Snake Hooks

[longqi]

Just curious about what size snake hooks are most commonly used now
We actually dont own any
But a friend has just opened a reptile shop in Jakarta and that has to be the biggest bit of iron mongery Ive ever seen for using on snakes
Yes those racks? do continue for a long way and that is only a small section of the shop

 

[guzzo]

Looks like something the Grim Reaper should be holding!!

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

hooks are a mostly a crutch for the weak lol

 

[K3nny]

reptile shop in jkt? would you mind pm-ing me the address? might take a peek if i go back during holidays

 

[Jay84]

But what size snakes are they going to be handling?? I can imagine a huge burmese or retic would need a pretty heavy duty hook?!?!?!??!

 

[DanN]

Hi Longqi,

The "shop" looks pretty established to me. Any idea when it was opened?

 

[SamNabz]

Haven't used a hook in years but I've got one that I made for my larger carpets.

P.S those racks in the first pic look like milk crates with lids and a viewing window

 

[Torah]

I cant believe they actually sell THAT many reptiles in indo ! WOW !

 

[longqi]

Indo is big on reptiles now and will be HUGE within ten years
So many new groups/clubs/shops starting up its almost unbelievable

Far too many exotics of all descriptions from corns snakes to anacondas and rattlesnakes etc etc etc
I still cannot understand why they let so many venomous into a country where any that escape will breed like crazy??
They even have Madagaskan Lemurs for sale at one shop in Surabaya
But also so really good hobby breeders of local stuff
Captive bred sugar gliders and cuscus will be the next big one I think as there are several who already have albinos of both species

Still far too much wild caught but even that is slowly changing
Reptile Export will slowly drop here over the next few years unless they come up with something special so lots of work going on with many different things including some of the best lavender retics Ive ever seen
Every nice wild caught retic was exported until recently but that has really changed in just the past three years with lots of locals paying good money for quality animals to keep them in Indonesia
Geckos or Tokay are HUGE here and their morphs equal anything Ive seen on trips to the USA
Every market in every town sells meal worms and crickets so that will give you some idea of the small lizard hobbyists
I couldnt hazard a guess at the varieties of tortoise and turtle being produced [google sulcata one day] but that market and the one for frogs is booming
There is one they call pacman that is really cute [if you are into frogs]
Even several varieties of Poison Arrow frogs from South America are advertised here pretty regularly along with caimans, piranhas etc etc
Chameleons and Iguanas are very popular here and there are Iguanas running and breeding wild in several areas of Java

Indonesia is at the same stage Australia was 20 years ago [except for the exotics] but the whole perceptions of reptiles as pets here is simply exploding at an expotential rate mainly because of the internet
Ten years ago you said Ular [snake] in public and people ran away screaming
Much different now with reptile contests/exhibitions a very regular event
More and more women getting pretty heavily involved too and that is a huge leap forward
More and more schools are letting in enthusiasts to teach the kids how wonderful reptiles are

Reptile rescue and relocation was unheard of here until recently but now there is a group in most areas
Most of the Export farms are owned by foreigners who have no interest in selling to the locals so the locals are filling that gap in ever increasing numbers and with a pretty good success rate

Because of the location/climate virtually anything can be bred here fairly easily hopefully including Boelins
[one of Earths most endangered reptile species and yet PNG still lets them be taken from the wild???]

One major stumbling block just now is the lack of reliable medical supplies for reptiles/animals
I asked my vet why he gasses everything he needs to put down instead of using barbiturates and his reply was
"Cant waste barbiturates on animals"
With the huge population base here the potential is unbelievable and the best part is that it is local enthusiasts who are developing the market here

Dan Just spoke to Henri
His shop is in Kalapagadang [sic] near Mall Of Indonesia and two other reptile shops
He also told me that photo is at reptile museum/park in Jakarta where they just had some big meeting
[cant trust what he sent me on facebook]

Kenny will send you the addresses when I find their cards
Only have phone numbers now but the three best all have reptile farms outside Jakarta and do their selling in Jak or Export
Two of those are in Kalapagadang about 25minutes from central Jak
One has the best caramel retics anywhere but he also does export so prices are high
The other good one is on the other side of Jak
But the best place to find things that are out of the normal is still the various markets outside Jakarta

 

[K3nny]

yep cheers man

shame the reptile hobby wasn't like this abt 3 yrs ago, had to resell all my babies to the original seller at like half the price, and doubt she kept em at good condition especially my red eared sliders which sell for a buck each.

bearded dragons sold for 4 million each (thats in Rp, abt $400 give or take)
Kelapa Gading? thats up north Jakarta, warning tho traffics insane, even by Indonesian standards, once stayed on the road 4 hrs to get there

used to get mine from one of those bird markets in south Jakarta
they buldozed the fish section but the bird (and reptile) part is still standing i believe

the wildlife trade is largely unregulated, apparently officials there have better things to do
i've seen slow lorises being sold in the open in front of a supermarket, some sort of falcon in a small canary cage that they covered with newspaper, presumably to hide it or to prevent it from getting spooked, i could go on...

although with the hobby expanding there is some awareness being spread
i've been in forums with guys taking pride in keeping sustainable local reps like candoias and croc skinks

at the other end of the spectrum comes along a guy keeping an white-lipped pit viper...

