how big a risk ...

[bigred]

hi. I went to visit a guy who keeps only hots yesterday, (for the full tale of the visit see Just Talk under the ARP swallowing kid post - it will make sense !!)and he hauled out his 4-5 ft Cape Cobra with his hands - and calmly held it, tickled its neck so it would show its hood.
he claims he has handled her since a baby and that she is quite tame
I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it
can a cobra "tame" or is he still taking a HUGE risk?
btw, he also handled his asian spitters and tried to handle his female boomslang, but she didn't want to meet me, even with the aid of a hook
[addsig]

	Venomous Reptile A term commonly used to refer to a venomous reptile. Most commonly used in reference to venomous snakes.

[nomadbean]

My burm is the tamest sweetest thing ever, but the other day I moved wrong and she snapped at me, no biggie, but I would never have told anyone she would bite them ever. The same may be true of hots, but one wrong move there and you are bitten and then you die, he is just forgetting how dangerous those snakes are. That is my opinion, he is just too relaxed around the snakes and will get bitten one day.
[addsig]

[BWSmith]

First of all, i do not believe that ANY snake is "tame". Docile maybe, but not tame. I would say that he is taking a HUGE risk!! And that risk went on to affect you as well. In my opinion, people who remove hots to show them off are in it for the wrong reasons. About the only time to pull out hots with someone inexperienced there is if it is routine cage care or feeding. Even then it is tricky. But he put you at a serious risk too. What if one of them bit him, wold you know what to do for him or what to do with the snake. I amazed at the spitter. That snake could have blinded you from across the room. I wonder if he thought of that. Bringing out spitters and boomers in a room with inexperienced people is just plain stupid. Boomers are too fast and too toxic and the spitters, well, spit venom.

Now there are a lot of keepers that still freehandle cobras. They are to an extent predictable in the way they strike. But nature will always throw you a curveball. I am not willing to bet my life on the idea that I "know" what the snake is going to do. They can react to stimulus that we are unaware of and BOOM, you're dead. Not a very responsible practice in my opinion. As for the boomer, I can not see EVER freehandling one!! Let's see, what is the worst that could happen???? How about BLEEDING OUT YOUR EYES AND DYING!!!!! They are fast, agile and can get very aggressive.

As for your question, it is a HUGE RISK that there is no need for. He was putting himself and you in danger. My advice would be not to go back into that hot room, bad mojo workin' there.
[addsig]

	Venomous Reptile A term commonly used to refer to a venomous reptile. Most commonly used in reference to venomous snakes.

[najaboy]

BW pretty much summed it up. That guy is a prime candidate for natural selection.
[addsig]

[herm]

RUN AWAY!! RUN AWAY!!
[addsig]

[Ravnos]

I don't know, its one thing to put yourself at risk by doing such things... but when you have someone in the room who is inexperienced with hots, you don't do poopy like that. Not only can it make the snake behave differently and unpredictably, it can make you unattentive and distracted. I think people that free handle, or kiss their hots are the reason why there is so much hype about the dangers of venomous snakes and so little fact.

Rav
[addsig]

	Venomous Reptile A term commonly used to refer to a venomous reptile. Most commonly used in reference to venomous snakes.

[telefrag]

are you sure the snakes were not venomoids?

Sounds like the type of person who would have them.
[addsig]

	Venomoid Venomoid surgery is the removal of venom glands. It is an operation to alter the functions of a snake, not an operation aimed at altering it's appearance. The measurable and desired effect is that the snake no longer produces venom.

[Flood]

"Tame" is a term that I feel is overrated. When a snake for instance, doesn't mind the presence of people and even seems to like being handled all it really means is that it has become accustomed to a human presence. It is mere tolerance, and not like a cat or dog that you can train. With a snake, they are the ones in control; this is the way I see it anyways. Therefore, playing with cobras IS definately a risk, but keeping them as pets?!?! that's pushing it. I met this guy that keeps a lot of rattlesnakes, and even though he could handle SOME of these snake, not one was incredibly tolerant of it. And yes, he's taken quite a few bites, but luckily he was prepared for it. You see his rattlesnake program is funded and monitered by the government(at one time there were a lot of rattlesnake in ontario). Either way though, this guy will be the first to tell you that you can't trust something that could easily kill you if you so much as spook it, such as a rattlesnake or a cobra.
[addsig]

[JuliusSqueezer]

I'm with frag...anytime I see an idiot showing off with hots like that....I am always suspicious that they are handling voids. You have to factor in....the only reason people keep voids is for the shock factor of showing off. They really wouldn't be causing any awe if they admitted their snakes were voids now would they? Either way. Your friend needs a wakeup call.
[addsig]

	Venomous Reptile A term commonly used to refer to a venomous reptile. Most commonly used in reference to venomous snakes.

[bigred]

thanks for all the rational heads and sensible answers. he deals with cobras and puffs in the wild on an almost daily basis -removing from gardens and back yards- and my feeling was exactly that-bad mojo.
the guy is not my friend, only met him for the first time yesterday as a friend of mine went to look at his copperheads with a thought of buying.
the handling of the cobra was weird, almost surreal. a part of me wanted to hold it , but another part of my 33 year-old brain was screaming " that's a cobra!!!!!!"
when he grabbed the boom by the tail to get her out I think that's when my initial awe was tempered - here is a stunning, extremely fast and agile hunter and there was something lacking in his casual treatment of her, something that grated inside me, like a feeling of lack of respect that he was showing her.
for the rest of the time I smiled politely, but the wonderment of the cobra had started to sour by the time he hauled out the spitters.
so his claim of them not spitting when older is crap - they could have got to me by the door??
the guy is 20 years old, and I suppose he is going to get a wake-up call soon
won't be going back
thanks for putting things into perspective for me
my burms,annies and boas (and an ARP in Feb [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] ) I always treat with respect, and a bite from my big female annie is sobering enough
a bite from a snake a young hot-head (pun intended) is basically showing off with will be more than sobering
once again, thanks
I think that people in SA are becoming slightly too comfortable with cobras and puffs, because of their regularity in summer -we've already had that young girl dying about 2 months ago from a cape cobra bite
by the way, his next acquisition is a big black mamba ....
mmmmmmmmmmmm
[addsig]