Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I'm only moderately experienced with snakes right now. I have 3 corns (snow, albino, and an anery), a spotted python and an apricot pueblan milksnake. I take good care of them, but thats not too hard since they aren't difficult to keep.

Down the road, I'd like to own a venomous snake. However, I don't think that the snakes I've raised already have prepared me for a venomous one, since I hold these guys every day. My question is--assuming that legal issues didn't matter, what would I need to do to prepare for a venomous snake? We don't have any reptile vets that specialize in snakes, or zoos around here, so please keep that in mind.

I'm open to any suggestions, whether it be a video, library research, raising a nonvenomous species with similar requirements, or something I haven't thought of..
Thanks.

The best thing to do, IMHO, is to treat one of your snakes as a venomous reptile. Most venomous are not super aggressive and bite at everything that moves. But just like every other snake, you can have one with a crappy attitude that wants to bite anything and everything. Get yourself a hook and utilize it with non-venomous species first. Gain some experience hooking and moving snakes around for a while. This way you will feel comfortable with the hook.

The main problem people have with venomous snakes, is that they often get too relaxed around them after keeping them for a while. Once this happens, you lose that respect for them and get sloppy with handling them. Taking short cuts, not paying attention, etc. etc. This is when you can get bit. If you always treat a venomous with all the respect it is due, you will have less of a chance of being bit due to carelessness.
We all know that accidents happen, but if you always keep in the back of your mind that a venomous snake can have the potential of killing you, then there is less room for error.

I dont keep hots, but I have watched them for friends and I find quite a few hots out in the field.
The biggest piece of advice I can give you, is always treat them with respect, and pay attention to them at all times when you are working with them.

Brian

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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath"(KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Great plains rat snake "Reign Fire" (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Brian, as usual, brings up another good point. You have to treat ALL of your snakes like they are venomous (or get rid of your harmless snakes). No more handling, no more reaching into the cage to change a waterbowl without first securing the snake, etc.

When you hear of herp keepers getting bit, many times it is due to accidents where they weren't paying attention to which cage it was and reached into the hot's cage, not the cornsnake cage. If you have a rule that says I don't reach into ANY cages, you are safer.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Down the road, I'd like to own a venomous snake. However, I don't think that the snakes I've raised already have prepared me for a venomous one, since I hold these guys every day.

It is good that you know this.

My question is--assuming that legal issues didn't matter,

Ah, but they do. You should be VERY aware of ALL the legalities of owning one in your area. Do you live alone? If not, you need to make everyone in the household fully aware.

what would I need to do to prepare for a venomous snake?

I have always thought a good suggestion is to get the fastest, most aggressive snake you can and try and keep it for six months or more. Amazon tree boas can be good for this. Anytime that snake tags you in the course of the training period ought to send chills down your spine and show you that you aren't ready yet. If the snake tames down, get another one. A WC racer or coachwhip could also work. Call up an importer like glades herp and ask them what the most aggressive/defensive harmless snake they have is. That's the one you want!

You should have a written contingency plan for what to do in case of snakebite. It should be posted in the snake room next to your LOCKED cages. You should make sure anyone who lives with you knows where it is and what to do (it isn't necessarily just you that can get bitten). The snake cages should be labelled with the identity of the species.

You should contact the local hospital and make sure they have antivenin for the species in question. If not, you will have to stock your own, and it isn't cheap.

Then there is the important question -
Why do you want a venomous snake? Is it just the thrill? Then get over it and keep non-venomous species.
Is it that you have always wanted to a particular species that happens to be venomous? Then carefully plan, get ready by doing the stuff above and enjoy your new critter.

Check out venomousreptiles.org as well as the venomous forums on this website and do some research for several months. This is a very serious decision involving everyone in your house (and friends that visit your house with any frequency). Treat it like one.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Take all this info to heart. Hots ARE a dangerous animal and EVERY precaution should be taken.
Brian

>>Down the road, I'd like to own a venomous snake. However, I don't think that the snakes I've raised already have prepared me for a venomous one, since I hold these guys every day.
>>
>>It is good that you know this.
>>
>>My question is--assuming that legal issues didn't matter,
>>
>>Ah, but they do. You should be VERY aware of ALL the legalities of owning one in your area. Do you live alone? If not, you need to make everyone in the household fully aware.
>>
>>what would I need to do to prepare for a venomous snake?
>>
>>I have always thought a good suggestion is to get the fastest, most aggressive snake you can and try and keep it for six months or more. Amazon tree boas can be good for this. Anytime that snake tags you in the course of the training period ought to send chills down your spine and show you that you aren't ready yet. If the snake tames down, get another one. A WC racer or coachwhip could also work. Call up an importer like glades herp and ask them what the most aggressive/defensive harmless snake they have is. That's the one you want!
>>
>>You should have a written contingency plan for what to do in case of snakebite. It should be posted in the snake room next to your LOCKED cages. You should make sure anyone who lives with you knows where it is and what to do (it isn't necessarily just you that can get bitten). The snake cages should be labelled with the identity of the species.
>>
>>You should contact the local hospital and make sure they have antivenin for the species in question. If not, you will have to stock your own, and it isn't cheap.
>>
>>Then there is the important question -
>>Why do you want a venomous snake? Is it just the thrill? Then get over it and keep non-venomous species.
>>Is it that you have always wanted to a particular species that happens to be venomous? Then carefully plan, get ready by doing the stuff above and enjoy your new critter.
>>
>>Check out venomousreptiles.org as well as the venomous forums on this website and do some research for several months. This is a very serious decision involving everyone in your house (and friends that visit your house with any frequency). Treat it like one.
>>-----
>>Chris Harrison
>>San Antonio, Texas
-----

RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath"(KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Great plains rat snake "Reign Fire" (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Fortunately a dry bite on my finger, only one fang, by a banded rock rattler.

I fed the snake. It ate its thawed mouse, then retired to its hidebox. I reached in the cage to change the water bowl, all the way in the other corner of the cage (not a big cage, but I thought farther than its striking range.) The snake struck right out of its hide box and hit me as I was bringing the water bowl out. I didn't see it coming.

All I had to do was to put in a barrier (piece of plastic or plywood) to shield my hand. But I didn't bother, because this snake was so mellow all of the time. I had treated it like a nonvenemous snake in the way I cleaned its cage before the bite. Never had an incident before with this animal. Always so calm.

That is the danger. I forgot about the potential of the animal. You must never get this way.

You must lock the cages. The cages must be escape-proof. You should keep them in a room that you can lock and is escape proof itself if a snake gets out of a cage somehow.

Also, you may want to start with species that are known to NOT have caused fatalities in most cases.