 

[jacks-pythons]

thats massive. they have to be big snakes for sure. other wise he's missing his black robe

 

[longqi]

Kenny Beardies are now around $100 for pretty good ones
Lots of coloured ones here I have seen in Aus
I dont keep any at the display because the snakes would love them to death
Really nice baby green iguanas about $20 each.... reds and blues higher
Chameleons get big dollars when you can find them
Retic about 3metres normal colour about $30 Tiger $150+ Albino or caramel etc $300+
Burmese much the same but they are protected now
Chondros without papers from $25 to $60
With papers Dont even ask Cost me a bloody fortune to set this up as I got papers for every chondro
Local snakes are cheap as chips and some are exquisite, google sunbeam snake some time
Makes a water python or slatey grey look like an unpolished boot [and I love waters and slateys]
Comb Forest Dragons about $5 bit like a Boyds but not easy to keep
We had two here but they freaked out totally with the snakes so had to give then away
Albino Cobras $55
Varanus salvatori etc etc $25+
Got a 2metre jet black Ptyas Koros from a restaurant here for $5
It was in with their eating snakes and they thought it was venomous [so did I but it was irresistible]

I just spelt it by the sound so you most are certainly correct about KG
usually just jump a cab from the airport or mates pick me up

Really good little fish market in Jakarta now near that expensive suburb where the old houses are.... Mentang??
Best looking red arawana Ive ever seen there
BKSDA has been cracking down a bit more on wild caught so its all looking promising for the future

 

[Inkage]

I think I'm living in the wrong country.

 

[sookie]

Me too Inkage,me too.as many will say upon reading this thread.How hard is it to move and live in bali or indo?

 

[K3nny]

i'd say living is relatively easy, cost of living is pretty low there anyway
i'd be more wary abt bali tho, it's unspoken rule that bule's (that means caucasians) get charged more for almost anything in the markets cz its assumed they're loaded. Even an aussie born indo friend of mine got charged abit more while haggling cz of his accent
setting up your business is relatively easy, maintaining it is another story
i'm sure longqi could tell you more

i personally like it here more cz i welcome a more organized system in general if you know what i mean
altho i do miss the variety and ease quite abit
iguanas used to go for like $2.50 for youngens since they were quite popular awhile back (i.e. everyone kept em, bred em, sold em, you know the story...)
never knew chondros needed papers

oh and theres also a street called barito which is the birdmarket i usually go to, thats in South jakarta (providing it's still standing)
another place is pasar ikan kartini which sells fish n turtles, saw an awesome mata mata not too long ago there

 

[longqi]

Basically its an awesome place to live
[unless you love fishing like I do; because close to Bali the fishing is lousy, but some of the diving and fishing in Papua is awesome]
But working here is a totally different matter
I came here to retire and finish a little project I was working on
The reptile display just came about because I knew a young lady who needed a job so I set it up
Several people from on here have met her and I bet none of them realised that 6 months ago she was terrified of snakes

Getting a working visa or Kitas is no easy matter and it takes a while to get it unless you are being sponsored
by a fairly large pre-existing business ie teachers have no problem because the schools arrange everything
It takes a while for the locals to accept you but after they do you are one of their family
I only stay in Bali because thats where all the tourists go and tourists are where the money is
Balikpapan, Palankaraya Manado or the area around those will be where we settle eventually

You dont come here to make money
You really come here to enjoy a very peaceful life
Health care system =zero
Welfare system=Zero
Really beautiful people inside and out = countless
Wildlife awareness = still bad but improving every day

Chondros are totally protected here now and that has caused a few problems because thousands of them are owned by Indonesian hobbyists
Some of these hobbyists are now breeding beautiful animals that are still classified as illegal because their original stock was never papered
The big breeders all do only export and refuse to sell to locals because they are scared they will also go into export and cut into their profits
So to get 'legal' chondros; ie those with papers from the government, is extremely difficult, but can be done if you are very very patient
Took me about 3 years of begging to arrange mine
My aim now is to finalise getting my breeders licence and release a swag of 'legal' chondros to the local guys
That way eventually chondros will be able to resume their position as a top of the line reptile here
Burmese are also protected but several breeders can provide papers now for them
No-one really needs a licence to just 'keep' reptiles of any description but if you want to officially breed its a whole new ball game

So if you have a little nest egg put away to support you I think its a great spot

 

[pythonmum]

Interesting stuff - thanks for posting. I've seen one of the pacman frogs in a US petshop and they are really adorable. I can imagine using that hook on a big retic - especially if that fellow is slight in stature as many from that region tend to be... After all, your local medical help is going to be dodgy if you end up with a bad infection from retained teeth or a septic bite. I won't even speculate about what happens if a ven tags you.

 

[chewbacca]

Smoking in his "shop" nice health regulations over there

 

[longqi]

I have a mate in Solo Java who has gaboon vipers
Zero anti-venine for them
same with rattlesnakes etc
Supposed to be a guy in Medan who has black Mambas

But most hospitals have limited amounts of anti- venine in stock
Biggest problem is identifying the snake because there is a huge mix of different venoms here
Doctors are actually pretty good by most standards but have a limited range of most of the stronger medicines
Betadine is a magic cure all it seems
In the rural area you just fix yourself up
My girlfriend had to stitch me up in Kalimantan because she didnt know the area and refused to try and find a local doctor
because of tribal problems between her clan and theirs
I totally NEVER want to get stitched again without anti hurting type stuff

 

[pythonmum]

I totally NEVER want to get stitched again without anti hurting type stuff

LOL. Most field biologists I know carry a medical kit with lidocaine (anti hurting type stuff), sterile sutures, needle holders and (of course) lots of Betadine. Perhaps you should invest in the same! Actually, the folks I know would be capable of performing basic surgery on themselves or their travel partners and carry the corresponding drugs/equipment if somewhere remote enough (helicopter drops in Greenland, etc.). Not suggesting that you do that, but lidocaine and a suture kit is a good investment.