Non-Venomous Sign??

I saw an episode of Fatal Attractions awhile back where this chick had like 20+ venomous in a trailer in Texas. Well her Gaboon bit her and she died. When the police entered the house to recover her body, they decapitated all the snakes in order to "match the bite marks to the ones on her body" in order to "determine what snake did it." The show also said they did it because they didn't know which snakes were venomous and which weren't. (I know I know...watching that show gets me all worked up and I really shouldn't even tune into Animal Planet...it was a moment of weakness.)

Then there was this incident a couple days ago where police were called for a domestic dispute and given the wrong address. When the officer arrived at the (wrong) address, an Australian Shepard (not a very intimidating dog) came running up to the officer and the officer shot him on the spot.

So this got me thinking. I'm thinking of creating some sort of sign (perhaps I can find someone to punch it out of tin or aluminum for me?) that states that "All Animals Contained Within the Premises are Non-Venomous and Not a Danger to Humans." Or something along those lines.

I just keep thinking that if emergency personnel came to my house (for whatever reason) I wouldn't want them freaking out when they went into the snake room. I'd probably put the sign either in the snake room or on the door leading to it.

I have name tags on all my snakes' tubs that list their species...but I also saw a craigslist ad the other day that said, "python for sale...not sure if it has its fangs." So I don't know how informative listing the species would be to someone who couldn't tell a cornsnake from a burmese.

Thoughts? Any ideas to make the wording more concise? You're more than welcome to tell me I'm being over-paranoid... ;)

I think that's a great idea, especially if you post it to the door of your reptile room and don't advertise the fact that you house/keep reptiles so as to not alert the "anti" crowd. As far as emergency services personnel, why they would go opening tubs/tanks/terrariums/etc. with no idea as to what is in them, that's beyond stupid. Their job is to protect the public at large and so long as the animals are contained and not a threat, their role should be to contain the area/perimeter and await the arrival of trained personnel, whether that be a zoo curator or DNR or whatever.

I can absolutely see their point with the venomous animals in Texas...that's extremely unfortunate but also incredibly irresponsible on the part of their owner. I've seen that episode as well and wasn't the Gabby out of it's cage roaming the room while she "cleaned" and she was bitten when she tried to pull it out from under something it had crawled under? I would almost say you might want to consult a lawyer regarding that; maybe not since you don't keep hots but if you do, I'd say refer to legal counsel. It's been my experience that when an owner posts a sign such as "Beware of Dog" the courts view that as the owner having prior knowledge that the animal was aggressive and as such that shifts the legal burned onto the owner rather than it being on the moronic idiot who elected to trespass into the dog's yard with ill-intent towards the home owners. Anyway...sorry for hijacking your post with my diatribe, lol! I think it's a great idea and if you have the tubs/cages listed with the species information, even better. :gj:

that is a good idea. Kinda like a "no smoking" sign at every interence for those that use oxygen.
This would work for EMS, and fire and rescue people,,,,, but the police are going to shoot your dog anyway. Some how, police have went from a public servent, to a military mind set.
They are trained to eliminate anything that can present a danger to them (at their own descretion). Not all LEO's are bad, it just seems like the younger generations of police are on a war path. youtube it, google it, do whatever you want. Compair their uniforms from 15 years ago to today. Today they are all in black and resemble a more military look.
sorry for the rant,,,,I still like the Idea of the sign. heres an example WARNING GRAPHIC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kJVnA5KXJw
spooky

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

but the police are going to shoot your dog anyway. Some how, police have went from a public servent, to a military mind set.
They are trained to eliminate anything that can present a danger to them (at their own descretion). Not all LEO's are bad, it just seems like the younger generations of police are on a war path. youtube it, google it, do whatever you want. Compair their uniforms from 15 years ago to today. Today they are all in black and resemble a more military look.
sorry for the rant,,,,I still like the Idea of the sign. heres an example WARNING GRAPHIC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kJVnA5KXJw
spooky

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...and all herpers are long-haired tattooed criminals, so long as we're throwing stereotypes out there. I would agree to some degree that certain officers should not be able to carry a squirt gun, let alone a locked and loaded firearm. I can't speak for them, I can only speak for the people I know. Their job, first and foremost, is to preserve life. To use such a broad brush to paint all of them with one stroke and label them "bad" or dog-murdering gun-toting idiots is akin to what HSUS is attempting to do with their recent legislation regarding herps and those that raise/breed/enjoy them. Not to completely stray off topic but to say that no matter what sign she puts up the police are going to ignore it is absurd. There are idiots in every group of people and being such a publicly visible job means those morons give everyone else a bad name. Kind of like a group of Marines urinating on dead insurgents. Or Abu Ghraib. Regardless of the actions of those few, I will continue to shake the hand of each and every service member I come into contact with and give them my sincerest thanks for their sacrifices. Just saying, think a minute before you denigrate an entire group of people based on the actions of a few.

To the OP: I like your idea for a sign and think at the very least it would notify the responding personnel in the event of an emergency situation that there were exotic animals in the area, so that they weren't completely taken by surprise.

