Western Masassuaga

[Dirty]

Would this be a good first hot? I'd like a viper, but one of the least dangerous there is. Any other good suggestions?

P.S. I'm not going to be getting ANY hot anytime soon. Thanks

[schlangenbauer]

Originally posted by Dirty
Would this be a good first hot? I'd like a viper, but one of the least dangerous there is. Any other good suggestions?

P.S. I'm not going to be getting ANY hot anytime soon. Thanks

Hi Dustin,

in my opinion western Massasaugas can be ok as first hots - in fact they are much better to handle than Pygmys, for example. Of course you have to take care with them, they are told to be not so dangerous and normally a bite of them would not kill one but sh.t may happen...
Btw, a friend of mine got bitten by one of his Massasaugas and he told me it was a hell of pain with his arm swelling up to his shoulder and breast.

Another good starter in keeping venomous snakes may be the Copperhead. Those are really nice snakes with an lovely behaviour, allways looking what is going on outside their cage - hungry or curious...

Regards, Peter

[Rob Olivier]

Although the venom yield is small I would be very careful. The next quote I found in "The venomous reptiles of the Western Hemisphere" by Campbell and Lamar:

...More recently , the venom of S. catenatus has been called one of the most toxic of rattlesnakes venoms, almost equal to that of C. scutulatus and about 10 times as toxic as the venom of C. atrox

A pic of one of my Western Massasuaga's

http://img248.echo.cx/img248/9319/westernmassasauga20050502th001.jpg

[fedupdon]

Ive Been Bitten by a Wester Massassuga Hurts like hell
The venom yeild was not to bad 2nd infection was the worst the bite was on the right ring finger had lots of swelling snd discoloration for a week or so

[SCReptiles]

Dirty, where are you from? It has always been my contention that the best first venomous is one that is local to you. Local ER’s are better equipped to treat snakes from their area.

[Dirty]

I'm from Price, Utah. I'm pretty sure the only rattlers around here are the Great Basin Rattlesnake and the Midget Faded Rattlesnake, both subspecies of Western Rattlesnake (I think). I was thinking maybe a Midget Faded...how much different would these be than a Mass?

[SCReptiles]

Ummm, both of those are very expensive snakes. Also known to be a very toxic species. I don’t think either would be a good starter. I guess the Massasuaga would as good of a choice as any. You have any interest in copperheads? I like them as the first choice for most people.

[Dirty]

Rattlesnakes are what I would like to own eventually, but yeah I like copperheads ok. I've heard from other sources that they are a good starter hot. Maybe I'll start from there and work my way up. Thanks a lot for your replys

[SCReptiles]

when you are ready, let me know. i will hook you up with one. =)

[Dirty]

lol Thanks man I will, but I've still got quite a bit to learn

[Jay_J]

I'm from THe native area in lasalle to windsor and I have yet to see on in wild. Ive caught Fox. Garter, Ribbon, Black racer but never was privledged enough to catch one. As for captives I agree with finding one thats native to ensure antivenom. There not know to kill but you'll sure get a crazy infection.

[Removed_2815]

Jay_J, you won't find Western Massasaugas in Ontario, only Easterns. You found a Black Racer in Ontario?

[Dirty]

Lasalle is in Utah. I think he's from Utah, but maybe there's another Lasalle...

BTW Rob Oliver nice pic man got any more?

[Removed_2815]

Originally posted by Dirty
Lasalle is in Utah. I think he's from Utah, but maybe there's another Lasalle...

I'm sure there are many Lasalles. The Lasalle in question is in Ontario, as is Windsor. The location on his account is Windsor, Ontario.
Ryan

[Dirty]

My bad