Am I absolutely insane?

[Snape]

Ok, I've had a few opportunities to learn closely from people who have been around venemous snakes their entire lives. I am not saying now, or in the next year, but I am considering sometime down the line after I feel completely comfortable being able to take care of them, some sort of venemous snake.

Gabby's have always caught my attention, I'm not really sure. Am I completely out of my mind for even considering keeping hots?

Please give me some input, thanks everyone

[GirDance]

My typical answer to this would be that if you have to ask the answer is yes... but...

Well, gabbys IMO are absolutely gorgeous snakes... I love the almost velvety look to them, their girth and the patterning... Plus, I like the darker colours...

Hots certainly aren't for me, but if you're willing to put the time in to learn proper safety and care, and possibly get some hands on experience... You're not totally crazy. Also, making sure you do the research on laws, storing your own anti-venom, emergency procedures etc... If you're putting that time in you're not crazy... It's the people who keep them without taking those precautions that seem crazy to me.

[wolfy-hound]

By acknowledging that you are NOT ready yet, and that you will have to put in some serious time, thought and experiance before you get one for yourself, I'd say you were above the bell curve for a potential hot owner.
Don't get impatient. Learn, and as long as you have plenty of experiance (Hands on under someone that IS experainced) then later you should feel ready.
If you aren't sure, then you aren't ready. Patience. There will always be gabbys for you to own later.

[Snape]

Oh I certainly never considered getting a venemous snake without all precautions, the only problem is that I've heard that anti-venom has a very short shelf-life and living in New Jersey, do not see many hospitals carrying the anti-venom.

Regardless, gabby's are beautiful and although have a strong strike, from being around them (not too much) I've noticed they are fairly docile as long as you're not bothering them.

I'm also considering if going into the HOT world, getting a copperhead to start. They are comparitively safe, a bite would really suck, but as long as I get it treated, I should be fine. I feel doing that may help me feel more comfortable at first, because stepping straight up to a gabby that holds on to it's prey for 20-30 seconds is just not something I'm ready for.

I certainly acknowledge I'm not near ready right now as ideally I'd like a few years of working with someone else just doing regular maintenance on them. The more I practice, the more comfortable I'll feel.

As someone once noted, it seems that all animals whether it be snakes or dogs can sense a nervous and unsure person which causes unecessary tension. So my goal is to be patient and be around someone else until I feel more comfortable..

REGARDLESS, I still feel slightly insane because people have asked, why do you want to own a venemous snake? And the only real responses I have are because I like the risk and having something no one else has, beyond of course just being excited about owning a gabby

[Aric]

What I would suggest to you is to go to your local zoo and see if they need any volunteers in the herpetology department. You most likely wont work with the hots yourself but you will possibly get to work with the people who do and get some experience through them and later on down the road when the keepers think you are ready, depending on the zoo, they may let you do some work with something venomous with supervision from the keeper.

[Sunny1]

I don't personally think that you are insane. I thinnk that you have seemed very responsible in wanting to learn all about hots and wanting to take the time to gain experience by working with someone to learn and get comfortable around them. I would just make sure that you gain experience from someone responsible (qualified???) who is very responsible about keeping their hots. I am sure that there are a lot of people keeping them out there who more than likely shouldn't have them (like the person who was listing their copperhead on Craigslist around here in VA recently.... what responsible person would buy/sell a hot on CL??...I just hope that it went to a responsible owner).

I would just be patient and not rush into it like you have said/planned. Make sure that you are 200% certain that you can handle and properly care for a hot cause in my mind they are just too risky to not be sure about. Gabbys are certainly beautiful though!!! Good luck with whatever you decide!!

[darkangel]

Personally, yah, I think it's pretty insane. I don't think it's worth the risk. What's wrong with non-venomous species? Why exactly do you want to make that jump? Why not admire them from a distance?

[Snape]

Personally, yah, I think it's pretty insane. I don't think it's worth the risk. What's wrong with non-venomous species? Why exactly do you want to make that jump? Why not admire them from a distance?

That's what everyone has asked and it's the question I have a little trouble answering. There's nothing wrong with non-venomous, but I want something that no one else has, I want to do something different, take a risk, and not to mention, I respect and admire these snakes and would love to have one that I take care, regardless of the danger, as long as I am well informed and knowledgeable on how to take care of them

Anyway, that's pretty much all I can come up with.

[Purrrfect9]

I'm kinda in the same situation as you Snape. In one of the Life Sciences buildings on my campus, they house several venemous species of snakes that are native to Oklahoma, along with one venemous snake from Japan (I believe that it's Masumushi, but I'm not certain at all if this is correct or not). I personally am completely appalled at the conditions that these snakes are in. I know for a fact that the timber rattler's enclosure has not been cleaned out for 3 weeks, because I noticed that he had a complete shed in his cage, as well as feces, three weeks ago. Lord knows how long it has really been in there.
I want to know how to care for and properly 'handle' venemous species just because it would be a good idea to know how to do this living in an ecosystem that has so many venemous snakes, and also to give them the proper care and upkeep that they diserve.

[shaggie]

I think you are on the right track, you seem to have put alot of thought into this. There alot of great people on Venomousreptiles.org who have a world of knowledge that can help you out. Put an ad to find someone in your area that will teach you how to handle hots. As for AV, there are groups out there that you can pay an annual fee and it will cover the cost, Andrew at NCARK was starting this for the NC area. Hope this helps you out.