selling venomous snakes and venom

[Gigi]

My husband would like to sell mainly cottonmouths and copperheads. He is also interested in collecting and selling venom. Do colleges buy snakes?(herp labs) Do you need special permits or degrees to collect and sell venom. Who can I contact about this? Feel free to email me at twnpnds@yahoo.com. Thanks bunches!!!!o>

[Chris @ C.H.S.]

I must say that this is one of the more "unique" questions I've read but I would like to try to provide some answers. First, why does your husband "want" to sell venomous snakes and to whom would he sell them? Usually, any labs in need of venom either have an established, experienced/reliable source or they have their own stock {animals} in which they can obtain any ness. quantity or type needed in the manner in which it needs to be collected. Contamination etc. is of paramount concern and the extraction process provides such sources if not done properly. Proper lyophilization is somewhat difficult to acheive outside of a well equiped lab, and there are many, many more equally important "aspects" that are to be considered that we cannot even begin to "touch" upon here. As for the "special permits" and "degrees" ness. to conduct this type of operation, I would check your local laws and enroll in to a educational facililty in persuit of as much education as ness. to land you a job at such a lab, untill such time you become qualified to "run" your own. I do not wish to sound condesending but the responsibilty etc. that comes with working with these spectacular animals is not one to be taken lightly. Thanx. Chris @ C.H.S.

[Chris @ C.H.S.]

Sorry for the gramar and spelling, it's 4:20 am. What am I doin'? Night all! Psst... hey Matty, I'm baaack. Call me. Code chondro!

[moses nomad]

i buy and sell venomous to the states on a monthly basis and most like certion pet shops buy from me gaboon vipers to spitting cobra,s most shops out there must know the person that sells the snakes like a reputation for breeding or being a breeder.

collages will not buy anything from the public for the cause of mites and internal parasites, they have their own dealers in those ereas.

venom is not a great thing to sell for the matter of is the snake a pureblood? where did it come from ( orgin of species) and most of all what are you doing with it do you have a licence for this reptile are some of the questions that they are going to ask you.

and copperheads are just biginners snakes the venom is not a very wanted thing.
but good luck in your ventures............

[psilocybe]

Selling snake venom requires many thousands of dollars worth of very expensive and high maintanance equipment, plus a LOT of knowledge on what the hell you're doing (besides milking the snakes, that's the easy part). Labs and colleges will only buy from well-established venom labs, of which there are only a handful in this country. In general, I hate to shoot down people's ideas, but unless you have a ton of knowledge regarding venomous snakes, proper lab procedures involving processing and storing venom, and even more money to get equipment needed to store it properly...I'd say don't waste your time.

[BWSmith]

I have a hard time GIVING away Copperheads and Cottonmouths.

[SCReptiles]

Why do you guys try to answer questions when you really have no idea what you are talking about?

collages will not buy anything from the public for the cause of mites and internal parasites, they have their own dealers in those ereas.
Dead wrong, I can quote about a dozen examples of them buying snakes from private keepers and collectors.

and copperheads are just biginners snakes the venom is not a very wanted thing.
Dead wrong again. It is probably used more in research then any other venom. In fact, several labs are currently experimenting with it as a treatment for breast cancer. If the research pans out, there will be a massive demand for it.

Selling snake venom requires many thousands of dollars worth of very expensive and high maintanance equipment,
Lord no!!!! I have sold plenty of it. I extract into a sterilized glass receiver. I think I paid $3 for it and transfer it to a veil you can buy at any drug or head shop for about $.50.

Labs and colleges will only buy from well-established venom labs
Complete hog wash.

Truth is:

FDA does not regulate the sell of raw venom. Only if it will be used in the production of a medicine or directly injected into a human test subject does it fall under their jurisdiction. The beginning of most research requires a shoestring budget. A researcher has an idea and he has to do test to see if they hold water. If they do no, he is out everything he spends testing. They will use the most economical supplies available. If for some reason they need raw copper/cotton venom and this guy is local, damn right they will buy his. First time I was approached for venom, a graduate student at Auburn Uni contacted me needing copperhead venom. I had to decline as I did not know how to extract. I ended up supplying him with the snakes and he got someone else from the lab to extract them. After that I went to south FL and spent a week working with an experienced extractor and learned the skill. Since I have supplied venom to students, labs, doctors, etc.

You where right in discouraging extractions, as most people will not seek out an experienced extractor to learn from and will probably hurt a few snakes and get hurt. Also the economic return is not worth the investment if that is all you plan to do. My snakes pull triple duty. I have to keep examples of each on hand for my lectures, so I keep them in pairs or trios as breeders. These are also the animals I extract from when there is a call for it.