper.

there is no way.. *no* way that someone isnt going to try that crap someday with horrific results after seeing him do it.

COME ON NOW, WE ALL KNOW THESE SHOWS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. ALL PEOPLE DO ON THESE FORUMS IS DOWN THE IRWINS, THE CORWINS AND THE AUSTINS. I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING TO TRAVEL TO THE PLACES THESE PEOPLE GO TO, AND HANDLE THE SNAKES THEY GET TO HANDLE. WE ALL WATCH THEM, THEN WE MAKE FUN OF THEM, AND THEN WE GO OF TO OUR 9 TO 5 JOBS AND WISH WE WERE THEM. THESE SHOWS ARE NO DIFFERENT THEN COPS AND ALL THOSE OTHER SHOWS OUT THERE. ENTERTAINMENT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION BUILT IN, AND I LOVE IT.

I didnt see anyone bash Jeff Corwin. That would be quite foolish with the amount he has done to educate youth viewers and prevent another generation of "go get the shovelers." So I do not think I would put Mr. Stevens on his level. See Austin Stevens shows terrible handling practices and capitalizes on fear of snakes. in no way is his show education which is what these shows should be about...less entertainment to be honest. There are a ton of entertainment networks. National Geographic and Discovery were always education programing to my knowledge. Then along came this thing called animal plantet which is pretty much serving no usefull purpose in this universe. Not really education and if you think watching a washed up Saved by the Bell star host a bunch of hula hooping animals is entertainment then I feel a tad sorry for you. Well maybe its somewhat comical and entertaining now that I re read that lol. If we allow Austin Steven to be the roll model that gets the ratings ou will never see any good programing on our education networks and you will not see much productivity in this hobby with a sensationalistic depiction of "man eating pythons" and "killer rattle snakes." But this is just my opinion at 5 am so I am sure it is flawed and maybe people will disagree...but in 3 hours I will be spending the rest of my day setting up and tending to an education snake exhibit at the University so I can at least try and untangle some of the knots television has tightened on peoples fear of snakes.

So you're saying that colubrids are being venomoided now? Who would have thunk it, I always though boomslangs had a pretty narrow head.

I did not say that nor have I heard of a venomoid colubrid and almost said the same thing.

I admit...I watch the Snake master because I am waiting for that great bite that means he will no longer be able to reproduce (he almost made it with the large EDB).

That he is an idiot is obvious...But Corwin does that better and in a more entertaining fashion.

My gripe with Animal Planet is that they keep showing Nature's Nightmares which does as much to help Snakes as the movie_THEM_benifited ants.

I keep looking for the banjo Players at the rattlesnake Round up. Especially the two morons who say the rattlers are "better off being caught for the Roundup" because they would just get killed if they were left in the fields where they are living. (of course, all the roundup snakes never make it back).

But enough...I rant...

But I will say this for Austin...At least he has not managed to get bitten on the nose by a Bearded Dragon like another "Star" we know...

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

i have been entertained my steves antics, i think hes a big goof and most people i know think off him as that, and jeff, before animal planet had a kids show and he has never been overly stupid in handeling, i think they have a place in entertainment. i also think animal planet has its good and bad parts. but as far as stevens goes, i think hes a tool. i have had herps for years including some of the "man eatting constrictors" he has talked about, and someday hope to have an eyelash viper but ill learn from someone i trust, not tv, i just hope the rest of the public will do the same.

I AGREE , HOWEVER IT HAS TO BE ENTERTAINMENT, THE MAINSTREAM IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF REPTILES LIKE OUR SMALL CIRCLE IS. MY MOTHER WOULD RATHER WATCH "THE BIG SQUEEZE" THEN AN ACTUAL EDUCATIONAL SHOW ON BURMS(JUST FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT FACTOR) TAKE COPS FOR INSTANCE, MY BROTHER IN LAW IS A COP IN SOUTH CAROLINA, IF HE WORKS A 12 HOUR SHIFT HE MIGHT BE DOING NOTHING FOR 9 TO 10 HOURS ON ANY GIVING NIGHT, HOWEVER THE PUBLIC DOES NOT WANT TO SEE WHAT A COPS LIFE IS ABOUT, THEY WANT TO SEE SHOOTINGS, DRUGS, ECT. ECT. ECT. JUST LIKE THE PUBLIC WANTS TO SEE KILLER RATTLESNAKES, HUMAN EATING BURMS AND STALKING CONDAS. NOT SAYING IT IS RIGHT EITHER, JUST HOW IT IS.

I agree but these educational networks carry an obligation to be just that..educational. Leave the rest to hoollywood. And i have not heard of a stalking anaconda.

