Quote Originally Posted by Crotalids View Post
Of course, rattlers on the whole make it clear where you stand.

But any venomous keeper, or prospective venomous keeper should not underestimate any snake whether or not they make their intentions clear or not.

I treat my Gaboons with exactly the same respect I would treat a Pygmy rattler or albolabris. Every time I have interaction with them I treat them as if they were going to explode and come at me. Every venomous keeper must have this mentality, beginner or experienced.

The weight granted can be an issue, but it is manageable with the hook I suggested.

I hooked an adult Bitis gabonica with this hook on the first day I started to handle venomous snakes, and it was a 'walk in the park'.

With regards to size, two of my friends have Bitis rhinoceros females that have maxed out at 3 ft and a guy in Europe has one that is maxed out at 2 foot.
Wow. Sorry about the multiple posts. I really don't know what happened there lol. 3' adult westerns is something I have never seen or even heard of until now. Very interesting. The large size of westerns is a big part of why I have always chosen to work with eastern's. I %100 agree with you, if you put yourself in the strike range of any hot you should assume that they are going to bite regardless of what species your dealing with. This is IMO the only responsible way to deal with hots for any keeper regardless of their experience level.