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First off, let me say one more time: I do NOT recommend ANYONE keeping venomous reptiles. Theya re inherently dangerous and can cause serious injury or DEATH!! Lord know my parents still don't like it! They have been to ONE of my "out-of-cage" venomous programs and swear that they will never watch another.

And just to shoot you into reality, here is a pic of a Western Diamondback bite from http://www.venomousreptiles.org . These pics and their rights belong to Bret Welch:

In the past couple years, I have seen a dramatic increase in the interest of venomous species husbandry. I would like to outline some points to consider.

Legallity/Community:
Is it legal to keep venomous reptiles in your state, county, and city? Illegal keeping of venomous reptiles hurts us all. Particularly if yo are bitten. Newspapers will read "Man Bitten by Deadly "Pet" Snake in Own Home", "Pet Cobra Bites Local Man", or "Man Keeping Illegal Deadly Viper is Admitted to Hospital". These headlines cause legislation to be passed. That hurts us all. Most venomous keepers are pretty low profile, not because of legality, but because of the way we are persecuted by the public. It is bad enough (in the public eye) to have a Boa, much less a Rattlesnake! And trust me, these people vote! I am completely legal where I live. But none of my neighbors know what is in a sealed room in the basement. Am I scared............. yes. If they knew that I had around 40 "Poisonous" Snakes in my home, there would be a public outcry. Imagine this..... Now I have seen Copperheads in the creek accross the street. A child is playing in the creek, she gets bitten by a Copperhead, what will be the reaction of the community? " BWSmith has 'Poisonous' Snakes, one of his must have escaped!" And you can imagine what could happen from there. They will not care that I do half a dozen displays a year at nature centers, that I perform Herpetological Surveys for Dept. of Natural Resources, that I teach many classes on snakes and snakebite. They don't care. I am "endangering their children." I am a "Menace". For the general public, snake keepers are crazy, venomous keepers are lunatics! How many times have you heard "The only good snake is a dead snake"? Imagine the reaction if it was a rattlesnake or a cobra. I remember a guy who was going through a park scaring people with his ball python. Within a couple weeks, ALL snakes were banned int he city. Alabama.......... A high school kid bought a few venomous from a dealer (ther were no venomous laws at the time except age 1

. His Spitting Cobra escaped his apartment! Within weeks...... gues what.......... new laws were passed. That is how one incident can jeopardize us all. Know the laws!

Reasons:
WHY do yo want to keep a venomous snake? This is a very important question. You must ask this to yourself and answer it to yourself. Be honest with yourself. Why do you want ot keep venomous? I have found a couple reasons that people do this. 1: A complete fascination with venomous. I will say that venomous are completely different than nons. Act different, the move different, and they have a different attitude. It almost seems that they know that they are armed. They are fascinating. 2: Education: This derives from the passion, but takes it one step farther. This is taking that passion to the public. Putting these animals (safely) in front of the public to educated them on the truth about venomous and snakes in general. If we can save one Pygmy Rattlesnake from being decapitated, it helps. 3: Adrenaline: This one is dangerous. These are the people that keep venomous for the pure fact that they are dangerous. They get off on the danger. Make no mistake, when a 6 foot cobra strikes and charges you, you will get the rush! That is biology and self preservation. But these are people that put their lives on the line for sake of doing it. I know one man who's first SNAKE was a Gaboon Viper! 4: "Macho-ism": Ther are those that think that keepign venomous makes them cool or tough. "Don't mess with me! If I can keep a Cobra, I can deal with you!" or even worse, just trying to show off that they can handle a dangerous animal. These are the most dangerous keepers. They are "6 feet tall and bulletproof." The last two catagories probably constitute most captive bites. Let me squash the rumors: Venomous Snakes are NOT a status symbol or a sign of how tough you are! They are inherently dangerous and deadly animals who deserve the upmost respect. Now this is the most important thing: YOU MUST BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Why do you want to keep a hot? If it is for either of the last two reasons, don't do it! Noone else has to know why, just don't do it. You have to be comitted to these animals 100%. The minute you stop respecting them, they get you!

