Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know a place that you can ship a venomous snake to and they will devenomize it?

Do not buy ‘’venomoid’’ snakes! This operation is totally inhumane to the snake! Most ''venomoids'' die months after the operation due to either complications or because the animal refuses to eat. Many snakes that are venomous use their venom as part of their natural digestive process (snakes don't chew there food, so the venom breaks the food down). Removing there ability to produce venom causes a handicap in there digestive process and can effect the snakes overall health.

A lot of venomous snakes do not do well in captive settings and having them turned into a ''venomoid'' can only cause them more stress. For these reasons I am urging people not to buy ''vemonmoids'' and to encourage others not to as well!"

Were did you get this information that venomoids only live for a few months? You really need to stop passing on info that is false or misrepresented..Im not a big fan of venomoids but Im also not a fan of people trying to prove there point with false information(its just so PETAish)...Any operation that takes away a part of an animal is stressful/painful be it venom gland removal or having your ferrets scent glands removed or spaying your dog or cat(they dont get pain meds after either) or getting your horse castrated...Dont even get me started at how they castrate goats(rubberbands on the gonads)..Where does one draw the line? Just in case noone had anything better to flame.....
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Any respectable Reptile enthusiast or anyone who cares about Snakes will agree venomoids are just wrong. Matt, a snake expert from little Ray's reptile zoo,The staff at Indian River Reptile Zoo(which has tons of venmous snakes), and reptile expert and author Lenny Flank, Jr. all agree that venomoids are just wrong! If you don't want a snake to be venmous GO GET A NONE VENOMOUS SNAKE ,dont go and alter one! Go and have your saliva glands removed and then tell me how humane it is!

I don't care how you look at it,its just wrong!

I have yet to see a convincing argument against venomoids. They use the venom to digest food, but it is obvious that they don't need it. The venoms primary role is to incapacitate the prey. Zoos do not do this because they are usually just scraping by on funds and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars or more to get it done. Not to mention, when was the last time you heard of a zookeeeper being bit at work? Additionally, most zoo housed reptiles are part of a breeding program, so there will always be venomous newborns around, hence they could not change their safety rules anyway.

Venomoids do fine in captivity, I know of several very long-term ones, and lots of well established ones. The notion that they don't has no basis and is simply internet lore that is perpetuated by those who do not really think it through or have no experience in the matter.

All that said, I don't own any and never have. But I do have 25 years of experience keeping venomous snakes.

That is kind of cruel, and it is a lot different than declawing a cat or castrating a mammal.

If you want to keep a venemous snake than get a venemous snake, keep a bottle of antivenom and a few syringes next to the cage, and stop being a wuss.

Declawing a cat is much more intrusive..A cat knows when they are declawed, they cant climb they cant catch anything etc etc..A snake can still bite and has no idea he is missing his venom glands(except for the slight chance that it truly is used for digestive purposes)..Haveing your privates messed with is also always painful...SO why is this so different? Its still cutting/chopping an animal so it can be a better or more manageable pet....Keep it coming Im not convinced yet...
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If turning a snake into a venomoid is a benign procedure in terms of the long term health of the animal then I would think zoos would routinely be doing this to the extensive array of highly venomous snakes they exhibit. The logistics of doing so would pale compared to the safety benefits for the keepers. The truth is snake venom is composed of enzymes that facilitate digestion. I have read this in countless herpetological texts. (I suppose this is somewhat related to a spider’s venom breaking down tissue so the spider may utilize it for nourishment.) These snakes are physiologically designed to utilize their venom in the digestive process. Many experienced keepers and herpetologists have taken the stand against venomoids because of the physiological problems it causes. Personally I have not yet seen any one from the "expert" ranks condone the procedure.

Bottom Line: While declawing a cat may cause it psychological stress or prevent it from defending itself in an outdoor environment. Removing a snake’s venom glands impacts a vital biological process the animal needs for its physical health and even survival.
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Randy Hallman

Interesting point...What about all the hots that are fed FT prey and dont inject any venom? I just feed my hots live.

>>Interesting point...What about all the hots that are fed FT prey and dont inject any venom?

In the wild, it is an advantage for these animals to envenomate and start the digestion process ASAP, especially with large prey.

In captivity they have all the time in the world, temps necessary for digestion all day/night (usually) and no predators to avoid after they eat the meal.

so your saying that its not necessary for captive animals to envenomate there prey for digestion. Correct??

>>so your saying that its not necessary for captive animals to envenomate there prey for digestion. Correct??

I would say yes that is what he is saying.

We have a copperhead that has been in captivity for 21 years (22 this coming August). He was pretty much full grown when caught..making him about 3-5 years old at the time so he's probably around 25 years old now.

It took a couple years to get him fully onto F/T food, but once he switched he refused to go back to live (yeah he's a lazy bum). All these years on F/T and he's doing fine without any need to envenomate his already dead food.

Below... pics from a meal he had the other week. I was playing with a new camera phone when I took the pic.

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PHWyvern

Not all snakes use digestive enzymes in their venom.

But for those that do, pre-digesting food is vital to their well-being.

Which ones? I've seen alot of different kinds of venomoids in real life and advertised, many of which have digestive enzymes in their venom. They seem to do fine provided they were well established healthy animals in the first place.

I don't know about the removal of venom glands however I volunteered at a vet clinic when in high school and the cat who were declawed would yowl for hours from the pain. the dogs with cropped tails and ears would jerk back if you came anywhere near there insicions. And then there were the 3 ferets that had their scent glands removed for the owners conveinence. One died from stress the others rolled around in their cage for the whole day. I will never make any of my pets go through a surgery for my comfort or convenince other than spay and nueter which has been proven to lenghthen a cat and a dogs lifespan. If you'd seen those poor animals you'd feel the same way it's just to bad our snakes can't whine or cry in pain to let us know.

"If you want to keep a venemous snake than get a venemous snake, keep a bottle of antivenom and a few syringes next to the cage, and stop being a wuss."

If you directly inject snake antivenin into yourself, you may die. It's administered at the hospital in a saline drip, and controlled. Not to mention a reaction to it...which WILL kill you.
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I would personally never own a venomoid, I dont see the point unless I were studying or breeding,, for pets its just a cool thing to impress your friends, not a good reason for major surgery...So there
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I'd consider taking one on a rescue basis if someone really begged me. Otherwise, if I'm going to develop the expertise to own a venomous snake, I want to develop the expertise in reality and not as a result of having a snake that's been modified. I would consider owning a morph of some ball pythons, but I'd still rather have "factory spec" animals in most cases.

Bill
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It's not how many snakes you have. It's how happy and healthy you can keep them.