Escape prevention is what I preach. I encourage everyone to double cage venomous snakes whenever possible. A lot of my colleagues preach that keeper envenomation leads to new legislation, but I don’t know of one confirmed case of that, however, I know of two confirmed cases of escaped venomous snakes leading to public outcry and a change in state law. In 1991 the state of TN outlawed the keeping of all venomous snakes after public outcry steaming from some escaped cobras in Ooltewah, TN. In 2001 the state of AL outlawed the keeping of all exotic venomous snakes after public outcry steaming from an escape in Huntsville, AL. The species evolved is unclear. I have heard it was only a copperhead and the legislator pushing for the ban asked what if it was a mamba. I spoke directly with AL DNR after the law change to make sure we were not selling anything illegal and the gentleman in the DNR office told me for certain there was an escaped mamba in Huntsville and that lead to the new law. That is all I know on that matter. Regardless of the snake, it was an escape that lead to the law! Now, as for your question that no one is really answering. If we have an escape, the first thing we do is call in all the other venomous keepers in the area and we find it. Use your own home as a starting point and then work out from there. The responsible thing to do is warn the neighbors. If it’s an indigenous snake, the concern is not as great. Any local hospital should be able to treat an envenomation. If in deed we talking about an exotic such as a mamba, the hospital will have no idea what type of snake they are dealing with. Specialized anti-venom is needed in this case and it will probably have to be flown from the Dade County anti-venom bank in Miami. (Emergency phone 305.596.8576) To date, there has not been one reported case of an escaped venomous snake biting a third party. The nature of the beast is to avoid people, so if the snake is not apprehended, chances are it has made its way far from people. In most cases the animal will not last long in the wild. The food resources are different and the climate in many places in North American is intolerable. I hope that answers your question.
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www.SCReptiles.com 2.2 Crotalus adamanteus. 2.2 Crotalus h. atricaudatus. 2.2 Crotalus h. horridus. 1.1 Agkistrodon p. piscivorus. 1.1 Agkistrodon c. contortrix. 1.1 Agkistrodon c. mokasen. 1.1 Agkistrodon c. laticinctus. 1.1 Agkistrodon c. pictigaster. Agkistrodon c. phaeogaster. 1.2 Sistrurus miliarius barbouri. 1.1 Micrurus fulvius. 0.0.1 Micrurus fulvius tenere
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