midget fadeds?

[Kyle Barker]

First off i am not thinking of getting one (yet) . They are probably my favorite snake, if not animal so i would like to learn as much as possible.
I am wondering if Midget faded Rattlesnakes are ever kept by people (not zoos). Are rattlesnakes a bad idea to keep (aside from being dangerouse to people) compared with other hots? Are they endangerd? I am looking for any and all the info on every aspect of these snakes. I am really interested in studies done in the wild.

ANYTHING is greatly appreciated, especially pics ;)

Thanks, Kyle

[Mustangrde1]

Kyle whats the latin on them I dont think I have heard of a midget faded 6 am and me just up my brain doesnt function without coffee. If your reffering to Pygmys they are an awesome animal and realitivly easy to deal with for a rattler.

[Kyle Barker]

Crotalus viridis concolor. They are a smaller rattler. VERY cool.

[Matt]

kyle, i have worked a little with concolor in the past. Thy are small and they are cool. However, It is not the best first hot species and i would even say that its not the best first rattler species to keep either
this is my understanding of the venom. The venom is closely related to viridis viridis venom and they are capable of delivery a dose that is lethal. I think that their venom is very hemorragic!
However, their small size makes death less likely to happen in the event of envenomation than with other rattler species.

IMO, if youve never kept hots, go about it slow and get some good mentorship and then good starter species.
After that, honestly, i would start with a pygmy rattlesnake. I have found they are a little easier to work (even though they can be insane sometimes) and their small sizes makes them fairly controllable
As far as i know they are not endangered and are not protected. I believe there was an article on them in reptiles mag a while ago, i cant remember when....sorry

[BWSmith]

If memory serves (before coffee), they are very rare. I have only got to work with one of them and it was very limited. But now that you mention it, I guesss i am going to have hit the books on it and see what I can find out. Can't remember everything ;)

[Kyle Barker]

thanks guys. I wont be thinking about owning hots for at least a couple of years... so lots of time to learn and find people. Tho only problem is mentorship, i only know of 1 persnon by me and i wouldn't exactly want him to teach me (know what i mean). Second problem would be finding any hots, all that i can find here are eyelash vipers gabbons/rhinos, and cobras. Anyway thanks for the input. Any good links, books etc...?

kyle

[SCReptiles]

The Midget Faded is a sub-species of the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis). As Brian said, they are somewhat rare. They thrive well in the mountains and are one of only two rattlesnakes that are indigenous to CO. I would second the concerns about starting with a rattlesnake as your first hot, but when you are ready for one, your best bet will be the guy over at vanishing life forms. He is located in NM I think and specializes in rattlers from that area. A close friend of mine has bought from him and been very happy with the quality. I met him and saw some of his animals at the Bristol show and I just can’t say enough good things about him. He has top notch snakes. His URL is http://members.aol.com/vlifeforms/homepage/index.html . As for books, etc. I would suggest you start with Allen Hunters venom 101. its not longer available on the web, but if you email me, I will email you complete copy of it in PDF form. Good luck to you.

[Kyle Barker]

Tnak you! I will definatly talk to him when time comes.
e-mail is sent.

kyle

[SCReptiles]

I can’t get the email to go thru to kb_reptiles@hotmail.com . The file may be too large. Do you have another address?

[Kyle Barker]

kb_reptiles@yahoo.com or kyles_other@hotmail.com I pm'd you the details.

Thanx

[SCReptiles]

I emailed that file to your yahoo address. Let me know if you get it. thought you would enjoy this picture. Its compliments of Micah Stancil and the SHHS.
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/pages/msconcolor.jpg

[Kyle Barker]

I LOVE it. How could anybody not bo obsessed with those animals. I saw that reptiles artical and tehy had a mostly stiped one! Now i am hooked!

File didin't go thru :( Im hoping its just slow?
Thanks for the pic

kyle