Haindling vens

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how old should you be to hold a ven???

  • 7-9

    Votes: 9 10.0%
  • 10-13

    Votes: 4 4.4%
  • 13-15

    Votes: 12 13.3%
  • 15-17

    Votes: 65 72.2%

  • Total voters
    90
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could be a good way of getting rid of painfull kids. but serious i think it should be left to experienced people, and i dont see how a child could have that experience.
 
could be a good way of getting rid of painfull kids. but serious i think it should be left to experienced people, and i dont see how a child could have that experience.

could you explain how the "experienced people" became experienced in the first place
 
[could you explain how the "experienced people" became experienced in the first place TE][/QUOTE]

Easy, they take a two day course when you are in your twenties and you are an expert, problem solved, no more bites to careless handlers. NOT!
 
Yes, i started young.
Also i was holding and getting tagged by vens at a young age..Once, when i was about 9 or 10, i was bitten by a juvy copperhead which probably wouldnt have affected an adult but it sent me into a delerium of hot and cold sweat and hallucination.
My mum and dad thought i had the asian flue or something and i never did tell them i was bitten.
The first of many experiences with local vens.
But i reckon, from a legal point of view,nowa days,political correctness and all, kids gotta be 18, same as drinking ect.
 
could you explain how the "experienced people" became experienced in the first place
hopefully when they were adults taught by other adults that were taught by other adults. there maybe a child than can handle these snakes, but its known that most kids dont have long spans of concentration to focus 100% on the objective. having kids handling venomous snakes is asking for more accidents. (my opinion) do you really want australia to follow the ways of canada where they are trying to bring in the banning of keeping pythons over 3m and venomous snakes?
 
When i was a kid my span of attention was nill...except when animals were invovled, then there was nothing else.I could spend hours and hours in a woodpile,or the rough of a golf course,, catching and studying/observing bugs or insects or reptiles and frogs.
A lot different to being at school and being told you have the attention span of a gnat
 
Ssssnakeman, thats gold! But if you were unable to develop your technique and skills then where would you be today?
 
I probably wouldnt have the drool problem, and the tick..and the incontinence, nah i dont have two of those.
Anyway, your taking more chance with your kids life when you let them go to a nightclub, put them on a horse or push them into some sort of full contact sport.
 
Too true. Although the do gooders out there seem to think that the age factor is a right of passage. I can't wait until my kids are that little bit older (all currently under 10) so I can give them the hands on with elapids in an informed responsible way. A hell of a lot safer than a lot of the other activities they will want pursue later in life.
 
Just for those of you who are saying 18+, I was actually employed as a venomous snake handler at 17, and I know of others who have been employed at 16.

The only reason we restrict spots in our courses to 18+ is for legal and insurance reasons. That's not to say I'd accept any underage kid who wanted to participate - it would definitely be on a case by case scenario, but it'll never happen so it doesn't matter :)
 
Kath have to say ,I have held my bag after letting a brown go that I knew bit into my bag as I watched it do it ,and nothing happened to me from holding it afterwards ...:)
 
Cockney,

I thought that would be obvious......people who actually keep or have kept would have a better idea of what elapids do than "observers".

Haing said that there people whom handle venomous snakes as part of their employment, that do not keep them, and by all means that is fine, but I suspect that on APS that is an absolute rarity.

As for people going for a herp in the scrub and not working with captive examples.....well they only know one side of snakes at hand...and generally that is the more defensive side.

The differences between wild snakes vs captive specimens is apparent, their behavoir is different and this can make them either more dangerous or less dangerous, the venom stays the same.

The handling of snakes is a risk, the amount of liberties taken can either increase or decrease the risk of being bitten, as factors such as the handler, snake, temperature etc

Scott
 
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And in all honesty to everyone ..who ever owns any type of snake ,regardless of ven or not ...
In the eyes of a snake hater" YOU ALL ARE MAD,AND IRRESPONSIBLE FOR ALLOWING YOUR CHILDREN TO HANDLE YOUR SNAKES ..."
 
While it's true that an elapid handler would have a better idea of what an elapid would do; logic dictates that having intensive first hand experience of a particular action is not necessary in order to understand enough of the consequences of that action to form an opinion of it's safety. I don't take recreational drugs, but I know enough to know it has the potential to kill. I don't drive at ridiculous speed; however, I'm cognisant of the danger of doing so. I don't handle elapids at all, and never will; however, I've seen enough and understand enough of the process to be able to form an opinion of the wisdom of letting my kids do so at an early age. I don't doubt for a second that there are people out there who judge without even giving it a second's thought. That being said, I'd be wary about casting any doubt on the opinion of every person who has formed a negative opinion of early elapid handling based solely on the fact they haven't done it themselves.
 
I think it really depends on how mature the person is. I think 15+, but only if they are supervised by an experienced adult.
 
The only reason we restrict spots in our courses to 18+ is for legal and insurance reasons.

exacty, and for this exact reason IMHO it is ill advised for anyone to recommend any different on a public forum ;)

I can just see some underage kid getting tagged ... "but the forum crowd said it would be fine!", or parents being prosecuted for recklessly endangering their kids by letting them handle vens.

handle them when you are old enough to be legally responsible for your own actions ppl
 
I also feel no matter how 'experienced' the ven handler is, they cannot full predict what a ven may or may not do. It would only take a flash of a second to strike out. That is why I reckon older as they are in control of what dangers they CHOOSE to put themselves in.
 
Well if thats the case ...what about those irresponsible parents(I am one of those irresponsible parents) that let their kids horses, ride motor bikes,ride surfboards in the sea etc ....this world is becoming so bloody "cottonwooled" ..everyone is either worried about being sued or trying to sue...
just because they are 18 doesnt mean they are intelligent and comprehend...
Like I said before if depends on the individual and the life style that child has grown up in ..
Look at the Irwin kids of both generations ,I am sure Bob would have got alot of comments about letting his son(Steve) at the age of nine take on crocs,but to them it was a normality..
I have seen kids as young as 3 years of age out cattle mustering with their parents(riding thier own horse!)
whilst their suburbia age group(3) would be plonked in front of the TV being baby sat by a wiggles DVD
You have the right to your opinions but you dont have the right to condem ,cause at one stage or another somebody will have a go at your parenting abilities because you may not have followed the rules...
 
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