Sure, you can quote me as much as you'd like. As far as "tools no hot keeper should be without" I've compied a list of things that I would never dream of keeping my venomous snakes without.
1) Basic snake hooks of varying sizes- depending on whether you're dealing with a full grown monocled cobra or a juvenile saw scaled viper, you definitely need a snake hook of corresponding size. You can basically move snakes around with these as the snakes will balance on them and can be transported for cage cleaning, general maintenance, etc. One word of caution...Some species "hook" much better than others, and having a snake that will simply refuse to be "hooked" can be a nerve-racking experience as well a frustrating one. With a bit of patience, I've found that most of mine will eventually submit to being "hooked". The use of two hooks (supporting the snakes' weight) may be necessary for especially large/bulky snakes (i.e. Gaboon vipers, Eastern diamondbacks) in order to prevent spinal injury to the snake.
2) Snake tongs or "Gentle Giants"- These are tools where the snake can actually be grasped and manipulated (rather than simply lifted up and left to balance) similar (in some respects) to snake hooks. Some keepers swear by these things, while others don't like them. With the species I work with (native Arizona crotalids) I find them of limited use, as most crotalids can be "hooked"...However, there's always that snake that won't allow itself to be "hooked"....Keepers of elapids (due to their generally faster movements) may/may not find these tools more useful than the standard hook.
3) Shift boxes- For some species, (mambas and other fast moving highly venomous species) a shift box can be essential. Basically, it is a hidebox within the animals' enclosure that can be locked/secured when the snake is hiding inside of it, thus allowing it to be removed from the enclosure without direct contact between the snake/keeper. For large and aggressive venomous snakes, I wouldn't consider keeping them without a good shift box inside their enclosure.
4) Appropriately sized feeding forceps- These are long "tweezers" that can be used to feed venomous snakes from a distance. They can also be used anytime it becomes necessary to remove something from an animals' enclosure and you (obviously) don't want to stick your hand inside it. A simply invaluable tool for most venomous snakes. They must be appropriately sized, as you wouldn't use 9 inch forceps when working with a 4 ft. rattlesnake.
5) Buckets and/or other temporary holding receptacles- For species where a shift box is not used/preferred, a simple bucket or other temporary holding receptacle can be used to contain the snake while cage cleaning. Simply "hook" the snake, place it inside and secure it with a secure lid. Then, do your cage maintenance and transfer the snake back into it's enclosure. Care must be taken here to select a receptacle with sufficient depth so as to avoid the strike of an agitated animal when opening the bucket.
6) Probing tubes, probes- For keepers that breed these animals, probes are used to determine the sex of animals. I won't get into how to use them (different topic) but used correctly, they are the most reliable way of determining the sex of a snake. The tubes on the other hand can also (in addition to "sexing"
be used anytime one needs to perform any sort of medical treatment on a venomous snake. This works by encouraging the snake to crawl inside of the tube and grasping the rear portion of the snake so that it cannot back up inside the tube. The tube prevents the snake from "turning around", and one can work with the snake in relative safety. Some tubes have holes along their length to allow for injections, removal of unshed eyecaps, etc.
*7)* Locks, locks and more locks!- EVERY single enclosure that houses a venomous snake should be locked and secured! I prefer padlocks, but others may use other methods to ensure that the snake cannot escape it's enclosure. If the enclosure were to fall, it needs to maintain it's integrity and prevent the snake from escaping. One may also consider using plexiglass instead of regular glass for venomous snake enclosures due to it's superior "unbreak-ability" qualities in the event of a fall.
8) A good head and calm emotional state- ABSOLUTE necessities!!!! Perhaps more so than any other listed, this is a MAJOR prerequisite. It may seem silly to say, but before working with a venomous snake one MUST be free of all alcohol and other intoxicating substances. Not only can these substnces impair judgement, but in the event of a bite they can be exacerbating factors in the severity of the bite (i.e. alcohol dialates blood vessels, increasing the rate at which venom can spread throughout one's system.) One must be responsible in all that one does with these creatures, as these creatures have perfected the art of killing other creatures (oneself included). I CANNOT stress this enough!!! One MUST be of a rational, responsible and knowledgeable before one works with ANY venomous snake!
9) An "action plan" in case of a bite-Know the closest medical facility to you, AND the closest facility that keeps antivenom on hand. This is ESPECIALLY important if one is keeping exotic species of venomous snakes, as no one wants to find out that no medical facility/zoo stocks the antivenom for the puff adder they were just bitten by! Always know exactly what you are going to do in the event of a bite, and be prepared to follow through with it should the most unfortunate happen. Practice your routine so that if a bite does occur, you won't have to think about what to do or where to go....Not only does this calm one down because they know exactly what to do and where to go, it can significantly cut down on transport time between places and thus allow for earlier treatment of a bite. A bite treated early is alays easier to manage than a bite treated later.
Ok, I didn't realize how long this became.....You can quote the entire thing if you'd like. Hope this helps!
-AzAtrox
