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49308
I think that it would be difficult to top Allen Hunter's Venom 101 articles. It is about to be turned into a book with added sections. I think that before hots should be considered, proper training is a must. I trained for 2 years before I got my first hot. The knowledge is very valuable. Just watching other people work with them gives you an understanding of how they move and little body language clues. Personally, I have a complete protocol kit, emergency numbers and all the meds I need to pretreat myself bfore the hospital. I even keep exotic species protocols on hand. Prepare for the worst! Yo never know when tragedy will hit. I think about everything has been pretty well covered. I am trying to put together several articles right now on vens and edit Venom 101, but I will help out however I can. We cannot keep people from getting into hots. We can only try to discourage them. Unfortunately, the hot keeper community is almost a sacred priesthood. If your not in it, you cant get in it. And it is difficult to find a mentor. I have only taken on one student for venomous husbandry, and I am glad i took him on. He will be an asset to the community someday. The first thing I always do is show bite photos. Luckily, I have never been envenomated, although several friends have and a couple almost died. Hots are not something to be taken lightly or kept for novelty. They are some of the most advanced predators on the planet and need to be treated as such. For those of us dedicated to venomous husbandry, there is no greater thrill than watching our collection thrive. And I agree that if you do keep hots, educate everyone you can. They are persecuted at every corner. Well, I will stop rambling.
[addsig]
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