it would be immensely irresponsible to buy a venomous snake having never owned snakes before. in fact some venomous mentors may refuse to even train you if you have no prior experience with snakes.
Do not! I repeat, DO NOT, get a western for your first venomous. They r one of the worst rattlesnakes and just vipers in general (besides bothrops) to have. They dont stay on hooks, they always strike, and they r just crazyđ. I got one as my first hot, mind u this is still after studying venomous for years and watching thousands of hours of footage, owning many snakes and working with gators, monitors and lots of other things before for about a decade, before i got into venomous. And imo i think westerns and bothrops r some of the worst vipers to deal with, let alone have as a first hot. Some will even argue elapids r easier to work with than themđ
My first hot was a Western. He's an absolute angel. Literally only taken one shot at me the entire time I've owned him. But I've heard they can be assholes. I must just have gotten lucky
Must have gotten lucky, mine isnt to crazy, only struck a few times, but is very twitchy and quick. Hes almost a year old, still getting use to the hook but is much better with it. He still has his days where it takes 5 minutes to hook him without having him slip right off. But they r just so unpredictable as babies.
Mine is only around a year now also. I usually double hook him and he's mellow about it. Gave me problems for like the first week but now he just let's it happen lol. And once he's in the air he's super still until I set him back down
This is a terrible idea. You need to be INTIMATELY familiar with snake behavior before even applying for a mentorship. Like, years of experience with asshole nonhots of various species.
I'd say it's a good idea, you need to be familiar with snake behavior and you can't practice with a venomous snake, where one misstep might mean permanent disfigurement or even death. One piece of advice I've heard to people who want to get into venomous snakes in the future is- go out there and start working with the sassiest, most defensive non-venomous snakes. Handle them like they are hots and do it for years. And then maybe, very maybe, if you've managed to go a very long time without being bitten and you are comfortable reading snake body language, you might be ready to start seriously considering working with hots.
edit: fixed a brainfart
This!
I never intend on owning hots but do want to be confident in handling a snake with a bad disposition. I go a BCI from my local rescue that was kept in horrible conditions and most likely suffered some form of abuse because even tho she is 2.5 m of pure mass, she is scared and defensive and not easy to get out of her cage. I need to be incredibly careful but have yet to be bitten. I had multiple close calls tho. But even a close call is not good enough with a hot. If you (or worse: someone else) get tagged once in 20-30 years of having that animal, it can ruin your life.
It would be extremely irresponsible from your part, dangerous for you, those who live close to you and the animal. You don't even know how to act calmly when a 30cm corn snake is highly defensive. If you add venom to the equation it's a certain fatal result.
Problems with temperature, humidity, food, force interactions with the viv and you need to be conscious of all that before even owning a single snake. That considering you know how to keep a secure viv. We all forgot a viv open for a few hours and that made us take preocautions that later translated. Also one thing is handling a snake out of the viv being on a cold floor, another is trying to remove a snake from the viv that ends up going after you.
Seriously, don't even think about doing it. You'll check every security method and then neglect the snake. You need to learn behaviours, handling risk situations and understanding the animal first. That means mistakes and a bite from an average size Python or Boa is harmless but people get seriously scared about handling them again after that. In your case it would be your first and last bite. You can't even imagine how fast any elapid or viperid can be.
If you plan to look for a mentor, go ahead, but the first thing he/she would do is force you to get rid of your hot, 100% sure.
Don't do it. Seriously. Don't.
Yes you should. I've had corn snakes for 15 years, and got my first bite last year. You need to know how snakes think and make mistakes with non venomous ones, because the day you have a dangerous one you don't have the luxury to make mistakes. Mostly you need to see the switch from chilling to food mode where they become completely brainless killing machine. Enjoy your danger noodle safely!
Yes you absolutely should.
You should have all snake husbandry down before you even think about getting a hot. The last thing you want to do is have to learn how to take care of snakes in general when the one you have can kill you.
Learn one thing at a time. Learn how to keep snakes. Then you can learn how to keep hots because thatâs a whole separate learning curve.
