Something i've always wondered

[TKR Reptiles]

has anyone ever had to put a snake down b/c it was too aggressive to handle or keep? or know some that has?

im not talking about someone that got a baby snake and it was nippy so they did the unthinkable and put it down. what im asking is has anyone ever had a snake that that got as a baby and was very aggressive? then as the snake got older and bigger it got worse. so bad that it couldnt be handled or dealt with at all with putting someones life or well being in danger. i know most people will say that you can be careful in handling them or that you can hold the aggression out of them, but there is always the exception to the rule. i've never had to do this. not have i known anyone that has either. i just wanna know if anyone has. if so please explain the circumstances and the reason why it had to be put down. thanks.

[spix14]

I can't imagine any snake being so aggressive that it needed to be put down. It's not as though they are going to bust out of their cage and come to kill you in the middle of the night. With enough people and experience to help, I don't think it would be necessary to kill any snake just because it was "mean". Even a full grown monster of a retic could be dealt with if you had enough experience. Even with the biggest, craziest, most people hating snake on Earth you should still be able to at least out think it, if nothing else.

Anyway, no. I haven't.

[TKR Reptiles]

Originally Posted by spix14

I can't imagine any snake being so aggressive that it needed to be put down. It's not as though they are going to bust out of their cage and come to kill you in the middle of the night. With enough people and experience to help, I don't think it would be necessary to kill any snake just because it was "mean". Even a full grown monster of a retic could be dealt with if you had enough experience. Even with the biggest, craziest, most people hating snake on Earth you should still be able to at least out think it, if nothing else.

Anyway, no. I haven't.

i agree that they arent going to just bust out of there cages, and i agree ive never seen or heard of a snake that so aggressive it deserves to be put down, but no matter how much experience or how many people you have if a huge monster is so aggressive that it comes out after the keepr or handler anytime it's cage is opened it would be hard to control. but like i said before i dont think it warrants putting it down. just dont handle it.

[spix14]

Sure, it would be hard to control, but like I said with proper experience and manpower it could be done. And that's something that should be considered before people commit to keeping snakes anyway. Sadly, I'm sure that someone, somewhere, has probably had a snake put down for aggression. But I've never heard an actual account of it.

[luker3232]

Id take it haha

[owen.richards]

a snake is an animal. We took its ancestors out of the wild, and bred them, then we keep them in a cage all the time. No matter how well we care for them, or how calm they are, they are always, and always will be wild animals. Snakes are not domesticated, and never will be. Thats why i dont mind if I have to work with an incredibly mean snake, all that snake is trying to do is protect itself.

I think it was BW who mentioned this, but if it was someone else please correct me, but I remember someone saying something that was the best way I have ever heard it described... "Try and put yourself in the snakes position. Your sitting in your bed, trying to sleep when suddenly, you feel vibrations in your floor. Right then your ceiling is torn open, and a giant monster reaches in and flips your bed over, and trys to grab you. It picks you up, and pulls you out into its world. Even when you arent being bothered by this monster, everytime music is played, or more monsters walk by, your home shakes a little bit. Everytime you are trying to enjoy the warm heat, and bask out in the open, more monsters walk by your home and stare in at you. Often they see you basking and just pull you out for more handling."

I know I wouldnt feel too good if that was happening to me day in, day out. And no matter how calm, and gentle you are when handling your snake, the above text is how the snake sees it. If a snake is calm and handleable, it means that it has managed to supress its natural behavior, and tolerate you. If a snake is mean, then all it is doing is trying to protect the only thing it has (its life) from the big giant monster

[razeraze]

I bet it has happened. Your best bet would be to contact reptile adoptions and rescues. Most humane societies (aspca) put any reptile down for being a reptile. They feel the public should not keep reptiles.