where is the enjoyment

[knight45]

I would first like to state a few things:

1. I am in no way suggesting you should not keep hots
2. I do not look down at hot keepers in anyway
3. I do not want this thred in anyway to be about why you should not keep hots.
4. Evertime i tell someone i own snakes they look at me like I am crazy, most of whom are ignorant and very misinformed. I would never tell someone who enjoys a hobby that they are stupid because they enjoy there hobby. Every who belongs to this site wishes that people would not condem us because of our intrests.
Even though i will never own a hot, I will give the same amount of respect to you (the hot keepers) that i wish people would give me and my animals.

With that out of the way i will proceed...

I would like to know what the enjoyment of keeping a very dangerous animal in your home is. Even with proper handling the keeper puts them self at risk evrytime handling must take place eg. feeding cleaning, etc. I understand that these are very beautiful animals, but would it not make more sence to own some other beautiful snake that cannot mame or kill you.
i know why i keep snakes, it is because i love to interact with these very intresting and misunderstood animals,also because of the joy i get of giving the animal the best possible life it can have(i hope that is part of everyone's reason to keep any kind of animal).
i would love to here why all of you out there love your animals and why you keep them!!

[Mustangrde1]

Ill make it short as i have to go to work.

The love of the animal. The colors the venom itself the enjoyment out of success in breeding and even the failure of breeding. They are no more dangerous than any other animal when proper safety precautions are used. In fact once you get past the "EEWWS AND AWWS of the Venom aspect" they are just another reptile.

Why do people keep large constrictors?
Why keep large monitors or crocs?
Why keep dogs which kill and injure more people per year?
Why drive a car or leave a house you could get hurt or killed?
Why do people sky dive
Why do people smoke
why do people drink
etc etc
They are all choices of personal prefferance and or like!

Hot keepers are no better than anyone else we just have to learn more than some and take diffrent precautions. Accidents can and do sometimes happen thats why they are called accidents. Then again accidents happen in just about anything in life. You have to live life to its fullest and try to enjoy what you love in it! Or you might as well live in a bubble and be reclusive and miss out on life

Thats about the best answer i can give right now.

[ChurleR]

Everything Mustangrde1 said, and the fact that I'm interested in the ecological niches they inhabit that we, as humans are rapidly destroying. If I'm keeping and breeding venomous, and if we manage to wipe out massassaugas or timber rattlers in the wild, I'll do my best to keep the species alive in captivity so I can still educate people, or maybe donate to a re-establishment foundation.

That may seem like an extremely farfetched reason, but you never know.

Oh, and it helps that I'm interested in toxinology and evolution.

[Simon]

Originally posted by Mustangrde1
Hot keepers are no better than anyone else we just have to learn more than some and take diffrent precautions. Accidents can and do sometimes happen thats why they are called accidents. Then again accidents happen in just about anything in life. You have to live life to its fullest and try to enjoy what you love in it! Or you might as well live in a bubble and be reclusive and miss out on life

Thats about the best answer i can give right now.

I personally don't keep hots.
But I totally agree with the point that Scott has pointed out.
Great post!

As long as you're taking all the precautions and doing things right, then you should be fine.

Different people with different prefferances~

[knight45]

i understand your points Mustangrde1 but...
people who smoke and drink do so disregarding the consequences of their actions generally taking on the attitude that "we all have to die someday" or "i wont be the one who dies in a car accident or the one to get cancer" (note i said generally not always) not an attitude i would expect for a reptile keeper.

sky and diving bunji jumping are thrill sports, i would have to imagine that even hots keepers would have to agree, that this would not be a good reason to start keeping hots.

On the other hand, these are very interesting creatures, every time there is a snake program on TV i am glued to the set.
pythons and boids are good for me though....they already consume allot of my time. I think if i had anymore species of reptiles that i had to dedicate my time to, my girlfriend would permanently disown me...lol.. good luck to all you hot keepers, thanks to all for your posts....if anyone else would like to post, i am all ears.

[knight45]

I just came by an old post called "what is the purpose" sorry for making you reiterate...
i should have search better at first

[maritimExotics]

I Don't keep Hots either but am very interested... and i know why i would keep them and that is for the reasons above and knowing at any moment it you don't do something the "right/safe" way it could be fatal, it is a thrill i know right now thinking about them puts a smile on my face.. its somthing that makes yoru heart pump the little bit faster and keeps you on your toes...and i believe thats how we should live life.....I LOVE GABBY's!!!
Just a side Question kinda off topic, do most of you HOT owners "milk" your snakes or would you consider this hamful to the snake? i believe there is always a open market for venom for hospitals and the shelf live isn't that great eh??

Ryan

[Mustangrde1]

Thrill!!!! That is the worse reason to keep a hot! Thrill seakers tend to get hurt and a bite from a hot can kill you.

As to milking them. Unless your a commercial venom lab with a large collection its just not wourth the time or danger involved. milking 1 to 3 cobras every 2 weeks just is not going to produce enough venom to warrant the risk as an example.

[maritimExotics]

I may have used the wrong word but Scott, are you saying that your adrenaline doesn't raise or get a different more persice feeling between holding a reg boa than a venomous snake..?? are you not more careful while holding them? just saying it would be a totaly different feeling. almost like holding a snake for the very first time...i dunno.. i call it thrill but not in terms of just seeking danger, just living life... i mean most hot keepers, large constrictors alligators... I would imagine it would not be the same as a cat breeder. it would be for lack of words "boring" ..they deserve more respect in the fact of their capabilities.. hope i made myself more clear or if anything more confused :)

[Mustangrde1]

adrenaline is the last thing i want going or anything to cause to go when working with any of my hots. I actually work the Boas, Pythons, Colubrids the exact same way i work my hots. I treat them no differant.

Reason because i do not want to get lax in safety and handling.

Honestly. When you get past the fact its venomous it is just another snake. Granted one that requires special handling and safety concerns but no diffrent than my scrub python.

The thrill I get from the hobby is when something breeds for me or I aquire a species ive been looking for. Or when I see a rescued animal turn the corner and start looking good. Those are the thrills I look for. My biggest thrill is walking in and seeing little babies or eggs hatching. It is the culmination of hard work that paid off.