question????

ok so i have been looking on here at all the pretty hot snakes out there and was wondering about milking.. Do you have to milk them? and if you do what do you do with the venom that you get??? Just wanting to know

I don't keep venomous snakes, but I know people that do, and I plan on keeping them in the future.

You don't have to milk them; most people that do it use it for the use of antivenom, or to sell it. Al Coritz (viperkeeper) made a very interesting video on why people milk snakes, and that it takes too much time (and is thus way too dangerous) to make a sufficient profit.

I, for one, will not milk my hots when I get them.

i wanna get a hot i was thinking of a WDB i have been reading and it seems they are one of the more easy ones to care for

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Originally Posted by jeffh231979

i wanna get a hot i was thinking of a WDB i have been reading and it seems they are one of the more easy ones to care for

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How much experience do you have with snakes in general? Have you ever kept an aggressive species of snake? If so, how often have you gotten bit?

as far as experince goes i have been keeping snakes for several yrs, really nothing too aggressive.. like i said it is a want

Depending on the state you might have to milk. Here in AL you are only allowed to keep hots if you milk them for scientific reasons. It requires a permit and many man hours dealing with them. If I remember correctly keeping hots where it's illegal is a class C felony.

if your only keeping them like most do there is no reason to milk them its not only a big risk to the person but stressful for the snake. if you milk a snake dont expect to sell the venom to make av.

some of the people you see on tv and in photos milking venomous snakes only do it for show, and no other reason whatsoever.

its not like you can just milk the snake and say, here is the venom...pay me! more tedious process than that.

if you are ever in the red river gorge area or lexington ky area, i highly suggest a trip to the ky reptile zoo. they milk daily.

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Originally Posted by jeffh231979

i wanna get a hot i was thinking of a WDB i have been reading and it seems they are one of the more easy ones to care for

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Do not forget that you might have to get a permit, which takes 1000 hours and over a year to get.

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

Do not forget that you might have to get a permit, which takes 1000 hours and over a year to get.

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Not in SC

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Originally Posted by ncbloods

Not in SC

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Oh well id still train.

south carolina is a great state to live in to own pretty much anything you want.

Also, a lot of people don't think milking is worth it. Most elapids have a low venom yield and it takes many milkings to produce enough venom for one vial... Are you willing to risk thousands upon thousands of dollar and/or your life for $1000?

i don't keep any HOTs yet but have been looking into for a while now. i have to get a house before i can kept the. I live in FL and they have soem strick permitting involved.

as far as a first HOT....WDB might not be the way to go. they are very aggressive and unless you have a good deal of experience with aggressive snakes or HOTs this might no be the right choice for you. the bite from any rattler is bad and WDB get big and can deliver alot of venom making the bite worse. i have a friend in my herp club that goes by Cobra Man and his is a bit gun shy at these guys because he got tagged by one and spent a few months in the hospital. this guy milks snakes and has be working with HOTs for many, many years.

if you are set on a rattler and think you can handle HOTs, look into EDB. they look very close to the westerns but have a better attitude. there are other HOTs out there that are smaller and have better attitudes.

I actually like working with larger hots. THe bigger the snake is to me the easier I find to hook it. I had a baby pgmy rattlesnake once and that thing gave me a headache just becuase it was so tiny it was hard to get a hold of and flew off a hook in a second. lol.

exactly,i started training with a 6ft pak cobra,i wanted a 3ft,but the guy teaching me explained with a VERY cranky boa,and horrible retic,exactly why bigger is better to start,,and after that experiment with the hook,,i quikly agreed,easier to hook,and if the head is 5 feet away and it snaps around for a hit,you have more warning and more duck room

well bigger in terms of venom size and bigger interms of venom delivery are two different things. correct me if im wrong but WDB have one of he highest volume of vemon per bite in the HOT world.......im just saying its is not a starter HOT.

I have heard people call WDBs beginner hots.. not sure exactly why there are plenty of other venomous snakes I'd rather get bit by if I had to choose, but maybe likelihood of getting bit is low? And easy husbandry?

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Originally Posted by Lucas339

well bigger in terms of venom size and bigger interms of venom delivery are two different things. correct me if im wrong but WDB have one of he highest volume of vemon per bite in the HOT world.......im just saying its is not a starter HOT.

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EDB do Lucas, I was paying attention at that herp meeting :P

imo there are no begginer hots.

Easy husbandry? When you get into hots you should have enough experience to not have to worry about difficult husbandry issues... unless you're working with barometric pressure difference over a 24hr period ;)

I've handled Eurasian Vipers (Vipera berus) and Western Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma and both are relatively small vipers. Have to be very careful... I'd rather handle something bigger (well, not a Bothrops asper) because I'd have more time to react.

i think for a begininer hot,so to speak,i would do maybe an eyelash,or a mangrove something that isnt AS deadly,though they lack the size i am most comfortable with during my stage in training

I don't know about Mangroves... quite aggressive. I think the best beginners might be terrestrial vipers with a relatively good temperament. Maybe Agkistrodon or other rattlers.

ill i know, is after hearing the story about the guy with his PHD in herps who has been working with HOTs longer than ive been alive, im not too sure i would own a WDB at all. i really like the way they look but the risk isn't worth it.

research research research!!!

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

I don't know about Mangroves... quite aggressive. I think the best beginners might be terrestrial vipers with a relatively good temperament. Maybe Agkistrodon or other rattlers.

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but,if i'm not mistaken,outside of a bad reaction,a mangrove really isnt deadly either,which,to me is a good thing in a starter hot:)

When working with hots you should be able to have enough confidence not to have to worry about which one would kill you quicker or just make you sick. As long as you train right and take all the safety percautions you shouldnt get bitten. Iknow bites happen but usually its because keepers start lacking. I know ive done it. But thats why I would never keep as many hots and I do nonvenomous becuase I know I would get slack and accidents would happen. I only keep copperheads at the moment but I would love to add some rhinos, gaboons, and some cobras. But Not until I get a lot more experience

The best starter hot though if there is a such thing is the one that your local hospital has antivenom for!

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Originally Posted by denial

the best starter hot though if there is a such thing is the one that your local hospital has antivenom for!

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lol!!!

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Originally Posted by Denial

The best starter hot though if there is a such thing is the one that your local hospital has antivenom for!

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lol,,couldnt be any more cut and dry then this,lol