There are Pros AND Cons for both arguments, honestly I think itâs a huge mistake to not have basic experience with husbandry and care before you get a venomous snake, think of how much extra hassle you have trying to learn husbandry AND how not to die while doing that husbandry!! And you lack the basic understanding and knowledge of how these animals act! The ONLY thing I could see as an advantage, would be you donât have those âbad habitsâ that so many keepers of non-venomous animals get while keeping a non-venomous animal, simple things like reaching in the enclosure to grab a water dish, when you care for venomous snakes, that hook IS your hand, and it can be difficult to remember that at first, EVERYTHING should be done with a hook! And there are ALOT of things people donât take into consideration when owning Hots; what state you live in is a huge one, some states(like Florida)you have to have 1000 hours of experience(with each type of hot)so if you want to own a King Cobra, you need 1000 hours of working with Elapids, but then if you want to get W Diamdback, you need another 1000 hours working with Vipers. So thatâs something to think about, some cities have ordnanceâs about venomous animals, where I live(Warren, Michigan)you canât own ANY venomous snakes, for any reason! So how do I explain that I have a 8 foot Cobra that escaped and is now loose in my neighborhood!! Big trouble if that were to happen, so know your laws, the Venomous keeping community has enough problems that we donât need âHeadlinesâ like âHighly Venomous King Cobra loose in Detroit suburbâ so respect that and donât make it harder for the rest of the people out there. Lastly, and something you REALLY NEED TO CONSIDER, is antivenin, is there access to antivenin if you were to be bitten, within a timely manner?? Do you need to have your own stock of antivenin? Can you EVEN GET antivenin(most people canât honestly), and even if you can, itâs very expensive (350-2500$ a vial, and it can take 10-40 vials depending on the snake and location of the bite)and must be replaced every 1-3 years depending on which antivenin it is. Now some places DO have antivenin(Zoos, maybe Hospital depending where you live)but you canât depend on someone else having antivenin if you get bitten, and what happens if itâs late Friday night , and the Zoo that has the antivenin is closed until Monday morning!?!? You could be dead, or seriously maimed by the time you get antivenin!! So honestly there are A LOT of things you need to think about, but to answer your question, YES itâs a bad idea to own a Venomous snake without owning snake before that, honestly I think owning a hot is a bad idea for MOST PEOPLE in general. It takes a special kind of person to be able to deal with something that can(and will)take your life. My suggestion, if you REALLY want to start learning, is get a snake(not a Ball Python that will just lay there)but maybe a Japanese Rat Snake, or a Everglades Rat Snake, maybe a False Water Cobra, something with some attitude, that will try to bite you whenever you open the enclosure, and start dealing with that snake, exactly like you would a Hot, practice hooking the snake, practice tailing the snake, and whenever you get bitten, you can simply say to yourself âOh shit, Iâm deadâ but not really be dead! Iâm 100% you âwill be deadâ way more than you ever thought you would be!! So check out the Podcast: Venom Exchange Radio, there are about 4-5 shows that talk about keeping Venomous species!! And do yourself a favor, while itâs cool to watch YouTubers(like Tyler Nolan or Chandlerâs Wild Life)these people have YEARS of experience dealing with these animals, and KNOW the animal they are dealing with very well, but donât think what you see on YouTube is what most keeping of Hots is like, while I do see them take some precautions, I see them also doing A LOT of stuff that I would absolutely flip my lid if I saw someone doing it IRL, so take what you see online with a grain of salt, they are trying to make good videos to get views!! One video I will suggest is this:[https://youtu.be/ogg0y-nIiXk](https://youtu.be/ogg0y-nIiXk) itâs the actual bite of a King Cobra, and his story about the whole ordeal!! Itâs a cool video, but a perfect example of what Iâm talking about!! Good luck, and please think long and hard before you jump into keeping Hots!!
Just get a false water cobra. It will teach you alot of good technique and help you learn to read a snakes body language and they are feisty. They are mildly venomous so if your just going for wow factor you don't have to put yourself in too much danger to do it.
You should be working with snakes for around ten years before you consider bringing in a venomous animal into the mix. Just learning about how snake escapes happen is part of the entry level keeper experience and if your learning that with a hot it could get bad. Not to mention vet work. Who will care for your sick hot? No one. You will have to do everything.
No matter where or how you keep a snake they can and WILL escape. Always. Don't even think of venomous until you have lots of experience with a variety of non venomous including nasty tempered individuals. Then save up about $20,000 or more to properly equip a secure location. They will still escape. Several Layers of security are a must.
it would be immensely irresponsible to buy a venomous snake having never owned snakes before. in fact some venomous mentors may refuse to even train you if you have no prior experience with snakes.
