Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
Might be easier said than done though. It's very expensive & challenging to get your hands on it as a private party. And if you try to go thru "back-channels" you also have to worry about it being a fake. Expensive & hard to obtain things are at the top of the list for counterfeiters to "make" & sell. Just saying- you could be paying top dollar for corn syrup.

And call me "old-fashioned" but I'm not so sure that a scarce commodity like antivenin even belongs in the hands of a hobbyist that just wants to keep a deadly species, over & above keeping the stuff available for those whose legitimate work (like agriculture & construction projects) puts them at high risk in the countries where these snakes are found naturally. It just doesn't.

To "put that shoe on the other foot"- how would it feel to be camping on vacation & end up with a life-threatening rattlesnake bite (from one of the species with more neurotoxic components in their venom), only to find out there was no anti-venin available because it was sold out of country to the highest bidders? Not so good...
Owning a venomous pet is already an expensive liability waiting to happen, or death. I think it's irresponsible to own one as a pet in the first place. I think it's equally irresponsible for an owner to not protect themselves or anyone else who might get bit by their animal (aka having antivenom). They took on the animal, they should have taken the expenses and challenges into account before getting it.

I don't know if that hypothetical situation could be true so I can't say I feel anything about it.