So are they really as mean as they appear

[ohyeahnow]

you had no problem holding the forest cobra ? i would take a guess that it was a venomoid cobra. right ? cobras are the way to go if you want a venomous snake wouldn't be the best advise if you ask me. cobras are fast and can be very aggressive and forest cobras are known to be aggressive which makes me think your friends is a venomoid that he handles like a non venomous snake. i see you are in Washington i believe you need permits to keep venomous snakes.

someone said that their sister got to handle cobras in at a place in az ? what places would that be, a zoo or something like that, i don't see a person just letting people come in and handle venomous snakes for no reason if they don't work at the place. that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen..

like it was said snakes are different and some are more laid back, gaboons are one but if you are in range and they want to bite you they wont miss. they are not snakes to be held or played with. a bite could kill you even from copperheads which are not normally fatal but the bite results in a lot of amputations.


there are hots that are better to start out with then others, copperheads, pygmy rattlers. its best to stay away from arboreal hots, gaboons, puff adders, mambas, cobras are not ones to start with.

I saw a video of venemoids. YouTube - Venomoid cobras give venom The person tested them, and many had through tissue regrowth started producing venom again.

[Colin Vestrand]

one thing i haven't seen mentioned is that hots may be more aggressive in captivity because of the way they have to be handled. a lot of young pythons will bite all day long but after they're handled gently and persistently they calm down... with a venomous animal this is simply not possible. they will be grabbed with tongs, pinned down by the head, hooked, etc etc.
don't get me wrong, i'm not saying there's anything wrong with the way hots are 'handled', but just that the lack of direct contact might prolong their ornery-ness.

[TKR Reptiles]

Hi Trent!

Yes I am a retired HOT keeper. Most of us do not condone keeping of HOTs.....just because I do doesnt mean you should type of thing.

is this the Richard from Stroud? the one with all those awesome ponds on his land?

[snakecharmer3638]

how would you tell someone else they shouldnt keep a venomous snake if you do ? what makes it ok for you to do it and not someone else ? most people could learn how to handle hots. i have never told anyone they could never own one, if i could do it then they could to. there are some people that shouldnt have them for reasons like experience or beause they think it would be cool but other then that. i dont understand how you would tell someone they should not own one but you should ? what makes you better then them ?

He didn't say you couldn't. He just said he did not condone it. Big difference, RELAX.

[jparker1167]

yea i know what he said, he said he doesnt condone the keeping of hots, but he keeps them. which is pretty much like saying he doesnt think people should keep them... im relaxed its not like is said anything mean now did i ? i just asked him why he though others should not keep something he keeps.


ohyeanow i saw that video about the venomoids, there where like 3 or 4 snakes they milked that where supposed to be venomoids all but one was able to inject venom, but no one knows who did the surgery. i have read a lot on venomoids and if the surgery is done right they will never produce venom again, if the dr. makes a mistake and misses part of the gland it can reconnect and be able to inject venom. there is a good post about it on the trr and fauna fourms. the surgery on those snakes where probably done by someone that just wanted to make money on selling venomoids so they did it at home.

i keep around 30 hots not one venomoid in the bunch but i dont hate them or have anything against them, i think they are fine if someone is going to use it for educational shows, some other reasons too. but its the people that want to get these snakes beause they think they are sweet and want to show off to friends that they have a cobra, its people that think that way that get stuff banned. if you want a venomous snake what is the point of getting a venomoid ? a venomoid cobra is just a corn snake with a hood and fangs lol

[snakecharmer3638]

yea i know what he said, he said he doesnt condone the keeping of hots, but he keeps them. which is pretty much like saying he doesnt think people should keep them... im relaxed its not like is said anything mean now did i ? i just asked him why he though others should not keep something he keeps.