The Risk:
Are you ready to take the risk. Let's examine that for a moment. What are you risking? For some species, mangling your body. Can you live without a finger, hand, toe or foot? Would you blame the snake for inflicting such damage? What about the pain? A venomous bite is likely to be the most painful thing you are likely to have to endure. Is it worth haveing your hand feeling like someone is peeling the skin off? OK, let's move on. Another possibility: DEATH!!!!!!! Are you willing to risk your life for the animals you love? No matter how many precautions you take, you WILL have to deal witht he animal in close range if not touching it! Are you willing to risk that? I would venture to say that most venomous snakes are capable of causing a human fatality. Now there are many species who are known for severe, permanent physical damage, like the Cottonmouth. Again, let me squash the rumor. I have a cottonmouth that HAS TAKEN A LIFE! Now I am not mentioning her as a screwed up staus symbol, it is an example how 99% of the bite victims may recover, but there are always those that don't. Are you willing to take that risk. Let's move on to money real quick. Now I am not talking about the price of the snake or the food. I am talking about medical bills. I will leave it with one sentence: A moderate to severe Easern Diamondback envenomation will run about 2 weeks in intensive care and about $120,000 Again, are you willing to take the risk?

Experience:
Here is a tricky one. Noone else can tell you when and if you are ready for a venomous. It comes back to being honest with yourself. You HAVE TO KNOW that you are ready. There can be no doubt. You have to be comfortable with your skills and the snake. But on the other edge of the sword, you can never lose respect for the snake or become lax in your handling. I have even found myslef doing it. Getting too comfortable with a snake and becoming a little relaxed in my handling. I am not ashamed to admit that. It only takes one close call to bring you back to reality! But that close call may be a bite next time! One bit of advice is that you have several years of handling very aggressive nonvenomous species of all kinds. And every time you get bit by one, repeat to yourself "if that had been venomous, I might be dead!". My second bit of advice is to find an experienced ven keeper near you who will take the time to train you. You can only learn so much from books. You need to see it done and done properly. Personally, I had 2 years of training every weekend before I got my forst Pygmy Rattler. And by that time, I had worked with about every venomous species you can imagine, from Pygmies to Cobras to Gaboons to Puffs to Kraits to Bushmasters, Spitters and Mambas (I don't like working with Mambas or Spitters). I will leave this with one sentence again: YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE READY.

Housing:
Are you prepared to house a venomous snake? This has a couple different points. First is the snake itself. Just like any snake, can yo provide the environment it needs? Lighting, hiding, basking, hunidity, and brumation? And most important in houseng venomous is security. Can you house it safely? This is not just for the snake, but for you, your family, and the community. Remember my mention of the escaped spitting cobra.............. poor housing. Ther are two major things to consider here: Can it get out of the cage and what if it does? I strictly abide by the standard of a "Hot Room". This a room fro venomous snake. The room is as sealed as any cage. Even by a feat of magic (or a lapse in locking a cage), it cannot escape the room. I will talk about "Standard" glass terrariums for a moment. Lets not forget that venomous snakes have fangs. They CAN go through a screen. I happent o be present when somone put their arm on top of an aquarium with a rattler in it. We looked over and ther was a fang poking throught he screen about 1/4 inch form his elbow. We have a term called "Double Screen". Basically, it is one screean with another an inch above it. That eleminates the possibility of breaking through for MOST species. Enclosures must be escape proof and safe for the snake and the keeper. Secured, locked and in a secured room. Are yo prepared to go throught he effort of creating this environment?

OK. That is the introduction....................... I am tired now and am afraid I will lose everything if I do not post now. More is to come. But this should give some food for your brain. And just for good measure:

The same bite from above, just a different view at a different time.

Vegetarians, the other white meat.

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