Keeping Highly venomous snakes

[NickFT]

Hi Guys

I would just like to get your feedback on what I should do, I have been reading a lot of post that say people should not keep Highly venomous snakes becouse of the dangers that may occur, I mean there is even topics showing horrific pictures of venomous snake bites with the aim to scare people of possessing them. The statement generally made is that inexperienced people should not possess Highly venomous snakes at all due to their inexperience. Whith that said, my Question to you all with experience is if one is very interested in venomous snakes and would like to get involved, how do they get the experience needed to possess these magnificent creatures. My point is that yes i am inexperienced , but have such a keen interest in them and would like to gain the experience needed to keep them. I will be attending Mike Perry's Snake handling course a long with identifying Venomous Snakes and treatment of Snake bites. I am aware that that is not enough to gain experience, but how does one get that experience with out keeping these animals.

Sorry for the repeated words, but didnt have any synonyms for inexperience:)

[NickFT]

Sorry forgot to add that i have been a keen Exotic reptile collector for years and that reptiles are not new to me at all.

[Whitelipp]

Hey Nick FT. Well doing the snake handling course with Mike is your first step. There after it is educating yourself. If you start off slowly and learn how to handle venomous snakes I am sure you would be keeping highly venomous snakes soon. Just to tell you how I started. I kept red tail boas for a while. Then I got a white lip pit viper. I learn all about how to handle the snake, what to expect and to react, Next I did Mikes course and not a month after that I got a Hatchling snouted cobra. By observing, feeding etc I learnt how it moved and reacted towards the things I did. I worked on a game reserve and worked with snakes in the bush and whenever I had the opportunity to get into the veld I did and looked for snakes just to experience the thrill of finding a snake in the bush. Experience cant be bought mate it comes with time. Well after getting a snouted cobra my collection grew and I got horned adders, gaboons, and more cobras. By talking to people and learning can count as an advantage. I have allot of books on snakes and you learn allot from books.

I would not say I have all the experience but I do have a bit of experience catching mambas, cobras and other big snakes in the bush. I was thrown in to the deep end when I worked in the bush but it was a good way to learn quickly.

When keeping venomous snakes you must know your own abilities. Don't take on something you can not handle.
But welcome to the forum and I hope you will enjoy your stay.

[NickFT]

Thanks you for the reply Whitelip and yes I will enjoy this forum very much.

My passion has and always will be snakes, I have kept them for almost 9 years if not more, i have tried my utmost to learn as much as I can, I dont know exactly what books I should get to study from, to get all the knowledge i need to keep indigenous Venonous snakes, but I have a fair knowledge of them. Thank you for the advice and I will take everything into concideration. I will not take on something until I know that I can handle it. Like i Said i really do want to get involved as much as i can in the indigenous Venomous side. I think South Africa is Home to some of the most beautiful and interesting Venomous snakes in the world, which is one of the very few things i love about this country.

[CLSmith]

Also have a look in doing the husbandry course from Bushviper & Bushbaby.

And invest in some shift-box cages. (It basically is a cage with a removable closed hide-box that can be taken from the cage when the snake is inside, thus, handling is eliminated when maintaining the cage.)

And to be on the safe side, have a well prepared snakebite protocol in place.

[NickFT]

Hi CLSmith

Are Bushviper & Bushbaby people on the forum, or is it a place??

Thanks for the advice

[Whitelipp]

Yes they are on the forum, I am sure you will read of them soon.

[Bernice]

BV and BB (Bushviper and Bushbaby) are people on this forum

BV is the chairman of the Trannsvaal herpetological association (THA) and he and BB give handling courses every so often... you can PM them for more info of up coming courses, or check the 'Courses' threads for updates.

[NickFT]

OH thank you Bernice Much Appreciated:)

Is it a similar handling coarse to what mike perry offers??

[Eyelash]

Welcome Nick...
I kept non-venomous snakes for about 8years before I started getting into Highly venomous...
Get yourself a very agro rat snake and practice handling it haha...It works haha...
Good luck bud and hope you njoy SAreptiles...

[NickFT]

Ha ha, have had a few very agro Yellow Anacondas, that used to molest my fingers, but nothing i couldnt handle, i have handled one or two Night adders on hikes, but they very slow and lazy like the Puffie, maybe i should start with Copperheads and tree vipers, and get used to them and work my way up from there

[TonyK]

very slow and lazy like the Puffie

Do not be fooled Puff Adders can stike like lightning when they feel like it.

[NickFT]

Yea i know that, but if they not interested they are generally lazy.

[mgiddings]

I suggest maybe speaking to the people on this site who do keep highly venomous animals and have done so for a while. Get their opinions and ask them questions. I do not want to mention any names as I do not know if they want me to just post, but hopefully some of them will come to you, and you will pick them up over time on the forum.

Try to get your hands on some really agressive animals, rat snakes, mole snakes, and some others can be good practice. When dealing with venomous you have to be prepared for the day the animal goes absolutely crazy, not just a normal day. I enjoy the challenge of working with aggresive animals, just try work with a big variety of crazy snakes

I do not keep venomous so this is just information I have gathered by talking to various venomous keepers and posts on this forum. This forum is very helpfull for advice.

I have attended Bushviper and Bushbabys course and can definately recommend it, money well spent.

[NickFT]

Thats the main reason for me Joining this Forum is to learn and listen to what proffesionals have to say, and to ask questions and hopefully not annoy anyone with my ignorance and inexperience with venomous Snakes, so yea i need all the advice and information that i can get and hopefully those experts will approach me and teach me so that i can become an expert in my interest.,