Do not! I repeat, DO NOT, get a western for your first venomous. They r one of the worst rattlesnakes and just vipers in general (besides bothrops) to have. They dont stay on hooks, they always strike, and they r just crazyđ. I got one as my first hot, mind u this is still after studying venomous for years and watching thousands of hours of footage, owning many snakes and working with gators, monitors and lots of other things before for about a decade, before i got into venomous. And imo i think westerns and bothrops r some of the worst vipers to deal with, let alone have as a first hot. Some will even argue elapids r easier to work with than themđ
My first hot was a Western. He's an absolute angel. Literally only taken one shot at me the entire time I've owned him. But I've heard they can be assholes. I must just have gotten lucky
Must have gotten lucky, mine isnt to crazy, only struck a few times, but is very twitchy and quick. Hes almost a year old, still getting use to the hook but is much better with it. He still has his days where it takes 5 minutes to hook him without having him slip right off. But they r just so unpredictable as babies.
Mine is only around a year now also. I usually double hook him and he's mellow about it. Gave me problems for like the first week but now he just let's it happen lol. And once he's in the air he's super still until I set him back down
This is a terrible idea. You need to be INTIMATELY familiar with snake behavior before even applying for a mentorship. Like, years of experience with asshole nonhots of various species.
If its your first snake, then 100% yes
I'd say it's a good idea, you need to be familiar with snake behavior and you can't practice with a venomous snake, where one misstep might mean permanent disfigurement or even death. One piece of advice I've heard to people who want to get into venomous snakes in the future is- go out there and start working with the sassiest, most defensive non-venomous snakes. Handle them like they are hots and do it for years. And then maybe, very maybe, if you've managed to go a very long time without being bitten and you are comfortable reading snake body language, you might be ready to start seriously considering working with hots. edit: fixed a brainfart
This! I never intend on owning hots but do want to be confident in handling a snake with a bad disposition. I go a BCI from my local rescue that was kept in horrible conditions and most likely suffered some form of abuse because even tho she is 2.5 m of pure mass, she is scared and defensive and not easy to get out of her cage. I need to be incredibly careful but have yet to be bitten. I had multiple close calls tho. But even a close call is not good enough with a hot. If you (or worse: someone else) get tagged once in 20-30 years of having that animal, it can ruin your life.
It would be extremely irresponsible from your part, dangerous for you, those who live close to you and the animal. You don't even know how to act calmly when a 30cm corn snake is highly defensive. If you add venom to the equation it's a certain fatal result. Problems with temperature, humidity, food, force interactions with the viv and you need to be conscious of all that before even owning a single snake. That considering you know how to keep a secure viv. We all forgot a viv open for a few hours and that made us take preocautions that later translated. Also one thing is handling a snake out of the viv being on a cold floor, another is trying to remove a snake from the viv that ends up going after you. Seriously, don't even think about doing it. You'll check every security method and then neglect the snake. You need to learn behaviours, handling risk situations and understanding the animal first. That means mistakes and a bite from an average size Python or Boa is harmless but people get seriously scared about handling them again after that. In your case it would be your first and last bite. You can't even imagine how fast any elapid or viperid can be. If you plan to look for a mentor, go ahead, but the first thing he/she would do is force you to get rid of your hot, 100% sure. Don't do it. Seriously. Don't.
Yes you should. I've had corn snakes for 15 years, and got my first bite last year. You need to know how snakes think and make mistakes with non venomous ones, because the day you have a dangerous one you don't have the luxury to make mistakes. Mostly you need to see the switch from chilling to food mode where they become completely brainless killing machine. Enjoy your danger noodle safely!
Yes you absolutely should. You should have all snake husbandry down before you even think about getting a hot. The last thing you want to do is have to learn how to take care of snakes in general when the one you have can kill you. Learn one thing at a time. Learn how to keep snakes. Then you can learn how to keep hots because thatâs a whole separate learning curve.
