the ethics of giant snakes

[oliverstwist]

as an outsider to giant pythons i feel like it is almost unreal to be able to keep a snake that gets 14' long?

maybe i am just mis informed but if you keep a retic how do YOU yourself handle it,how big is yours?

I want to be able to undertand and not just say, NO WAY

[wolfy-hound]

I have a few friends that had giants. They were not nervous about handling them, but were respectful and careful. Some snakes need a second person to lift them into a cage, some do not. Some keepers will only keep giants if they have that second person, while others feel no need for such.

If the keeper can handle the animal, and has a proper enclosure for it, it's no more of an issue than keeping a large dog. Both COULD injure other people IF they wanted to/were startled. But it's the keeper who determines how to best handle them to make the animal and people safe and healthy.

All above only my opinion, subject to change without notice, contents measured by weight, not volumne.

[Ben Biscy]

I used to be extremely phobic of snakes. I conquered my fear by helping a collector/hobbyist/breeder on a weekly basis. For years I helped with animals that ranged from worm-sized to wrist sized (baby corns/kings to bp's and boas). I used to also observe as he and two others took care of the hots and giants. after watching the animals and learning their personalities, their behavior became predictable. Soon I was helping pull big mean female green annie's out weekly for cage scrubbing. I think my fear of snakes was completely gone after my first green anaconda bite. The injury was so minor compared to the size of the animal... really boosted my confidence. I then started to handle the other humongos, testy (but trustworthy) retics, lazy spoiled burms, one EXTREMELY viscious afroc.....

Having a large snake is a big responsibility. But, it is something that a responsible person can handle. If you understand your animals, and you respect them, you will never have a problem, and will enjoy a long lived companion. We take our giants outdoors frequently this time of year, and they seem to enjoy the excersize and interaction. As far as size, while they are very large and heavy, a coiled 15' retic will fit on your lap like a labrador. Big, but possible. Giants have a bad rep, and it's not their fault. It's the fault of the uneducated and the irresponsible.

[MarkS]

If I have to take them out of the cage for any reason I let someone else in the family know what I'll be doing and usually ask them to watch me while I do whatever it is I need to do, (feeding, cage cleaning etc...) I only have a couple of burms and neither of them are particularly large. I've never had any problems, but it's better to be safe then sorry. It's like wearing a seat belt. It's a wise idea to wear one but you hope you never need it.

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

Yeah it's definitely not the snakes' faults. They're beautiful, amazing animals! But, I do worry and feel sad when someone UNPREPARED gets one.

[wilomn]

All good posts so far; however, no one has yet addressed the issue of ethics.

Anyone?

[mumps]

Keeping the true giants is something that, for me, was desired from day one, but not actually accomplished until many years with smaller, yet similar snakes like boa constrictors.

Learning how to "read" the snake takes time. Learning how to get a snake to "trust" you takes time. Once the knowledge is acquired, however, it can be applied to almost all species of reptile, though I have not worked with venomous species yet. I use patience, scent and behavioural cues (and audible ones with lizards and crocodilians who can hear them) to accomplish this "trust".

To me, there is nothing more rewarding than interacting with these fascinating creatures such as large snakes, large monitors and tegus and crocodilians knowing full well that if you follow the protocols, so will they.

Chris

[wilomn]

knowing full well that if you follow the protocols, so will they.

Chris

Now THAT is an interesting theory. Not a single thing to do with ethics, but a heckofa .....fact, I suppose, yes, let's go with fact, it's ever so much nicer than saying it's bullsnot, ever so much, yes, much much better....

[TheOtherLeadingBrand]

I don't know about ethics here.

Is it ethical? If you do it "right" (who defines that? If I define it, then I know what I think is right) then it can be ethical.

Things not ethical: neglecting the animal if help to handle it is not available, putting other people or pets in danger due to your animal, frightening others with it and therefore encouraging anti-reptile activists, releasing the animal to the wild, selling these animals (at any age) to someone you know will not be a suitable home... to ME those would be unethical things to do

[MarkS]

All good posts so far; however, no one has yet addressed the issue of ethics.

Anyone?

Well, neither of my big snakes are particularly ethical. In fact they're pretty cold blooded.