My Venomous Snakes

[nightrainfalls]

Here is another Samar video. Both snakes are in their permanent homes now and are enjoying life. I gave the female a bit of quail meet today and she seemed to love it.
Here is how docile he is on a normal day...

When I was in Costa Rica a big Guy named Rudy was in charge of the Herps. He gave me some advice which I know pass on to you. He told me if I kept handling hots, which everyone at the field station did, it would not be one of the aggressive snakes that struck at the cage every time someone walked by that got me. It would be one of the tame ones. He pointed to a Velvet viper and said, "Every time that snake needs its water changed, or soils its substrate, your heart will be pounding and your hands will shake and you will use the tongs and scoop to reach into the cage. If the snake needs to come out, you will use a hook, and put it straight into the plastic tub and put the lid on, before you do anything in that cage." As he talked his hand moved past the door and there was a audible thumb as the Bothrops tried to bite him through the glass. Then we walked over to a Micrurus nigrocintus. (If you ever see one of these living jewels, you will forget all about cobras.) This snake sat curled up in its cage, hardly moving. Rudy opened the door and the snake didn't move. He explained, "this snake never strikes at anything bigger than a pinky. It is incredibly docile. I frequently catch students like you holding it. It is a really smart snake. It seems tame. This is the one that scares me most. Someday it is going to have a bad day."

I was there a year and every time I handled a Bothrops, I was scared. The Eyelash vipers could be aggressive or not. That big coral snake was just so sweet. Lots of people would just reach in and pull it out. One of my fellow biologists used to sit at his desk and pet it. I went back state side before it happened, but that coral snake did hit someone. Luckily the bite was dry, but I caution you, "It is the tame one that will get you."

Please be careful.