Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pretty big collection of burms and hots, I keep no venomoids, however if you attend shows like I do then you have seen (venomoids suck) tee shirts and what not. These are the people for the snakes right? Now look at there tables, mostly wild caught untreated snakes in dirty plastic boxes. These reptile shows are awful( in South Carolina any way) I also have a first person view of how these reptile dealers that attend shows treat there snakes from a very reputable dealer. First pillow case them and drive to the hotel to get ready for the show, hydrate the snakes in the bathtub and wash pillow cases, feed only the snakes that are worth anything. Tell the buyer whatever he or she wants to hear to sell snake and make profit. There snakes are piled high in plastic boxes and put on the internet for sale. I don't want to hear about how much these people care about snakes anymore. (bottom line a 3 foot sweater box is not ok for a 6 foot boa) I feel that if a collecter is going to spend 400- 600 $ for a venomoid then that snake is most likely going to be better of in the long run. My friend has a 5 foot venomoid albino monacle and he keeps it in a very natural 6 foot vision enclosure. That snake in my opinion is having a better life then the sweater box hot that is going show to show. Just my opinion. My snakes are pets, they are not collections, and I do not just trade them around like baseball cards. Jason

i'm not sure if a buyer purchasing a venomoid will keep their snakes in a better set up than someone who is buying the same unaltered snake; however, I understand your point of view about the pet trade in general. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that some dealers will make changes that involve increase the cost of keeping these animals until they are sold unless they can profit by charging more. Do you think a buyer will pay more for a ball python that is kept in a 4 foot cage or pay less for the same ball python that the dealer kept in a shoebox?

at the end, it comes down to cost/profit/ and money. an unfortunate fact

Exactly, profit. But if someone posts a message about venomoids on the hot forum they will be blasted, the same people blasting are the people trading there snakes like they were baseball cards. The people selling, breeding and collecting should not even give there opinion on this debate. I love snakes, and to this day I have an 11 year old ball python that was given to me 10 years ago, it was a commitment then and is today, never just traded off. Jason

the initial argument was that a venomoid buyer will have a better housing for the snake than a someone purchasing an unaltered snake. That simple statement was the reason the topic got shifted here; however, I think it's an interesting perspective that i would love to hear more about from the dealers point of view.

I do not blame every dealer and i do not think all of them treat their animals in the ways described, but it is a known fact that every little step taken in the direction to minimize the cost of business will reflect in maximum profit.

A point made on the last reply regarding venomoid discussion is correct. Unfortunately, many neutral venomoid discussion end up in a heated argument w/o solutions. A lot of times are the dealers themselves the source of these opinions and the ones that are so against venomoids in general. In other words, the minute you label yourself as someone promoting or selling venomoids, you are opening the doors for lots of heated arguments. The irony is that there are some reputable dealers that do sell venomoids, but the excuse mostly use is that they are simply doing it for a friend. they are not embracing the sale of venomoids nor they are promoting the business, but rather helping someone sell their collection or inventory by adding the animals to their tables.

This was the case in today's Hamburg show. I saw two tables selling venomoids openly and when confronted regarding the origin of the snakes, the answer was: "they are not mine. i'm selling them for someone i know." Now, my question is why are these individuals not questioned in the same manner as an openly venomoid keeper? even more interesting are the dealers that woudl rather not have a venomoid for sale on their table because of the bad rep it could give their business, but they sure are willing to sell high end venomous snakes knowing these animals will be devenomized. The irony behind the business of venomoids...

I do believe that venomoids are not the mainstream of the reptile community but they are becoming more widely available and accepted by more people. I just hope that buyers will take every precaution in purchasing these animals because there are those in the business that unfortunately do not care about quality but quantity and with venomoids you have no room for mistakes.