ohyeanow i saw that video about the venomoids, there where like 3 or 4 snakes they milked that where supposed to be venomoids all but one was able to inject venom, but no one knows who did the surgery. i have read a lot on venomoids and if the surgery is done right they will never produce venom again, if the dr. makes a mistake and misses part of the gland it can reconnect and be able to inject venom. there is a good post about it on the trr and fauna fourms. the surgery on those snakes where probably done by someone that just wanted to make money on selling venomoids so they did it at home.

i keep around 30 hots not one venomoid in the bunch but i dont hate them or have anything against them, i think they are fine if someone is going to use it for educational shows, some other reasons too. but its the people that want to get these snakes beause they think they are sweet and want to show off to friends that they have a cobra, its people that think that way that get stuff banned. if you want a venomous snake what is the point of getting a venomoid ? a venomoid cobra is just a corn snake with a hood and fangs lol

Well, just seemed like you took it kind of personal? Maybe I just read to much into your response. I took it like he was saying "hey just because I do something that could cause me great harm, does not mean that you should do it." I at no time felt like he thought he was better then me. And also did not feel that he was saying or preventing me from keeping hots if I felt so inclined to do so. Kind of like I might tell my kids, "Hey when I was your age I experimented with drugs, but I do not condone it. Or advise it."

[ohyeahnow]

yea i know what he said, he said he doesnt condone the keeping of hots, but he keeps them. which is pretty much like saying he doesnt think people should keep them... im relaxed its not like is said anything mean now did i ? i just asked him why he though others should not keep something he keeps.


ohyeanow i saw that video about the venomoids, there where like 3 or 4 snakes they milked that where supposed to be venomoids all but one was able to inject venom, but no one knows who did the surgery. i have read a lot on venomoids and if the surgery is done right they will never produce venom again, if the dr. makes a mistake and misses part of the gland it can reconnect and be able to inject venom. there is a good post about it on the trr and fauna fourms. the surgery on those snakes where probably done by someone that just wanted to make money on selling venomoids so they did it at home.

i keep around 30 hots not one venomoid in the bunch but i dont hate them or have anything against them, i think they are fine if someone is going to use it for educational shows, some other reasons too. but its the people that want to get these snakes beause they think they are sweet and want to show off to friends that they have a cobra, its people that think that way that get stuff banned. if you want a venomous snake what is the point of getting a venomoid ? a venomoid cobra is just a corn snake with a hood and fangs lol

LOL. I never liked people who declawed cats either. Venomous is not for me, but I support all those who are educated and responsible keepers of venomous snakes. Accidents can happen though. I remember when the local biology professor (a family friend) would feed her rattlers and copperhead. Always liked being their to watch her feed her collection. She was educated and careful, but got bitten once by her copperhead. After going to the hospital she said if she were ever bitten by a copperhead again, she would just go home, because their treatment was crap. She still kept her whole collection, just became a little more cautious. Bite occurred during cage cleaning.

What hots do you have? Do you have images posted?

[jparker1167]

these are the hots i keep right now.

southern and osage copperheads, panamint rattlers, nothern pacific rattlers, mojave rattlers, cantils, malayan pit vipers, levantine vipers, saw scaled viper, gaboons, puff adders, monocle cobras, moroccan cobra, formosa cobra.

i think i have posted a few pics somewhere on here but ill post some here if you cant find them anywhere else let me know.

[jparker1167]

no i didn't take it personal, just seemed to me he was saying others shouldn't keep them, maybe he didnt mean it that way but that's what it looked like to me also there is no way he could prevent someone from keeping them if they where legally allowed to.

there are some people that shouldn't keep venomous but i would say that most people would be able to learn how to do it safely. its not beyond most peoples capabilities. just some people don't want to take the chance mistakes happen and people do get bit, lose fingers or die, its costs a lot when you get bit and not everyone is willing to take the chance

[RichardA]

is this the Richard from Stroud? the one with all those awesome ponds on his land?

Ummm......No......This is Richard you drank a beer with Sunday night.....

LOL