Venomous snakes

[user 16446]

I got an NT water python that one day hopes to be venomous.

 

[craig.a.c]

I got an NT water python that one day hopes to be venomous.

My BHP is the same. He has taste for human blood and loves it. He is the only snake in my collection that I don't trust.

 

[kensai]

Water pythons just want to kill the world one person at a time.
I agree you cannot trust elapids, you also cannot trust complacency, a friend of mine nearly got taged by his inland taipan, because he got complacent.

 

[itbites]

Here's the thing...
I think elapids are stunning just like all other reptiles etc..

But if you can't ever handle it
& you have a chance of being bitten/seriously ill if you do
why other than the "adrenaline rush"
would people want to keep them as "pets"

Is it really a good idea to be keeping venomous critters in our homes?

 

[user 16446]

Water pythons just want to kill the world one person at a time.

ROFL, I love it.

And I have two of them I want to breed!!

 

[ShaneBlack]

Here's the thing...
I think elapids are stunning just like all other reptiles etc..

But if you can't ever handle it
& you have a chance of being bitten/seriously ill if you do
why other than the "adrenaline rush"
would people want to keep them as "pets"

Is it really a good idea to be keeping venomous critters in our homes?

I have to disagree with you there. All elapids can be handled, it just depends on how you handle them as to the degree of risk from being bitten. A fair few elapid keepers/handlers go their whole life without being bitten. It's not a certainty, just a possibility.

I dont get any sort of adrenalin rush from handling elapids. As to it being a good idea on keeping them in our homes....Some people, no, it's not a good idea. But i believe there is a lot bigger chance of your children being mauled or killed by someones pet dog. Wild venomous snakes are crawling through peoples backyards every day all over Australia, yet our hospitals are not full of envenomated people.

As i said earlier, the vast majority of elapid keepers are responsible people.

 

[itbites]

I understand your comments & where you are coming from...

I just have a difference of opinion & I don't think keeping vens is for me.

I prefer to be able to handle my animals when needed with absolutely no

risk/ possibility of envenomation.

I'll admire them in the wild from afar

 

[ShaneBlack]

I understand your comments & where you are coming from...

I just have a difference of opinion & I don't think keeping vens is for me.

I prefer to be able to handle my animals when needed with absolutely no

risk/ possibility of envenomation.

I'll admire them in the wild from afar

Haha.....thats fair enough.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

I think a lot of peoples intepretation of venomous snakes is that they are these nasty, aggressive, flighty animals that have a pitbull attitude to anything human. In reality, they are just another snake, and the vast majority have the same disposition as most quiet pythons. The problem is that most quiet pythons have bitten atleast once in their lives...

 

[-Peter]

I think a lot of peoples intepretation of venomous snakes is that they are these nasty, aggressive, flighty animals that have a pitbull attitude to anything human. In reality, they are just another snake, and the vast majority have the same disposition as most quiet pythons. The problem is that most quiet pythons have bitten atleast once in their lives...

I agree totally with Jonno on this. I always tell people to look upon them as just another animal and most animals will react in some way when nervous. Snakes don't have arms so pushing you away isn't an option.

 

[derekm]

I think a lot of peoples intepretation of venomous snakes is that they are these nasty, aggressive, flighty animals that have a pitbull attitude to anything human. In reality, they are just another snake, and the vast majority have the same disposition as most quiet pythons. The problem is that most quiet pythons have bitten atleast once in their lives...

Just curious. I have seen a number of apparently placid tigers and RBBs, but has anyone kept an Eastern Brown with "the same disposition as most quiet pythons"?

 

[JasonL]

EB and Coastal tai's can be very quite, some stupidly so.... some snakes like tigers and mulgas, whilst may be "quiet" ,will eat anything and it's their food responce you have to watch out for.... they are sort of like a hungry woma...if the arm holding you tastes good, eat it!.

 

[derekm]

EB and Coastal tai's can be very quite, some stupidly so.... some snakes like tigers and mulgas, whilst may be "quiet" ,will eat anything and it's their food responce you have to watch out for.... they are sort of like a hungry woma...if the arm holding you tastes good, eat it!.

Thanks for this info. All of the EBs I have seen (mostly captives in zoos) have either been curled up motionless or moving around in what appeared to be a nervous/flighty manner. I have yet to see one just "cruising" as many pythons do.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day Derek,

Most Eastern Browns are "broken" very easily...we only have two that we can guarantee will be cranky when we open their tub. Most of ours are as quiet as any other captive snake unfortunately.

 

[moosenoose]

But if you can't ever handle it
& you have a chance of being bitten/seriously ill if you do
why other than the "adrenaline rush"
would people want to keep them as "pets"

Ask someone who has fish their reasons for keeping them

"I used to have fish, but with my constant handling they were all dropping dead at an alarming rate!" :lol:

You don't have to handle something to admire it. Nothing better than a tiger in a display tank

 

[Sturdy]

hehe i think with every venomous snake keeper they have atleast once free handled their vens.... Ive done it....but have stoped doing it after a mate got taped by a "pet" tai..... was a lil wake up call that there is a gamble with it and i kind of like my kidneys

 

[cris]

Here's the thing...
I think elapids are stunning just like all other reptiles etc..

But if you can't ever handle it
& you have a chance of being bitten/seriously ill if you do
why other than the "adrenaline rush"
would people want to keep them as "pets"

Is it really a good idea to be keeping venomous critters in our homes?

Reptiles are more like fish type pets, they generally are not social friendly animals like dogs or rats. Elapids are generally much more active and interesting captives compared to pythons, if kept responsibly i think its great that we are allowed to keep them if we want.

 

[mrmikk]

We bought our enclosure from a guy who kept a red bellied black snake and I asked him whether he was scared to hold it. He said the snake was such a good one that he would let his kids (6 and 8yr old) hold it. I thought he was crazy and, because I hadn't spoken to any owners of elapids before him, that's what all snake owners did!

IMO Letting kids handle elapids is just completely irresponsible. All animals, particularly those with the potential to kill you need to be treated with respect. After all it's not like giving the kids a guinea pig to play with.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

hehe i think with every venomous snake keeper they have atleast once free handled their vens.... Ive done it....but have stoped doing it after a mate got taped by a "pet" tai..... was a lil wake up call that there is a gamble with it and i kind of like my kidneys

It's good that you've learnt that after only a few months of keeping elapids - it takes some elapid keepers several years and a couple of hospital trips to get it

 

[voodoo]

I dont know what it is....but for me, i feel more comfortable handling/relocating elapids than pythons. I think elapids are easier to predict what sort of mood their in, and handle appropriatley.
Sometimes on cleaning days, I may have to skip a snake (usually a brown or a taipan) as they are a little to flighty to be handled in a manner safe for both me and the snake. Other days the same animal will be
as docile as a file snake.

Sturdy, yeah I was shocked when I heard the news about him getting bitten by his tai. As it was one I had sold him, It was from my very first clutch I produced.

Jonno, wanna trade a flighty qld brown for one of your placid ones .

Cheers
Dee