First hot???

[reptiledude987]

I've been keeping reptiles of all sorts for over 10 years but ahve never had anything venomous. I'm interested in trying my hand at getting one but am unsure as to what would be a good species to start with. I do have a close friend with several venomous species who is willing to mentor and teach me what I will need to know. I'm just looking for some thoughts on what the community here think would be a good starting point?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[CrotalusR#1]

depends on whats available to you. copperhead. speckled rattlesnake was my first and i still keep many locals today. if your mentor is willing to give you your first hot than i would see which ones he would let you take and take the one you work best with.

[Tyguy35]

I've been trying to figure out how to just get them in Canada. Ways of learning or licenses what not. Could you pm if you know?

[reptiledude987]

I was considering a copperhead but the musking is a turn off from them for me. I love my snakes because they dont smell lol. (hence why ill never have a cat or rodent as a pet). was just hoping to get some ideas of what ppl here started off with and whats reasonably simple to maintain as a first until comfort level is established.

[CrotalusR#1]

reptiledude987, they all have different attitudes like any species. iv had tons of them and only had one that consistently musked. what kind of hots are available to you?

[reptiledude987]

Pretty much anything I want availabe just dont want to make a bad choice.

[CrotalusR#1]

if you can get a vipera ammodytes i would get one in a hart beet! mine is one of my favorites and extremely easy to keep. not super hot and usually have a very calm attitude... for me there are no down side to them and there crazy looking. heirs mine

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/12829316825_c9510b46d0.jpg

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2865/12829750664_84335dba21.jpg

[reptiledude987]

so i just a look at wikipedia and it says "Vipera ammodytes is a venomous viper species found in southern Europe through to the Balkans and parts of the Middle East. It is reputed to be the most dangerous of the European vipers due to its large size, long fangs (up to 13 mm) and high venom toxicity". Would you agree that this info is accurate. Idealy I'd like to start with something not generally refered to as the most dangerous in its region.

[reptiledude987]

To clarify I do realize theres no such thing as a "safe" venomous snake but looking for something not considered to be on the high end of danger scale.

[CrotalusR#1]

yes it is the most toxic of the European vipers. that being said they are very commonly free handled. Of courses theres not a good snake to get bit by lol. the way i look at is some one who has a mildly venomous snake and a snake with more toxic venom is your gonna be extra extra careful with the more toxic one and more relaxed with the mildly toxic one which means your more likely to put your self in a position to get tagged which still may end up ending your life. so what im saying is a snake with less toxic venom may mean you have a false sense of security.. if your going off of venom toxicity or LD50s than you mite as well find the snake with the lowest LD50 and choose it.

[reptiledude987]

Ok that make sence. I get what youre saying and its a good point. My friend said that the most dangerous venomous snake in the world is the ont that just bit you. So if I understand correctly the reason you would recommend that species is because it has a lower likelyhood of biting not because of the result of being bit.

[CrotalusR#1]

yes exactly, and knowing it has reasonably strong venom means your gonna be that much more careful. i know some one who daringly handled a side winder. not a super toxic snake but the chance of a bad reaction is still there. you don't really see any one doing that with a western diamond back do you? so whats he more likely to get bit by the sidewinder rattlesnake he free handles? or the western diamond back rattlesnake he uses tongs with and stays way back from? make sense?

[reptiledude987]

Ya for sure!

[knox]

If I were to get into hots, a Copperhead would be my starting point. Not overly aggressive, and a bite is generally not lethal. It's not going to be any fun, and you will have major swelling and tissue damage, but unless there are other complications, not lethal.

[Derek1]

I was considering a copperhead but the musking is a turn off from them for me. I love my snakes because they dont smell lol. (hence why ill never have a cat or rodent as a pet). was just hoping to get some ideas of what ppl here started off with and whats reasonably simple to maintain as a first until comfort level is established.

Where have you read about the musking? I haven't seen much on that and typically musking from most snakes happens when you handle them right?>

[millertime89]

Where have you read about the musking? I haven't seen much on that and typically musking from most snakes happens when you handle them right?>

Another person on here was talking about it in another thread. She said her babies liked to musk a lot until they got used to human interaction.

[BIGT FROM F.B.]

