Future elapid keepers.

[cris]

I would like to keep some adders but im not really too keen on keeping the active deadly species. I would reccomend keeping something like a common tree snake before getting any of the fast deadly species, as said above these snakes can basically jump and move very quick if they want.

Also there arnt really that many keepers around who havnt been bitten from what i can tell. Ppl make mistakes and getting biten by a deadly elapid is something you may suffer from for the rest of your life(which may well end up much shorter).

 

[m.punja]

I agree with the other posts. Adder's are in a league of their own. No other snake will help you get enough experience to keep them. I've found the adders to be the easiest elapid to keep and I would recomend that anyone who wants one to get one SO LONG as they respect the snake. Never sticking anything in the enclosure until you have located the snake. Never play around in the enclosure unless the snake is out. (no circumstances). Small rules like that. Mistakes can happen very easily with Adders. I know plenty of times I've thought, nah, it's not going to bite me. Lucky I snap out of it and take the snake out of the enclosure before changing the water. Its just so much easier to say that about the adders then the other elapids. I got RBBS and tigers as my firsts. Since I've found them both to be easy to care for. Tigers seem really smart and settle easily.

I have also gotten a few good size RBBS to breed for the market and future elapid keepers. They seem to be the most liked.

 

[notechistiger]

How exactly does someone get a venomous snake licence in QLD? Is there a specific age someone has to be? I'm interested in getting some RBBS, tigers and maybe an inland taipan.

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

The courses coming up will cover all aspects of correct tailing methods husbandry etc. Handling most elapid species is quite easy when taught how to. (excluding one persons coastal that likes to hit ceilings....)! Once the course is completed references are given which will allow you to apply for a Resricted licence.

 

[notechistiger]

Is there an age limit?

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

18yrs old is the minimum.

 

[m.punja]

that tiger in your avatar is awsome great pic

 

[Chimera]

If you only plan to keep Adders, then go ahead and start with an Adder. But if you plan to keep other types, Adders are useless as a first Elapid. The reason is, Adders wont teach you a thing about how to handle/keep the other type of Elapids. You could have kept dozens of Adders for years, and it wont help one bit when your new Brown or Taipan jumps out of it's box. At least with a RBBS, you'll learn and improve as a handler. JMO.

HA, thats the reason why I was keen on Adders. The simple rules that Punja layed out are enough. So long as you don't get complacent I think adders would be a safer ven then some others.

From what I've heard though, nothing can prepare you for a brown or a taipan jumping out of it's box

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

I seemed to have turned this into a "what should you keep" thread. My initial thought behind this thread was to find out how many new to be keepers will be interested in RBBS newborns. As they can be time consuming to get started as babies, I was curious to find out whether I should pair multiple animals. Adders seem to be the trend of choice for the moment....

 

[arbok]

when im 18 and leave home i hope to get a rbbs, i would love a king brown but a member on this forum opened up my eyes to the fact that its not so much myself being scared of getting bitten, but the stress it would put on my family if i did...

if i dont get elapids ill end up getting midly venomous snakes like whip snakes etc

 

[arbok]

den im all for rbbs's i think it would be smart to pair multiples because i never see them for sale...

there my number one choice of elapid

just curious though den, do keepers keep antivenom aswell?

 

[Australis]

if i dont get elapids ill end up getting midly venomous snakes like whip snakes etc

Whip Snakes (Demansia sp) are still very much elapids.

 

[arbok]

Whip Snakes (Demansia sp) are still very much elapids.

really?, so there front fanged?

but i have heard there venom cant kill

 

[Den from Den Pythons]

Not at all. Antivenom is only given if warranted and only after intense observations by hospital staff.

More experienced people may be able to comment further on this subject. I can only comment on the effects of snake bite through here say and observation. In short though, keepers do not keep antivenom.

Den

 

[Jozz]

really?, so there front fanged?

but i have heard there venom cant kill

Someone was killed by a whip snake last year in Victoria

 

[Jozz]

Yes, they are front fanged

 

[arbok]

Someone was killed by a whip snake last year in Victoria

!!!

alergic reaction?

 

[PilbaraPythons]

A friend of mine was describing his bite from a small desert death adder.
He nearly died and woke up in hospital with blood coming out of nearly every orifice.
I never got to ask him if this included his butt hole, what a horrible thought.

 

[Jozz]

I think it was injected directly into an artery? Not exactly sure.

 

[Dodie]

I want to start keeping elapids within the next few years, would like to do the husbandry course but I have to buy a place of my own before I can do it! Species of interest at the moment are: Colletts, Rbbs, Mulga's and Adders

There has been a death from a whip snake arbok, correct me if I'm wrong someone but I think it was from a anaphylatic (sp?) reaction?