Venomous Category?

Was just wondering why we don't haev a venomous category in the forum?

It'd be somewhat pointless. Sure, it'd be great, but in all seriousness only a small percentage of members actually keep hots. When the demand is high enough I'll add one.

Okay I love snakes and think they are amazing but hots scare the feces out of me.
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Leave em alone and u'll live longer :mrgreen:

Actually I was doing some research on Venomous snakes the other day and found out that they are not deadly all of the time. Most of the time they will be dry bites. But if you wanna tangle with a Mamba, that is a whole other story!

just a thought...thats all

do you keep hots freakover? Ever been bit or anything? Are all bites venemous?

i myself don't keep hots, YET...I am building housing for them now and getting supplies ready. Ive been bit by copperheads, thats about it. Osage and broadband. I didn't react the first time. The second time my whole arm, shoulder and back swoll up. I was a hunchback for about a week and sore. But i didn't lose a finger like some whove been bit by copperheads. ABout all bites being venomous, im not sure

sweet man, keep me posted on progress I'm very interested - they just freak me out because of the whole poison thing haha. Glad you didn't loose a finger, typing would likely be difficult

haahahaha, your right, very difficult. I will definitly keep you posted. Thats what i am starting out with is two copperhead yearlings. Then maybe move up to a rattler of some sort. Easterndiamondback maybe. Eventually i would love to get a mojave sidewinder.

For those who may not know, emroul (Jennifer) keeps hots. I can't think of anyone else on the forum that does. I'm sure they'll speak up, though.

I think copperheads are among the most beautiful snakes of all....but I don't have any interest in keeping them. I'll be very content to admire them from afar. (But not TOO far. :) )

I think the black-tailed rattlesnake is beautiful. I saw one in a local shop, and it was a beautiful deep olive green with some black scales and the requisite black tail.

I was always of the belief that it was illegal to keep "hots" unless you had special liscensing. Is this just a state thing?? I would love to hear more about this!

For the record, as much as I love snakes, there is no chance in HELL that i would ever even consider owning a snake that contained venom. In fact, at this point i won't even consider wandering outside the realm of BP's! What are you people thinkin!!?? It just seems as though you are askin for trouble handling & housing hots. What if one were to escape & get into the general population?

Personally, I do not want to keep anything venomous. I love looking at them at zoos and pics online; they are fascinating and beautiful. I think that anyone who plans on keepinng hots, should definately undergo some sorta apprenticeship with an experienced keeper. I think it's kind of like guns; you would not just go out and buy one (hopefully!) if you never shot one or closely watched someone do it in person. Since both guns and hots can be deadly in the wrong (or hell, the right) hands, I hope that people who want to keep hots, know what they're doing, and are not just doing it to appear macho!

Eddie, laws vary from place to place. I don't actually want to keep anything venomous, but if I did, I could keep an Eastern Coral Snake with no special licensing -- unlike, say, a corn snake, supposedly the ideal beginner snake, which is illegal to keep without a permit here.

Ditto - think you hit the nail on the head Gin - it IS like a loaded gun (that could potentially escape hehe). I won't entertain the idea as long as we have 3 overly brave and curious boys at home, just a recipe for waaaay too much to go wrong. I'm game enough to get stuff described as "irrascible" "nippy" and "bites at every opportunity" but a hot in our house would be like a loaded assault rifle with a hair trigger - just way too cool and fascinating for boys to resist.

The only problem I have with the "gun" analogy, is that a gun will NEVER escape from it's box all by itself and start cruising around the house to be accidently stepped on by an unsuspecting person. But I agree with everyone...keeping hots while there are children in the house is extremely dangerous.

laws on hots vary greatly between states, as I am sure Emoroul (sp?) can tell you.
You should always contact your local state authority, such as department of environmental protection (CT) etc.
Rusty

Eddie, you were wondering if it escape dinto general population? Thats not the issue. Hot s are in the general population in most places. And in most states, the only Hot you can legally have is one that is native to that state. Permits are required for exotic hots in most places. The issue is escaping and endangering you and your family in your home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rustysdragons

laws on hots vary greatly between states, as I am sure Emoroul (sp?) can tell you.
You should always contact your local state authority, such as department of environmental protection (CT) etc.
Rusty

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You can find general guidelines here: http://www.api4animals.org/372.htm and you can click on the links in the far right column to read the actual laws.

Laws on keeping all exotic animals vary greatly between states - from Hawaii, which allows NO exotic animals, to Wisconsin, which has no laws at all governing the keeping of exotic animals.

I found it kind of amazing to find out about "venemoid" snkes. They are hots that have had their venom-releasing capability "shut off" surgically. I guess thay block their venom ducts or something. It seems like a harsh thing to do to a snake, just so that some human can have it as a pet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freakoverdose1

Eddie, you were wondering if it escape dinto general population? Thats not the issue. Hot s are in the general population in most places. And in most states, the only Hot you can legally have is one that is native to that state. Permits are required for exotic hots in most places. The issue is escaping and endangering you and your family in your home.

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However, since you are in Georgia like me, the only hots you can keep without a permit are those that are native but are not pit vipers. That only leaves eastern coral snakes. For copperheads, cottonmouths, edb rattlers, etc., as with exotics, you have to get a permit.

Very interesting indeed. I would love to hear about this issue from the person(s?) that house hots on these forums. Being that I am native to the Western New York area, we don't have venomous snakes around here. There are venomous snakes in New York, but not in the western new york area. In fact, the only snakes we really even have in WNY are garter & I think rats. The idea of housing a venomous snake is just scary as hell to me!

Marla, I was going by what this website had stated

http://www.coastalreptiles.com/venomous_laws.htm

it says native are legal, and didn't mention pit vipers at all. BUT... the state of georgia website (http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga....nt=6&txtPage=3)
states that coral snakes also require a permit as well as all otehr venomous. I did send the department of wildlife (permit sector) an email regarding this issue. I will post when i hear more.

http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga....nt=6&txtPage=3

Yeah Eddie, the only snakes I have seen around here (Arcade) are garters and a few brown snakes. Unless you look in our house; then you'll find ball pythons and a boa. But nothing venomous.

Let me know what they say, Freak, because I was going by what I understood from the DNR web site and a local hots keeper, but for all I know he's not fully in compliance.

Ginevive, the issues of venomoids is quite a hot one. (Pardon the pun!!) It seems that people are either very for it...or very against it...and very passionate either way. Personally, I agree with you, it seems far too extreme just to keep a particular animal as a pet. If a person wants hots that badly, they should learn how to deal with them as God made them, or just admire them from afar like most of us do.

OK Ginevive, if you are in Arcade then we really are not THAT far from each other, all things considered. So yeah, there isn't much in this region outside of the garters.

JLC, I totally agree with what you are saying. If you must have a hot snake as a pet, then learn how to handle & control them as they are. I would not want to take the fangs off of Hissy just because she was a biter. It just isn't right.

In my opinion the keeping of hots in a region where they are not local is irresponsible even if you know what you are doing. It just doesn't seem right to take that kind of a risk. In a zoo where everyone is in the animal control business it is one thing, but for some one to have it in their house is just takin too many chances in my opinion.

Ok I dont' know what to think of this, but on Animal Planet I just seen a comercial promoting "Venom ER" airing this tuesday at 8pm. The narrator came in with "Venomous snakes, now Homes to thousands of families, this devasting trend is causing devastingly high population in hospitals."

I am gonna watch it because it is very informative of venom and its properties. But, it sounds like its just adding more fuel to the anti-herp society to me.

im angry now