LOL, I wasent using a braud brush and labeling ALL of them bad. Maby you were too starry eyed, and seeing blue when you read my post. heres a quote from ME
" Not all LEO's are bad"
Go ahead, shake their hands, bow to them, do what ever makes you feel safe and warm inside. As far as OUR Marines urinating on dead insurgents, Or Abu Ghraib thats going waaayyy off, but sence were there, I be fine if they were to drop a duece on their (the enemy) heads,,, it could bother me less. What Iv said is true, and the video I posted is true... Think a minute yourself before you denigrate me.
spooky

If I were a home owner, I would consider hanging a sign, but since I'm an apartment dweller and far too many people have a key to my place (Apt Mgr, Maint, etc.), it could lead to more trouble than it's worth.

I hang a sign when maintenance comes through, only because I hang one anyway warning them to watch the doors because my cat seems to think it's funny to slip out. At the bottom I put "also harmless live reptile" :P When the pest control comes through I hang a sign warning them where I store the food for the cat and ask them to also keep away from the room Quetzal's in. They've assured me that their spray only kills bugs, but I'd prefer to not take chances.

Signs can be a bit of a double-edged sword. The "beware of dog" thing I've only heard of once, and it was a "did you know" discussion between friends and I'm not convinced it's not an urban legend. However, a sign does alert people to what you have in your possession and may cause trouble for you. One of my neighbors saw my cat sign and complained to the landlord (original lease = no pets), and if I hadn't cleared my animals with them prior to moving in that could have been really bad for me. On the other hand, the signs give me a little piece of mind when their intended viewers watch out for the things I'm warning them about (such as my cat making a mad dash to the outside world) and I feel confident that I can return home to find both of them safe and sound.

I personally like your sign idea. When I lived at home and had to call 911 (long story, went through a window), the medical team read our Beware of Dog signs and were aware that they were coming into a home that housed at least one (three :rolleyes: ) large dog. That's a lot better than opening the door to three unexpected big German Shepherds that didn't bark when you rolled into the driveway. Your sign would be doing the same; letting them know what to expect so they don't panic or have a kneejerk reaction when they get surprised.

I personally need to start hanging a sign. I adore my babies and the thought of any of the three having to go through being merc'd absolutely gets on my nerves and depresses me at the same time. (When the first question people ask me is "is it poisonous?!?" I not only want to smack them, but re-educate them :D) I don't have a 'beware of dog' sign, despite having Boxers because there's nothing to be aware of with them. A nice sign that says "Hey, my snakes would rather curl up and eat their own tails than bite someone" is a super good idea. :)

A sign that says your snakes are nonvenomous harmless reptiles can't be used against you like a sign saying that your dogs are potentially dangerous. A "beware of dog" sign inherently warns that the dog is a danger, since you would not need to be "wary" of a friendly dog. That's not WHY we put the sign up maybe, but that's sort of how legal folks see it.

I like the idea of posting the sign INSIDE, like on the door of my snake room, but not outside where the general public could see. That way if something did happen, and someone (police or fire rescue? or whoever) was inside my house in a legitimate capacity, I don't need to worry that they will mistake a ball python for a rattlesnake and think it should be killed.

I don't believe for an instant that anyone needed to decapitate all the snakes to see who's fangs lined up to the bite. For one singular reason... a snake's fangs have a lot of flexibility and can hit at angles so that the "line up" of their fangs will not usually correspond to the bite wounds on the person's body. If you look at the awesome pictures of many snakes in midstrike, you can see how the fangs are stretched outwardly because of the flexibility of the jaw bones.

I'd argue the "australian shepards not a intimidating" breed. They are a decent size and can be very aggressive in defending their territory/family. Just like ALL dog breeds, they can be sweet or aggressive, and sometimes it only depends on the actual situation. If a stranger is breaking in, being loud and shouting, any "family dog" can become aggressive and threaten to attack that intruder. A dog doesn't understand that they have a warrant, or that it's a mistake. I don't feel a cop should allow himself to be bitten on the off chance that he's got the wrong address.

Just like almost all people who get killed by (insert cause, cops, another person, drive by shooting, fight), suddenly once the person is dead, they become a complete saint. "He was such a good kid, never gave any trouble" while there's a arrest list a mile long from previous issues. No dog owner who's pet is shot by police is going to stand up in front of cameras and admit "Oh yeah, Rover used to try to bite folks all the time. He was banned from so many groomers and vets.. haha! He really went after that cop!"

Not all police are great upstanding folks who want to help people. Not all cops are gestapo bullies who get off on shooting random pets. Police officers are people, just like the rest of us. I generally meet a ton of great cops, who overall seem like nice people doing a hard job. Even the cops who gave me my two tickets(one speeding, one for expired tag) were decent folks and I was polite and cheerful to them while they were giving me my tickets(which I richly deserved, because I WAS speeding and my tag WAS expired).

Back to the OP's original question... there's often places that will make custom signs at flea markets and such. They can make up whatever wording you want on a plastic sign, like a custom license plate, or a "keep out" sign. I might even do that myself, but since I just want to put it on my interior door, I'll probably just print out a paper and laminate it at the grocery store.

Thanks for sharing the idea. It's a good one for several circumstances.

Here in Oakland (da hood), a "beware of dog" sign says "my dog will eat you so don't try to rob me." :rolleyes:

At the apartment my dad lived in, we were pretty high up, where in case of emergency help would come through the window, we had dogs and several cockatiels at the time and they sent us a little sticker that says

"rescue us,too!

______dog(s) _____cat(s) other ___________":)

I think i will put a little sign on the bp cage that says "non venemous harmless ball python " just in case...:(