Quote:
Originally Posted by BWSmith
[color=black]....I do disagree with your idea of keeping dangerous animals as a psychosis. There is no doubt that MANY reptiles are potentially dangerous animals. As mentioned is the little thing of asphyxiation. But a moderately sized crocodilian, monitor, snapping turtle, or indigo could easily lacerate a major artery (I have seen it with large monitors first hand). Of course, there are venomous keepers, not much gray area there. Then again, dogs are potentially deadly animals as well and take many more lives each year than herps. Just because an animal is potentially dangerous does not mean that the keeper is crazy...
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Ok, that's reasonable.. perhaps I could have been more clear. I'm talkng about a real expectation of serious injury or death, not simply the 'potential' for trouble.
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The bathtub is statistically a most dangerous thing we have in our homes (even for those who keep six foot boas).. it sounds like I'm joking but I'm not.. bathtubs kill people. Six foot pet snakes (even ones much larger) are not even on a list of the top threats to people in their homes. Yet most of us don't think it needed to have a buddy help us bathe! We learned how to bathe when we were kids and have been trusted to do it safely since.
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.. and yes, if you or anybody got their heart in their throat and had palpitations every time they went to clean cages (or bathe!) and didn't give it up, then there would be serious questions about your sanity.
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Those new to the experience of handling larger snakes (6,7,8') should start out by having an experinced helper! Are inexperienced people buying larger snakes.. cold turkey? That's a problem by itself. But I do still believe that classifying modest sixed snakes like a six-foot boa as serious threats to human life is nuts (voodoo).
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Thanks for the chance to discuss these issues..