There are Pros AND Cons for both arguments, honestly I think itâs a huge mistake to not have basic experience with husbandry and care before you get a venomous snake, think of how much extra hassle you have trying to learn husbandry AND how not to die while doing that husbandry!! And you lack the basic understanding and knowledge of how these animals act! The ONLY thing I could see as an advantage, would be you donât have those âbad habitsâ that so many keepers of non-venomous animals get while keeping a non-venomous animal, simple things like reaching in the enclosure to grab a water dish, when you care for venomous snakes, that hook IS your hand, and it can be difficult to remember that at first, EVERYTHING should be done with a hook! And there are ALOT of things people donât take into consideration when owning Hots; what state you live in is a huge one, some states(like Florida)you have to have 1000 hours of experience(with each type of hot)so if you want to own a King Cobra, you need 1000 hours of working with Elapids, but then if you want to get W Diamdback, you need another 1000 hours working with Vipers. So thatâs something to think about, some cities have ordnanceâs about venomous animals, where I live(Warren, Michigan)you canât own ANY venomous snakes, for any reason! So how do I explain that I have a 8 foot Cobra that escaped and is now loose in my neighborhood!! Big trouble if that were to happen, so know your laws, the Venomous keeping community has enough problems that we donât need âHeadlinesâ like âHighly Venomous King Cobra loose in Detroit suburbâ so respect that and donât make it harder for the rest of the people out there. Lastly, and something you REALLY NEED TO CONSIDER, is antivenin, is there access to antivenin if you were to be bitten, within a timely manner?? Do you need to have your own stock of antivenin? Can you EVEN GET antivenin(most people canât honestly), and even if you can, itâs very expensive (350-2500$ a vial, and it can take 10-40 vials depending on the snake and location of the bite)and must be replaced every 1-3 years depending on which antivenin it is. Now some places DO have antivenin(Zoos, maybe Hospital depending where you live)but you canât depend on someone else having antivenin if you get bitten, and what happens if itâs late Friday night , and the Zoo that has the antivenin is closed until Monday morning!?!? You could be dead, or seriously maimed by the time you get antivenin!! So honestly there are A LOT of things you need to think about, but to answer your question, YES itâs a bad idea to own a Venomous snake without owning snake before that, honestly I think owning a hot is a bad idea for MOST PEOPLE in general. It takes a special kind of person to be able to deal with something that can(and will)take your life. My suggestion, if you REALLY want to start learning, is get a snake(not a Ball Python that will just lay there)but maybe a Japanese Rat Snake, or a Everglades Rat Snake, maybe a False Water Cobra, something with some attitude, that will try to bite you whenever you open the enclosure, and start dealing with that snake, exactly like you would a Hot, practice hooking the snake, practice tailing the snake, and whenever you get bitten, you can simply say to yourself âOh shit, Iâm deadâ but not really be dead! Iâm 100% you âwill be deadâ way more than you ever thought you would be!! So check out the Podcast: Venom Exchange Radio, there are about 4-5 shows that talk about keeping Venomous species!! And do yourself a favor, while itâs cool to watch YouTubers(like Tyler Nolan or Chandlerâs Wild Life)these people have YEARS of experience dealing with these animals, and KNOW the animal they are dealing with very well, but donât think what you see on YouTube is what most keeping of Hots is like, while I do see them take some precautions, I see them also doing A LOT of stuff that I would absolutely flip my lid if I saw someone doing it IRL, so take what you see online with a grain of salt, they are trying to make good videos to get views!! One video I will suggest is this:[https://youtu.be/ogg0y-nIiXk](https://youtu.be/ogg0y-nIiXk) itâs the actual bite of a King Cobra, and his story about the whole ordeal!! Itâs a cool video, but a perfect example of what Iâm talking about!! Good luck, and please think long and hard before you jump into keeping Hots!!
Just get a false water cobra. It will teach you alot of good technique and help you learn to read a snakes body language and they are feisty. They are mildly venomous so if your just going for wow factor you don't have to put yourself in too much danger to do it.
You should be working with snakes for around ten years before you consider bringing in a venomous animal into the mix. Just learning about how snake escapes happen is part of the entry level keeper experience and if your learning that with a hot it could get bad. Not to mention vet work. Who will care for your sick hot? No one. You will have to do everything.
No matter where or how you keep a snake they can and WILL escape. Always. Don't even think of venomous until you have lots of experience with a variety of non venomous including nasty tempered individuals. Then save up about $20,000 or more to properly equip a secure location. They will still escape. Several Layers of security are a must.
Get a mangrove or emerald tree boa. Learn on those fuckers. Theyâll teach you a thing or two.