Purpose of Having Venemous Snakes?

[Lisa]

Well I don't keep hots currently (unless you count a western hognose). Mainly cause we don't have a safe place for them. One species I'd love to have is a eastern massasauga.

[rwg]

Alright, I'm barely a keeper of anything, but I want to point out a trend. When some newbie comes on the ven forum and says "I dont know much about snakes...which hot should I get first", you all jump on him (and rightly so) pointing out that handling will be necessary, and even momentary lapses in concentration can kill you. You advise years of non-ven handling, and you advise mentoring under experienced keepers. All good advice.

When someone jumps on the giant forum and says "I wanna get a snake, and the bigger the better. Which one should I get?" he gets the old " do you know how many burms end up in rescues" speech. It is often pointed out that it requires more than one person to handle, and it is even frequently pointed out that a giant snake can kill you. Generally the responses dont recomend years of colubrid experience, and I have never seen anyone recomend a mentor to learn the ropes of burm handling.

You can claim that hots are less dangerous than giants, and some hots (copperheads?) may actually be less dangerous than some giants (annacondas?), but the collective community behaves as though the reverse were true in general.

[MontyPython]

You can claim that hots are less dangerous than giants, and some hots (copperheads?) may actually be less dangerous than some giants (annacondas?), but the collective community behaves as though the reverse were true in general.

Was that saying the same thing twice? Or do i need to get some more sleep?

[rwg]

What I (hope) I said is: Some people are claiming hots are less dangerous than giants. People posting on the giant and venomous forums act as though hots are MORE dangerous than giants in the advice that they give. This is somewhat contradictory.

[reptilesalonica]

A strike of a 6 meter Boid can be aggressive because the large size of the Boid gives him enough confidence to chase and strike even a human.
A strike of 1 meter venomous snake is aggressive to the prey item that wants to eat, but when it has to be human, then its' strike is only defensive and only if it feels threatened.
~Greg~

[Scales Zoo]

Having read through these threads again, I have come to this.

We keep giant pythons, and I work with them, feed them and maintain their cages. Each snake is different in its attitude and acceptance of my presence. The anaconda and african rock need to be boxed - regardless of their demeanor on any given day. Pandora the 20 foot retic can be let out to be supervised (not handled) while the cage is cleaned. The other 20+ foot retic, affectionately known as BOOTS for good reason, needs to be captured and contained. This involves calling our biggest, strongest, unafraid friend for assistance practising our bad language. The burms for the most part are pssycats, until feeding time, then they are panthers.

We live and work amongst a huge population of prairie rattlers. I kid you not when I say I would rather find a rattler in the laundry room, than Boots out of his cage.

In my conversations with several hot keepers, I have discovered that some species are more temper - mental (yes, 2 words) than others. Same goes for our pythons and boas.

It requires skill and discipline to learn the behaviors of each individual animal, regardless of species, to work with them safely.

Both are equally dangerous in seperate ways, as hots at feeding time are bent on biting and envenomating, and boids are bent on constriction. Accidents with both are not uncommon, but it is usually more of an issue with hots when the media gets wind of it.
Responsible hot and giant keepers know their snakes, and use appropriate safety precautions to prevent accidents. It would be foolish, in my opinion, to treat either without due respect.

Sheila

[BAZ]

I personally think that the laws should be a lot more strict when it comes to keeping ANY animal that can potentially kill or seriously hurt its owner or anyone else if it escaped. I know people need permits to keep venemous snakes but I am not sure how strict these guidelines are. Do people come and inspect where a venemous snake will be kept? I am not for the complete ban on these animals either but I think that those who keep potentially dangerous animals should be able to provide the same kind of safety as a really good zoo in terms of enclosures etc. If these conditions are not met then a permit should not be given.

[Scales Zoo]

Well said, Baz!

There should be strict licensing and protocol for keeping of any potentially dangerous animals.

that said, ever wonder why you need a license to drive a car, to hunt deer, catch a fish out of the river, and get married - and there is no license reqiurement for idiots who produce children?
Seems to me there is a lot more involved in raising an upstanding human being, than any other activity currently requiring a license.

Just my 2 cents