good first hot?

[andytheboa]

are sidewinders a good first?
or a pigmy rattler.
any sujestions are welcome.(perferably snakes native to Calafornia)

[VooDooMafia]

I gues it all depends on who you talk to.

I started with Wags, but I know alot of ppl that start with copperheads.

[andytheboa]

ya, copperheads that is a good idea

[cantil]

I started with wags as well but arboreals are maintenance intensive and can be finicky and problematic.

Pygmy rattlers aren't a bad choice but are little bit hotter than coppers which are without a doubt the top recomendation of most hot herpers. Make sure to find someone with hots already and work with them first under supervision and gain experience. Just F.Y.I. I'm pretty sure it is illegal to possess hots within the state of California, but I could be mistaken.

Sidewinders are probably not a great choice as they can be tricky to acclimate and can be reluctant feeders.

[M_surinamensis]

Someone else's.

[andytheboa]

native are legal, exsotics are not.

[atheris]

Cant you folks use an SEARCH option, this issue has been on board over 100 times ...

[Matt]

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...hlight=starter

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...hlight=starter

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...hlight=starter

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showt...hlight=starter

look in the previous pages of the venomous forum for alot more info on this
i would say start with a rear fanged and graduate to something like a copperhead, pygmy's arent a bad choice either

[cantil]

I'm not sure I agree with the notion of "starting with a rearfanged and graduating." The less dangerous rearfanged snakes don't really teach you how to maipulate a pitviper and working with them won't necessarily teach the appropriate behaviours and techniques. You could work successfully with a vine snake or false water and not gain any of the knowledge needed to work with a copperhead. By the same token the more dangerous rearfanged snakes are really snakes which people should keep AFTER having kept more innocuous hot snakes. Things like boomslangs, twig snakes and the like are much quicker and potentially more dangerous than coppers, pygmy's etc. and since almost all are wild caught, present husbandry problems which a novice hotkeeper might find excessively challenging and which would not be present in a c.b. copper or the like.

Just my two cents.

[Matt]

Originally posted by cantil
I'm not sure I agree with the notion of "starting with a rearfanged and graduating." The less dangerous rearfanged snakes don't really teach you how to maipulate a pitviper and working with them won't necessarily teach the appropriate behaviours and techniques.

i understand your point, but it does give you necessary experience in the mentality you need to deal with hots. It may not teach you exactly how to deal with a certain species of snake, but it does give you experiecne learning the techniques to handle and manipulate with a total hands off approach, with the added feature of having a less serious consequence if bitten......obviously my point was excluding boomslangs, twigs and other very toxic colubrids!

[Mustangrde1]

Andy if your in California you will be looking for only native species of those My best advice is to go with Speckled stay clear of Mojave and Southern pacifics till you get used to the speckles.

[M_surinamensis]

Or... you could just find someone who has hot snakes and enter into a kind of indentured servitude program while learning, after which you won't have to ask questions like "What's the best first hot?" because you'll know. THIS is a situation where someone who has to ask the question is not ready for the answer.

[andytheboa]

I am going to get a false water cobra all i realy wanted was something that i can call vemomous. thanks

[latazyo]

oh boy...

[edh]

Originally posted by cantil
I'm not sure I agree with the notion of "starting with a rearfanged and graduating." The less dangerous rearfanged snakes don't really teach you how to maipulate a pitviper and working with them won't necessarily teach the appropriate behaviours and techniques. You could work successfully with a vine snake or false water and not gain any of the knowledge needed to work with a copperhead. By the same token the more dangerous rearfanged snakes are really snakes which people should keep AFTER having kept more innocuous hot snakes. Things like boomslangs, twig snakes and the like are much quicker and potentially more dangerous than coppers, pygmy's etc. and since almost all are wild caught, present husbandry problems which a novice hotkeeper might find excessively challenging and which would not be present in a c.b. copper or the like.

Just my two cents.

I think that it is in the best interest for the novice keeper to start with a mildly venomous and restless snake. Like most rear-fanged snakes or in fact copperheads. Although it might increase the risk of a bite.

In fact I think it will be a better learning experience dealing with a nervous mildly-venomous snake then dealing with a relaxed more venomous snake. Without having to face real serious complications in the event of a bite.

I started by taking care of nervous rear-fanged species (Boiga irregularis, Hydrodynastes gigas) and other . These animals have taught me how to use the hooks (and my brain). And a few years later, without any bite incidents) I started dealing with the "really" venomous ones. And now I am learning to deal with the "really scary" ones (Dendroaspis spp) .

Just my opinion.

Cheers,

Erik

By the way, you can also get a cane toad (Bufo marinus): they are also quite venomous...... just wash you hands after dealing with them.