# Miscellaneous Herp Interests > Venomous Animals >  Bushmasters

## MedusasOwl

I have *NO* plans or intentions of keeping any venomous snake, lizard, or otherwise, and certainly not one of these babies but I came across the site while researching for a story and thought you guys might find it interesting.

A Bushmaster Breeder

I know he says on there that they have an undeserved reputation but... what a reputation it is!  They're probably the most intimidating snakes I've ever seen.  Big, venomous, with an oddly smug smile.  Like they think your very presence is amusing.  Gotta love how huge the baby's head is though.  All the better to eat you with, my dear?

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## The Cannibal Monkey

Heh...eekk....very cool looking, but man venonmous snakes are SCCAARRRYYY lol

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## Salty

You gotta be crazy to keep hots but boy they are beauituful. I like the eyelash vipers and the goboons too.

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## MedusasOwl

It's like how I love barn owls. I adore them, admire them, but I don't plan to try and keep any as a pet. I think white tigers are cool too, but I'm not taking any home!

My favorite hots are oddballs, but here's a few I consider to be real beauties (Bushmasters are cool, but I'm more  :Surprised:  than  :Love:  where they're concerned, lol)

Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Two-Lined Forest Pitviper
Fonseca's Lancehead
Bothrops Pulcher

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## Shelby

Bushmasters are lovely.. the largest pit viper in the world, and one of south america's most dangerous snakes. I don't plan on owning any hots personally, but I DO plan on owning a reptile zoo which will include many of the most beautiful.  :Smile: 

If you want to see some beautiful hots.. try googling:

bitis parviocula
bitis cornuta
blue coral snake (hard to find good pics of this one)
bothrops alternatus
hairy bush viper
trimeresurus (the whole genus is very cool)
puff adder
rhinoceros viper
russells viper
zhaoermia mangshanensis

Wow, ok I guess I'm in a sharing mood right now.. lol.

Oh, and it's good you don't want a pet barn owl because it's illegal unless you're a licensed falconer, and owls make poor falconry birds at that!  :Wink:

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## tigerlily

Owls are super cool.  They're suprisingly strong and super light weight.  I still thought one was gonna take off with me when I had to hold one during a physical exam.  I even got to give my first shot (vitamin B) to a Great Horned Owl.  It was soooo cool.  Have you ever seen a Saw Whet Owl?  They're the teenyest little things and the picture of adorableness!!   :Love:   But no I don't expect to ever own any of those, which is why I'm always a member of the local zoo.   :Wink:

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## Shelby

Saw whet owls are cute.. I'm a fan of eagle owls myself.

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## RWillinnable

The bushmaster is the only snake I ever saw that Jeff Corwin was afraid to handle.  I have seen him handle all sorts of dangerous snakes from fer-de-lances to African Rock Pythons, but he absolutely said he was not going to tangle with an adult bushmaster.  

Hot snakes are best admired from a distance I believe.

Rachel

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## MedusasOwl

Bushmaster=Uberscary.  I don't blame em!

Shelby, those are all gorgeous but bothrops alternatus specifically completely took my breath away.  Wow!  Just... Wow! It looks like it belongs coiled on a cathedral or something!

And yeah, no owls for me.  I'd love to volunteer at a raptor center someday though.  :Smile:  Barn owls are my fave, but I adore all kinds of owls. Saw whets are adorable, but my second fave has to be burrowing owls. Because they look like adorable tiny feathered mafia hitmen. I even did a random venting photoshop piece using them as minions... lessee where did I put that... Ah! Here it is. If I could have an army of minions, they would be at the top of my list. Although bushmasters would be the smarter super-villain move...

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## lurch

Did you guys see that episode of austin stevens on discovery channel when he was in search of the bushmaster. It was funny, the local indian tribe helped him find one. You should have seen the look on the indians faces when he was trying to pick up the snake.  :Surprised:

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## Shelby

I just remembered that I saw a bushmaster at the reptile zoo last week.. it was hiding under a log, but the part you could see was super pretty.

