Handling Venomous Snakes, What's Your Opinion?

[waruikazi]

Do you work with or keep elapids?

It's like why people base jump,for the rush,to show off...mine's bigger than yours sort of thing.I love all snakes,but i would never ever want to handle a venomous animal.Really,if it's not essential, what's the point?Have you 'free handler's' ever seen the damage done by a serious envenomation?Even if you survive,some people suffer the side effects for years...nothing is worth that.I know of a young fella who was bitten by a brown snake and the venom went directly into his blood stream.Within a minute he was bleeding out of every orifice..every orifice.Now that's not cool.He was very lucky to survive and suffered permanent organ damage.
We should respect these animals... from a safe distance!I think anyone who handles one should thoroughly research the consequences of any bite,a RBB tag to the testicles would certainly leave you feeling less of a man!!!Dropsy..

Rod

 

[snakehandler]

Did anyone see snake night last thursday night? One of the states in America require 1000 hours experience with an elapid keeper before they can get a permit!!
Doing a course will start you on a very long journey of discovery, no one action will make you an expert!

 

[waruikazi]

I dunno, i distinctly remember the moment i became a competent relocator via hook and tail.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Sorry Dan the man but its attitudes like yours that give our hobby a bad name.
Bites and the usual media that follows aren't good for us elapid keepers.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

Doing what you like in your own home might sound okay but if it reckless actions in a private capacity has public consequenses (as serious snake bites do) , then I don't think that is okay at all.
Many people out there in the community do not want private citizens keeping venomous reptiles as pets. Responsibale behaviour by us
is a good argument. Most old fool keepers (yes like my self) have done crazy things with venomous snakes, but free handling dangerous snakes is unnecessary.

 

[Elapidae1]

Is the average age in this thread 19?

What does that matter? you only have 141 posts to your name and therefore mustn't have the experience to warrant a valid comment.

I dunno, i distinctly remember the moment i became a competent relocator via hook and tail.

I'd be interested to hear you elaborate further on this.

Exactly Dave and further more to display it and encourage it on a forum that regurlarly has people as young as 10 is just outright irresponsible. kids can't learn from their mistakes if they're dead

 

[byron_moses]

jump in and grab it by your teeth dont be such a sook. whats the worst that could happen

 

[najanaja]

jump in and grab it by your teeth dont be such a sook. whats the worst that could happen

yeah mate,,, they have anti-venon these days...
if no one gets bitten all those smart scientists will be out of a job...

so do something for the Aussie economy..
get bitten by a elapid..

 

[DanTheMan]

Exactly Dave and further more to display it and encourage it on a forum that regurlarly has people as young as 10 is just outright irresponsible. kids can't learn from their mistakes if they're dead

I'm not here to set an example and babysit others kids.

 

[Waterrat]

what actually constitutes irresponsible handling of venomous snakes? Is it tailing adders? Using your hands anywhere on the snake except it's tail/cloaca? Head restraining? Letting the snakes head touch your skin?... Where is the line drawn?

There is no line or categories. Common sense and experience are the key factors. I have met many herpers in my life who got bitten once, twice, several times, some are even proud of it. John McLaughlin used to milk elapids all his life and never been tagged, not once. He must have been doing something right and that's what inspires me.

 

[Elapidae1]

I'm not here to set an example and babysit others kids.

As Adults in any community it is our responsibility to set an example.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Yes and his example is the way HE does it.
Everyone is different in the way they keep reptiles venomous and non venomous

 

[timantula]

Did anyone see snake night last thursday night? One of the states in America require 1000 hours experience with an elapid keeper before they can get a permit!!
Doing a course will start you on a very long journey of discovery, no one action will make you an expert!

yes i watched it, and i think that one of americas better laws.... by the way ill be booking myself in for a ven handling course before the years out....

 

[Elapidae1]

Yes and his example is the way HE does it.
Everyone is different in the way they keep reptiles venomous and non venomous

Sorry, maybe I should edit my post to read. As adults in any community it is our responsibilty to try and set a "GOOD" example.

 

[waruikazi]

I'd be interested to hear you elaborate further on this.

I wasn't taught to hook and tail with elapids, only pythons colubrids and i didn't like the method i was taught. With elapids i was taught jigger and tongs which i didn't like either but wasn't confident to do anything else.

I ended up in a situation where i couldn't use tongs on a 4.5ft brown and had to tail it. Never looked back since.

 

[Elapidae1]

LOL I use tongs on occasion but my very first relocation was in an open gravelly area and the snake was really moving out, tailing was the only real option, tongs were getting caught on gravel and just generaly clumsy combined with not wanting to injure the snake. I'll be using a hoop bag this year.

 

[D3pro]

Here's my opinion

Haha... awesome... and now to go and try it myself

 

[DanTheMan]

Sorry, maybe I should edit my post to read. As adults in any community it is our responsibilty to try and set a "GOOD" example.

Like the demonstrators you see free handling Taipans in their shows? Like the documentaries on TV that show people picking up snakes in the bush? Like the role models on tv doing drugs, speeding around in cars?

Where does it end? There's a lot worse out there, I'm sure they'll be just fine.

 

[Elapidae1]

Nobodys perfect but it shouldn't be a reason to use other peoples actions to excuse your own.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Where does it end? There's a lot worse out there, I'm sure they'll be just fine.

Where does it begin? For me and many of my close friends (and probably many other herpers on here, if they're honest) it began as kids roaming the paddocks at every opportunity, collecting and experiencing the only snakes we had available to us at the time (in Southern NSW) which happened to be larger elapid species. For many of us, this lead to greater appreciation of all things reptile, their habitats and the environment in general. I'd rather that then the latest computer game, flat screen TV or fastest wheels anyday! JMO, by the way!!