Where have you read about the musking? I haven't seen much on that and typically musking from most snakes happens when you handle them right?>


Anything that stresses/scares them can make them musk.

[CrotalusR#1]

one of mine will musk on extremely rare occasions
and even when she dose its not a barn burner, it just stinks when your next to it but when you turn away it doesn't smell any more, like someone with bad breath lol..it shouldn't be enough to turn you off the entire species.

[Will0W783]

There is no good first hot really. That's like asking what is the best gun to buy first. It comes down to personal taste, skill level, and what other non-venomous species you have experience with.

For me, I had kept a lot of arboreal boas and pythons, so arboreal vipers were the logical progression. They hook easily, stay fairly small, and don't need to be cleaned as often as some terrestrial species. I only got into terrestrial vipers after I'd had training in using two hooks, tailing, working with them, etc.

I personally do not think that copperheads make great beginner hots. They are very fast, skittish and musk A LOT. They also tend not to ride hooks well until they are older and used to being handled. My yearling pair was a massive pain in the *** every time I had to clean their cages. They smelled like butt all the time because they musked when I gave them water, when I fed them, when I walked by the cage, etc. They were very nervous and struck at me all the time.
In addition, while their bites are not often fatal, they can cause lasting nerve damage, necrosis, impaired joint mobility, etc. They have a fairly nasty venom and since they tend to not kill people,a lot of hospitals don't bother with antivenin until you get really bad.

In my personal opinion, a better first terrestrial hot would be something like a coral cobra or a night adder. Arboreal species would include eyelash viper, white-lipped viper, horned bush viper (ceratophora- not as bad venom and stay really small).

Stay away from Bitis (Gaboons, rhinos, puffs), rattlesnakes and true Naja cobras. These all pack nasty venoms and are not easy to work with.
Gabbys are slow, docile snakes until you hurt/frighten/trigger their feeding response. Then they are capable of amazing acrobatics at almost unbelievable speeds. If a Gabby strikes at you, you will not be able to get out of the way. Rattlers are fast, and have very bad venom. Cobras tend to be aggressive, can be difficult to work on a hook and can put you down in 10-15 minutes. So none of those make good beginner hots.

The most important thing is to make sure that, whatever species you decide to get, you do plenty of research beforehand, have a nice cage all set up and ready, and get some training with that species or similar ones with your mentor before you bring yours home.

Best of luck, it's a great hobby!

[reptiledude987]

I would love a bush viper! I think theyre one of the coolest looking species of any snake. Anyone have one that could give pros and cons of this species?

[Akuma223]

You people are a bad influence on me lol

[reptiledude987]

Cant be that bad of an influence if you already have a nile monitor. From personal expierence I know what a handfull they can be lol

[Akuma223]

Cant be that bad of an influence if you already have a nile monitor. From personal expierence I know what a handfull they can be lol

He isn't a nile :D He's only a 4ft Varanus rudicolus!

[SSSSnakes]

I would love a bush viper! I think theyre one of the coolest looking species of any snake. Anyone have one that could give pros and cons of this species?

Cons
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr115/JerryTheSnakeman/010-21.jpg (http://s475.photobucket.com/user/JerryTheSnakeman/media/010-21.jpg.html)

[BIGT FROM F.B.]

Wow! How were you able to get that shot?

[SSSSnakes]

Wow! How were you able to get that shot?

Digital cameras are great. 1000 shots and you 999 bad pics and 1 good.

[reptiledude987]

Cons
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr115/JerryTheSnakeman/010-21.jpg (http://s475.photobucket.com/user/JerryTheSnakeman/media/010-21.jpg.html)
Epic shot but this a potential con of any hot. Is it not?

[Aaron_S]

I've been keeping reptiles of all sorts for over 10 years but ahve never had anything venomous. I'm interested in trying my hand at getting one but am unsure as to what would be a good species to start with. I do have a close friend with several venomous species who is willing to mentor and teach me what I will need to know. I'm just looking for some thoughts on what the community here think would be a good starting point?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

It's illegal to own them in Kitchener. Who's your friend? Do they live in Kitchener or somewhere else? You can PM me if you prefer. I know many of those keepers so was curious.