Wow - a flurry of responses with a large variety of views and thoughts on the subject. It would be tough for me to respond to all of these but let me try to at least set some of the record straight (I have life outside this forum):

1.) One poster makes fun of the black car hood analogy based on the fact that none are in the deserts of Africa - this a foolish statement on many counts - but suffice to say the analogy was just that - offered to demonstrate that the ground can and does get very hot based on the location, color, exposure, etc.

2.) One poster said: follow your own advice and give it back. I've considered that but the damage has already been done - I supported the trade by purchasing it and therefore regardless of whether I give it back or not he will remain in captivity and I am sure that I will provide him with a good, properly regulated home and it is likely he may not get that elsewhere. Additionally, my comments were meant to make those who are so self-righteous about keeping these animals aware of the fact that this is not a warm and fuzzy hobby - we are keeping these animals for our own enjoyment, against their will and clearly putting them in stress. So be honest with yourselves - you are capitalizing on this animal's helplessness for your (our) own enjoyment - myself included.

3.) One poster says that no one on this forum said that they enjoy being handled - that is an out right lie - in this very thread - if you review it from start to finish at the very least imply it and much of the literature implies this.

4.) People then are differentiating biting out of defense or aggression, and anyone who answers this is truly clairvoyant - because you just don't know - some may bite out of defense and some may bite out of aggression. None the less - it does not matter as a biting animal is obviously an animal that is under stress.

5.) One person posts how anyone could come into this hobby thinking that the snake could be cuddled - this is obviously an extreme example meant to support a jab in disguise - I doubt anyone thinks this - clearly not me. However - they need to go back and do a lot of research because much of it indicates "the small size and docile nature of these animals make them excellent pets." This is not true for many reasons - however - agreed that the care sheets on this site do not state anything like that. Also - they should go back and re-read the posts in this thread - plenty of them imply that the animals 'chill' while watching TV - make lovely lap snakes, etc. etc.

6.) Someone else makes a statement that I claimed years of experience - that is true - but with different snakes - all three of which never snapped, not even once in many years of ownership. Also - I owned those snakes more than 20 years ago.

7.) Someone posted a quote here from some biologists regarding belly burns and quite frankly it does not tie in with the body of knowledge from other sources perhaps even more reputable (including Sutherland's book, and Vosjoli's book) - but it is interesting because if this is your yardstick then why don't the care sheets on this site completely ban UTH - one contradicts the other - which is the whole point of many of my posts.


IMHO, using UTH properly is far from reckless. I have measured these devices, inquired about their construction and they need not be regulated - it is plain nonsense to assume that they need to be regulated - you might as well be more concerned about the bp's exposure to electromagnetic radiation. There is about as much possibility of these getting hot enough to burn flesh as there is that the BP get struck by lighting. They are very low watt devises constructed of thin nichrome which doubles as a fusing devise, so even the wattage is displaced over a large area.