I FORGET WHAT EPISODE IT WAS ON BUT THE PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT AN ANACONDA THAT WAS FOLLOWING THEM AND THEN IT STRUCK AT THE SMALLER PERSON AS IF IT NEW WHAT IT COULD OR COULD NOT EAT AT THE TIME, BIG SQUEEZE MAYBE OR MAYBE IT WAS NATIONAL GEO. I FORGET, BUT ANYWAY. JAY

That came from a report in one of Jesus Rivas's studies. He was walking with his wife at the time and a female did lunge out at her. It was a quick theory (with Jesus being somewhat of an expert on E. murinus) the snake did take this as a preditory attack. However, it was an ambush attack anyway (like anaconda attacks are on prey) so I would not consider it stalking down prey. Renee had walked in the path of the anacondas hunting. Also, animal planet took that from a short piece Rivas wrote in one of his articles and was by no means more than a quick theory. I am pretty sure they did not interview Jesus or Renee about the incident because it was narrated exactly as it was seen in the article and had no other insight to the situation. If you were to ask Renee Owens about this (while I cannot speak for her) I am pretty sure she would say the anaconda is not a snake that will actively hunt a human.

we can hear you just fine. It's typical internet courtesy not to type in all caps, it gives the impression of yelling.
Also, Corwins style as well as O'Shea and sometimes Erwin is very different from Stevens'. The education is the focus, where as with Austin, I think the drama is much more the focus.
Thats about all I have to say about that.......
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

How do you think your brother-in-law would feel about a "Cops" type show where they made a point of following around only cops that were known for beating suspects and doing illegal searches because that's what gets the ratings and called it something like "Super Cop"?...

That's about what "SnakeMaster" is like for those of us who spend considerable amounts of our free time trying to convince people that snakes are not evil and having a herper as a neighbor is not quite as bad as a child molester...

Oh no. a new screen name, how dare him post in our forum, you girls are cute. later, much much much LATER

Many of us on this forum, travel to the tropics a couple times a year, AND do catch the same animals they catch. What drives us crazy, is when they set up their shows as if every snake they find is some MIRACULOUS discovery! Finding a terciopelo in Costa RIca isn't a miraculous find. YOu just have to look a little. But most of us are much more respectful of the animals when it comes to handling....you need not "Wrestle" a mussurana---they rarely if ever bite, and may be one of the most gentle colubrids in the rainforest to handle. How assinine is it to jump in a river to wrangle a cribo? It's absolute idiocy!!

No one was basking Jeff Corwin, either. HE's definitely got a better talent at blending education and humor in an informative way. I actually like his demented sense of humor.

The show you're talking about is a rerun of a show from maybe a year or so ago, that has been extensively lambasted here already (multiple times).

.

It seemed quite obvious to me that most if not all of the snakes he abuses and utilizes on his shows are either cooled or heated beyond exhaustion which diminishes their ability to provide a decent strike. Much less more than likely his snakes are borrowed from local collectors and their fangs have already been removed, or clipped at the tip, a more than common practice in Africa, Asian, and the Mideast. Hence he can afford to dance around them like a wacko at close approximation and can afford to play the way he does and get excitement out of the children, the speculative, and the elderly who perceives him as daring and brave like Irwin. I mean, if someone handed you a few thousand dollars and asked you to jump from a tree with a boa in your hands, would you turn it down? I mean every snake he and most all of those television celebrities "pretend" to find already have a camera on the snake and a staff of 20 people standing by with more snakes in pillowcases and coolers. And even the North American species they pretend to find are captive bred fatties that are clearly dumped out of a bucket for the intentions of Hollywood.

And remember he is just another guy making a buck and is under obvious pressure from directors to make himself appear invincible like Steve Irwin as this is what generates attention and generated viewers, and generates more money for the network through sponsors via advertisement. The more irrational he can behave for a commercial, the more likely someone like me or you is going to tune-in and hope he gets bitten, killed, or maimed, as that's the point and intention of the show in the first place. And it is only a show, which will end some day soon when they get sued when some kid picks up a cottonmouth and gets killed and says he touched it like his hero Irwin and a lawyer hears that. Personally, Austin seems very interested and more experienced than most actors, although not as experienced in all species as he conveys, and you have to figure that he or anyone else does not intend to mishandle any snake, however with all those cameras pointed at him, he has to do something besides wear spandex and speak like a girl like Jeff Corwin.

I say bring back O'Shey. I mean at least he is realistic and informs the viewers that he is under the pressure from the network to do something spectacular. And nothing is more funny than someone trying to pickup a snapping turtle heavier than himself. Oh, and that Rob guy, the barefoot bushman is OK also.

Personally the entire Animal Planet network conveys that their focus is less about animals and more about ratings, hence the pressure displayed in the actors/employees and the type of programs/shows they offer.

Dan

a WEST African gaboon viper in...EAST Africa?

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- Happy herping!

KE

You all are all right on. But why not talk about the good shows. I personally am a huge fan of "Reptile Wild with DR Brady Barr" on national geographic channel!

Keep on herping

Chris
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1.1 KSB -Jack (anery)& -Jill (Normal)
1.0 Leopard Gecko -Dudly
1.0 Pacman Frog- Frigity
1.1 Rats -Killer(albino)- Twitch (normal)

hehehee, "IM DR BRADY BARR" reminds me of that guy in the infomercials "POWERED BY THE AIR YOU BREATHE!!!! OXYCLEAN IS GUARANTEED TO GET OUT ALL YOUR STAINS......etc.." he erks me too, but I just dont like his personality. He gets real excited like a small child though, it's nice to see that amount of pure joy about what he's experiencing.
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

He does get WAY too excited about certain things, especially for a PHD that, in his stage of his career, should have seen some of the animals a thousand times. I can only imagine what he would be like at the Hamburg show seeing the variety of snakes there.
OH MY GOLLY GEE WILLICKERS, A CB SOUTHERN COPPERHEAD!

I don't remember if it was a southern but I do remember him going nuts over a copperhead. Climbed in a tree over a cottonmouth too. He's a lunatic, no matter what it is. We can count at least 3 times now that he's been bitten by cobras? At least now that I've seen him get tagged I don't need to watch that stupid crap anymore.