Venomous Training.

[Seth702]

I am not one to post a huge lecture, its why my post was very short. I read it summed up quite well once before in another similar post. People with HOT experience are very blunt and to the point for a VERY good reason, they know it takes ONE and i stress ONE single mistake to end your life. I mentioned a mentor for more reasons then i think your being cocky. Handleing a HOT is the last thing that should be on your mind. Cageing should probably be number one. How would you house one? What cage system, does it have spots the snake can hide from and surprise you?Can if be opened with a hook?Does it lock? Cleaning the cage? Feeding? All of these processes are just as dangerous if done incorrectly, some to others should the snake escape or someone open a cage with no lock thinking something harmless is inside. The first thing you need to realize when getting into hots is a mentor isnt there to hold your hand and be your mommy or daddy, they are there to give oyu tips and advice on how to safely approach the subject of HOTS in all aspects. Your obviously going to get into HOTS reguardless of our opinions and advice, and i am not against that, i simply want you to go about it in the safest way possible for yourself and hope to give you some food for thought on the process. I really wish you luck in your adventures.

[Skiploder]

I wasnt trying to sound cocky.. This is the reason I hesitated to even post this, because everytime I see someone saying they are interested in getting into venomous all I see in return is "dont do it you will die" or something along the lines of the stuff you all are saying to me. I posted for answers, not warnings and people trying to get me down. The reason I said I would pass for a mentor is because I took it wrong in the first place, I was thinking more along the lines a people telling me im crazy and get a "mentor" or someone encouraging me not to do it. I am not, I repeat N-O-T, saying I will never get bitten, I also clearly stated that I probably will die from the hobby. So please everybody enough with the discouragement. Thank you all.

This isn't the first post we have seen where someone wants the short, quick and dirty guide to training with hots.

If I had a nickel for everyone of these "Where Can I Buy the Hots for Dummies" book, I'd be able to buy a doughnut.

You need to seek out someone who will mentor you for several reasons:

(1) Different hots handle differently. Some will double back lickety-split on a hook, some can be tailed, some can get a full extension strike while on a hook and some can't. Training on a cribo for example, will not help you with a boomslang. Likewise training with boiga will not help you with a crote. A mentor can not only assist you in showing to the ins and outs of handling a venomous snake, but can also help you by making you realize which hots you are most comfortable handling.

(2) Keeping a hot requires maintaining bite protocols, researching which hospitals in your area can and will administer anti-venin and researching and stocking your own anti-venin stores - which in itself can be an exhausting venture. A mentor can guide you through the process of getting the appropriate anti-venin from a non-FDA approved manufacturer.

(3) The husbandry of hots differs from other snakes and a mentor can teach you how to best clean a cage, feed, administer medicine and do other routine and not-so-routine maintenance.

This hobby is under fire from several fronts - not only on the state and locality level, but on the federal level. The last thing we need is someone who is keen to commit suicide by snake. If you feel the need to die before your time, do us the courtesy to not do it in the pursuit of this hobby.

[katiekat]

I've worked with hots for about 5 years now and still don't own any myself, like everyone else is saying find a mentor, specifically someone who has 20+ years experience and let them teach you, I'm not saying its the only way, but in my opinion its best way lol. I started working with hots on my on at first, what got me started was when I rescued a copperhead with fishing line around its tail. Copperheads are great to start and are generally horrible on hooks, so before you do any venomous I'd advise you to learn how to use one effectively. After a few wild encounters with wild venomous I did some intense searching and found someone who was willing to teach me. To me, you can't learn how to handle venomous in general terms, meaning you should learn how to read the specific snakes you want to keep in the future, each species is different and has its own way of telling you what its about to do. For example different rattlesnake species have different behaviors on hooks and so on.. So unless you actually see these tendances in person, its hard to practice when its a non-venomous species that has a even slightly different behavior.. thats the reason I would suggest a mentor, they can point out and show you specific qualities of behavior that you may not have ever noticed before... Either way good luck with your hot handling and be safe!

[Slim]

Honestly, if you don't think you need a mentor, I don't think you need to be keeping venomous animals. End of story, like it or lump it...

[WarriorPrincess90]

Everyone has given you very good advice here. But do you notice a trend? One of the repeat suggestions you've gotten from literally everyone is that you need a mentor. It's not meant in a derogatory or discouraging way...it's just a fact of getting into HOTs. You need someone experienced to guide you as you learn so that you are less likely to be bitten or put in a situation you can't handle. A mentor is literally the most important thing to have when dealing with HOTs. And as Slim said, if you think you are above having a mentor, then you are not ready to be keeping HOTs regardless of whatever prior experience you think you have. Rattlers and a Cobras are very different than Copperheads or any other HOT. If that is truly what you want to keep, then find someone who can teach you the best ways to deal with them. The long road to being even remotely qualified to keep a HOT does usually begin with non-venomous animals that will give you a run for your money...yes. But even the most aggressive non-venomous snake is unlikely to kill you if you mess up.

It's all about going about things as safely as possible and that is what everyone here is trying to communicate to you. No one is trying to discourage you from keeping the animals you obviously love. Many of us would love to work with HOTs ourselves. We just want to make sure you do so correctly to avoid both harm to you (despite the fact that you clearly don't mind the possible harm) and to the community at large. The last thing we need is more negative press. So all we're saying is please, if you want to get into HOTs, at least get a mentor first to teach you the safest ways to keep those animals.

[WarriorPrincess90]

I went looking for something I read a while back that really put the importance of training into perspective for me. Please read this thread carefully, despite the length, as I think it can offer some valuable insight into the necessity for a mentor, and the process of learning itself. It's a great resource in a somewhat amusing format that still gets the point across clearly.

http://redtailboa.net/forums/venomou...t-keeping.html

[ChrisS]

The simple answer to how to handle a hot is don't. I've been working, not playing or messing or fiddling, with hots for a very short period and one of the things I've learned from my mentor is to handle the animal as minimal amount of time as possible. Ex. cleaning cages, changing water, feeding, and any other necessities don't handle the animal if possible to work safely around or remove to another safe container. Don't work with the animal when stressed fatigued tired pissed or any other emotions to get in the way. Ex. if you see poo when you get home from a long day leave it til morning when you are refreshed. Be safe, don't make any quick decisions, start small, work your way up.

Also I saw you had posted a different thread about larger snakes. If your only doing this for the shock factor please please reconsider. If your doing it for the love of the animals then best of luck to you.

[Ga_herps]

If not take on a full blown mentor then why not atleast talk to someone over at venomousreptiles.org that is local about how they do stuff. I am not saying you have to be a fly on the wall at there place but just give them a call a few times and get involved over there for a solid while (atleast a year of involvement) before you attempt it. I was lucky enough to have a highschool teacher that was also a colonial in the military that kept hots for 30 plus years. He helped me get it right from proper husbandry to handling. These are things that you do not want to learn from trial and error.

[californiakingsnake]

Someone please tell me how to delete this post. I was not looking for a dobacle like this.

[ChrisS]

Someone please tell me how to delete this post. I was not looking for a dobacle like this.

Debacle? How so? We are trying to help you. Take it or leave it, but don't ask for it then call it debacle. There was no downfall to this thread. You just didn't hear what you wanted to hear.