B. alternatus has one of the most beautiful patterns.. I agree they took my breath away when I first saw them too!

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## MedusasOwl

I'm all kinds of inspired by  B. alternatus, I may have to do some Medusas or Nagas or something with them as a template. /(^v^)\

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## reptile-girl

here's a picture of one:

they look cool

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## Shelby

> I'm all kinds of inspired by  B. alternatus, I may have to do some Medusas or Nagas or something with them as a template. /(^v^)\


If you decide to do that, make sure you show us!

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## MedusasOwl

> If you decide to do that, make sure you show us!


I will!   :Smile:   I have a thumbnail all sketched out, I just have to finish a couple of comic pages before I can get started.

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## ziggy7

Speaking of "hot" snakes...has anyone seen Venom ER???  That show rocks!

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## 4theSNAKElady

Man, I got a story for you......
I've never kept hots,and never will, but I used to live wtih someone who DID. I got an apartment with a friend of mine who was dating a guy who was into venomous snakes - rattlesnakes. He kept prairies,west coast greens, and Myrtle-an eastern diamondback (his fav). After only about two months, we both decided that bills split three ways would be better , so he moved in. However, his mother was not happy about him leaving all those snakes behind, so some went to a friend(who also kept venomous) and the rest moved in with us!!..oh and by the way did I tell you that at the time the west coast green female had recently given birth to 21 babies?!!! Most of the babies moved in with us too. All his snakes were kept in their bedroom.....they had a vision cage as a headboard for their bed. He had to clip the tails off the adults so that no one in the apt. building would hear them. It was kinda cool to see those guys up so close, and I even got to pet a few, but it WAS kinda scary. I kept having visions of waking up with a baby rattlesnake on my pillow.....their room was right next to mine!! Needless to say, I glad I have my own house now  :Very Happy: .

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## Colin Vestrand

seems pretty unethical to snip the rattles off...  it's funny i was just looking at an apartment today and the i asked the lady if i could have snakes and she said no, because they're a "pet-free" community.  however, i talked to her manager when we went back to the office and he said he could make an exception since the rules were actually geared towards cats, dogs, and anything that makes noise and/or has fur.

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## MedusasOwl

I've heard rattlesnakes have really sweet temperments... it's just if you mess up, you have a serious problem /(Ovo)\  I'd have been intimidated too!

I agree that snipping off the tails sounds a bit cruel tho... I know it's dead skin, and they probably couldn't feel it, but don't they only rattle when they're scared?  Why not just, you know, keep them happy?

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## cassandra

The rattling, I believe, is a warning...hey, I'm here...I may have to defend myself if you don't heed my warning.

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## jotay

A Gaboon Viper, now that's the snake for me or a Black Mamba.

I saw this show on NGDC( Nat Geo Dis Ch ) and this young guy worked at a reptile zoo. Well he got his supposed 1k hrs and applied for a permit to keep hots. So he get's a few Gaboons. In the meantime he gets bit  at work by a Cottonmouth and has to be rushed to the Hosp. then a few months later he gets bit by a Cooperhead, again to the hosp. So he gets fired from his job ( good move on the employers part ) then a little while later this idiot gets bit by his Gaboon and they have to Helicopter his dumb butt to Miami.
Needless to say Fla came and got his Gaboons, Thank God!
 I love them and they are beautiful but I know I am not the one to keep one.

I have toyed with the thought of a Cooperhead since they are fairly laid back and are really quite pretty. They are the snakes they use in those back woods churches. But that would be sometime down the road.

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## ziggy7

> A Gaboon Viper, now that's the snake for me or a Black Mamba.
> 
> I saw this show on NGDC( Nat Geo Dis Ch ) and this young guy worked at a reptile zoo. Well he got his supposed 1k hrs and applied for a permit to keep hots. So he get's a few Gaboons. In the meantime he gets bit at work by a Cottonmouth and has to be rushed to the Hosp. then a few months later he gets bit by a Cooperhead, again to the hosp. So he gets fired from his job ( good move on the employers part ) then a little while later this idiot gets bit by his Gaboon and they have to Helicopter his dumb butt to Miami.
> Needless to say Fla came and got his Gaboons, Thank God!
> I love them and they are beautiful but I know I am not the one to keep one.
> 
> I have toyed with the thought of a Cooperhead since they are fairly laid back and are really quite pretty. They are the snakes they use in those back woods churches. But that would be sometime down the road.


I saw that show as well.  He wasn't very bright :Sad:

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