Choosing the path to Elapids

[mickousley]

i am with Ninapeas

 

[Rep-Style]

hey guys im thinkin about getting into vens...im interested in whip snakes, white lipped snakes and mitchell's short tailed snakes do any of these exist in captivity because i hav not seen any of them for sale at all

 

[Guest]

Hugsta wrote: You can also join your local wildlife rescue organistaion such as Sydney Wildlife or WIRES. Once you have been in those organisations for a while you can do the snake handling course when it comes up, this will allow you to do venomous reptile rescues along with every other type of reptile in the Sydney region. Peterrescue may be able to point in the direction Sydney Wildlife. You will get an untold amount of experience with wild animals and you will certainly learn to respect them.

I agree with Hugsta here... Just because someone can handle pythons without being bitten does'nt necessarily mean they will be able to do the same with vens. As PeterRescue says.. vens can strike several times in succession and can kill...

An issue that has not been raised is also that some people have an allergic reaction to venom or can have an allergic reaction to the anti-venom and go into anaphylactic shock, which can cause firther complications. Im no expert in regard to this situation, maybe someone that has more experience could elaborate further, but the bottom line is venomous snakes really need to be respected.

As a first snake, in my opinion, I don't think vens are suitable, and personally feel that someone should (at least) be able to handle a feisty python without problems or getting bitten, before they contemplate owning any venomous reptiles and then do an appropriate vens handling course.

 

[soulweaver]

KRIS- inland taipan is now up to 13, i know the guy who got hit, yes he was a private guy, but he still got hit, but he was the first to go back to work the next day!!

 

[Kersten]

I'd heard about that last one in vague terms, but I wasn't sure if it was true or not.

Cheers, Kris.

Work the next day? :shock:

 

[soulweaver]

It is very vague as he doesn't want the details to be given out.

He isn't proud of the fact, and it was something so simple, but he had to hide it well at the time.
He got the pressure bandage on within two minutes but was messed up by the time he reached the hospital.

was given 15000 units of anti-venom, then went back to work the next day. I saw him a few days after this all happen, and he was still looking pretty crook, his worst fear at this time was the serum sickness he would get from the anti-venom.

but still he is the first to get biten by the inland taipan and go back to work the next day. A fair achievement, and i admire the fact he wants it kept quiet. Goes to show that he knew he stuffed up and it is nothing to be proud of, like some people seem to think, getting tagged is a good event.

he also said that the bite wasn't from aggression, he caught one of its fangs as it was being bagged, but when he saw a bit of blood on his thumb, he knew he was in trouble.

 

[NinaPeas]

i am with Ninapeas

Well thanks haha!

What I meant by my comment was (just to clarify):

If you want to buy a python, you don't (hopefully) just rush out and buy one, You do research, find out what their temperament is like, maybe even hold a couple to see how its done properly.

The same goes for vens. You obviously need to put a lot more research and time into how to house/feed them, and if the need arises, how to handle them (with a hook etc).

That's what I meant by they are no different from a python (obviously the actual snake is different) but the research behind them and finding out about handling is the same.

If you want to hold your ven with your bare hands, then go for it, it's your decision. It's just an opinion, just like whether or not you should handle your pythons!

Hope that clears it up slightly! :lol:

 

[soulweaver]

nah i am still confused, can you please try again, start at the beggining, that will be fine j/k

 

[NinaPeas]

hahaha too bad lol!

I think I just confuse myself more and more!

So is any of this helping Adam!!?

 

[soulweaver]

so let me get this right nina, you take the pie out of the bag before you put it in the microwave? lol

 

[MannyM]

If you don't know how to handle a python, you will get bitten. If you don't know how to handle a ven, you will get bitten.

(obviously with worse consequences!)

My point exactly, because on the odd chance that you do get bitten the consequences are more dire than say just a mildly gnarled hand. Which is why I don't get the love for elapids.

 

[NinaPeas]

so let me get this right nina, you take the pie out of the bag before you put it in the microwave? lol

You don't have to with some brands lol! :lol:

 

[soulweaver]

ahh i understand now grasshopper is this the same for pizza pockets?

as for elapids, pythons are capable of killing you as well, yes the chance isn't has high, but any wild animal can do damage, it all comes down to respect.

 

[NinaPeas]

I wouldn't want to mess with a 10ft+ scrubby!

 

[soulweaver]

why not? there like little pussy cats

 

[MrBredli]

That's understandable, you are what you eat, as they say.. :wink:

 

[soulweaver]

i know a guy who has one, has had it for 15yrs plus. When it was growing it was a pain in the backside, but once it got to adult size, it became a pussy cat.

 

[MannyM]

ahh i understand now grasshopper is this the same for pizza pockets?

as for elapids, pythons are capable of killing you as well, yes the chance isn't has high, but any wild animal can do damage, it all comes down to respect.

We're comparing a bite from a python to a bite from an elapid now?

 

[Kersten]

I think perhaps that it refers to the fact that a python could sever a vein with a bite, strangle a person (even a children's python is capable of doing damage and they're considered "small and harmless". Kris has had his hands and arms opened up a couple of times times over the years by larger pythons, and bled heavily from it. Imagine a bite across the neck from a large python who moved their head in just the right way....you could sever your jugular. Yes it's extreme....but it's possible. Dead is dead, whether my envenomation or constriction or blood loss.

 

[soulweaver]

if a elapid bites you, everyone here assumes that its the venom that will kill you, what about the infection from the snakes mouth from the type of prey it eats? this is espically the case with wild snakes.

these dieseases that are carried in the mouth can be carried in both pythons and elapids. The prime example of this is the human mouth, taking away venom, it is the deadlist bite in the world.

Last year a guy died killed by his scrubbie? now is this snake to big a python so we should ban them along side elapids and only be allowed to keep children's pythons?

there is people on this site that can say they have had problems even with the little species, like kersten just said.

at the end of the day it comes down to care and respect. Take care with what you are dealing with, regardless of elapid or python, and respect what you are dealing with, in the sense that you can be hurt, injured or killed.