I agree wholeheartedly... 99% of the people that want to keep "Hot" snakes, shouldn't. I believe it's as simple as that. It is not a "hobby" in the same way as keeping another snake is. It is a commitment with very high demands and a very high price to pay should you make a mistake. As such, it is not something that just anybody can or should get into!

I think that at the very least, it demands many years experience in the maintenance of other terrarium animals. Not because it is some pinnacle that has to be reached at the end of a long road... but because all the issues and problems that might be present in the husbandry of other snakes need to be mastered because they are magnified thanks to the more clinical aspects involved in the care of hot snakes. In essence, you have to master the basics of snake-keeping before you can see how these techniques must be adapted to suit the extra pressure of having potentially lethal captives!

I don't think it is a pursuit that can followed just because a person finds a snake "beautiful" or "interesting". Certainly, these are the reasons that one gets into keeping venomous snakes (or any other animal) in the first place. But just having a desire to keep a dangerously venomous snake does not make it right. One must seriously consider the risks and costs involved and weigh them up against what is practical, and ethical, and what is possible.

A case in point. I LOVE snakes... all snakes. I have a very large collection of rare and "difficult" animals and have toiled for many years to reach the level I am at now - and I will no doubt toil for many more and increase my experience and level of expertise. I've worked in zoos and institutions both in the UK and abroad, and I've captured more than a few venomous snakes in the wild in my time. This love of reptiles led to me studying for and attaining a degree in Zoology quite a few years ago. I mention all this not to boast but just to give some idea of my own experience.

I have already professed my love for "hot" snakes on this forum, and given the reasons why I have not followed that love and brought some into my own home... yet.

It is fully my intention to work with some of the smaller vipers in the future. Bothriechis, Atheris, Vipera, Cerastes, perhaps some of the smaller Bitis and also Dispholidus and Aspidelaps all have my attention... but I can definitively say that that there are some venomous snakes that I will never keep at home. These include things like Gaboon Vipers, Puff Adders, cobras, mambas, etc.

For me, knowing what they are capable of is enough to put me off the risk of bringing these animals into my own home. Some of the genera I mentioned above are already dangerous and easily capable of causing fatality, but at least I would stand a relatively good chance of survival with any of them...

I appreciate that there are others with far more knowledge and experience than I have that are willing to take the risk of keeping even more dangerous species, and I have the utmost respect for them and the way they do things. But I suppose what I am trying to hammer home is just because one person can do it, doesn't mean everybody can, or should.

I have to say, it is good to have people asking questions and the only way people can learn is by having them answered but... some of the questions I have seen make me despair. There is no substitute for doing some good, solid research. The information is out there and available. The problem is that many seem to want a "quick fix" nowadays but are unwilling to put in the effort to find out for themselves whether or not they are suited to the task.

It is all very well to ask somebody's opinion, but that somebody might have dedicated twenty or thirty years of his/her life to get where they are. Perhaps what is right for them is not what is right for a twenty-year old (for example) who has kept a few corns and royals and sees "hots" as a natural step up.

There are no "beginner" snakes. There are men and women out there who have dedicated their whole lives to just corn snakes or just royals and done a huge amount of work for their hobby. Keeping any snake demands all the due care and attention these animals deserve!

Heh heh... anyway, I apologise for another "preachy" post, but I agree that the thought of some of the people I have met or spoken to owning venomous snakes (legally or, more likely, illegally) does fill me with a certain amount of trepidation!

As ever, these are only my opinions, but I think they are fairly solid ones!

good answers mate...much respect to you

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I don't feel our hobby should be held on a pedestal it is no more dangerous than racing motorcycles and cars with the proper gear and training the risk is diminished greatly. For the people racing on the streets illegally it is far to often fatal. Kinda like the legal and underground venomous keepers although you don't hear of many casulties from illegal venomous keepers come to think of it. You can compare the dangers of keeping venomous to that of many hobbies while it deserves respect it's not really in all reality any more dangerous then some other hobbies out there.

I imagine there are thousands of venomous keepers legal and underground between the UK and united states it is rare to hear a report of a private collector getting bit. So all and all the survey says people tend to blow thing out of proportion.

My opinion
Be Safe
Eric G.

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I cant say anything tbh... as i wont to keep Venomous in the future, but im seeking proper training, both with handling and the scientific side....

im just saying it seems that too many people are thinking about keeping, and most do not see understand totally what there getting themselves into

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Do you know what I really hate about the hobby? It's the word 'hots', not having a go Dec (seeing as you're the last person to use the term in this thread), but I just find it so pretentious!

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Well as someone who has no desire to keep a venomous animal, some non hots make me feel dodgy(BURMS). I just feel that the risk is too high for me.My abilities and confidence don't reach that area of the 'hobby', although hots should be seen as an activity unto itself.

One mistake is all it takes, an unlocked viv, a loose vent, snake gets off the hook and you and others are in serious danger.

I agree that people get into keeping them for the wrong reasons. I'm sure having a Rattlesnake on a snake hook is more intimidating then when it is in the viv. People can act tough but it's all fun and games until some one needs a few vials of anti-venom.

I for one will continue to marvel at them from a safe distance....with binoculars, standing on a table behind a glass screen.

Sorry Marie, They made me do it lol (changed it for you)

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Lol - thanks Dec, it's been a real bug bear of mine for years!

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Damn yanks hey Marie no offence Eric mate

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Yeah people have different ones... mines when people call them Poisonous snakes, instead of venomous....

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R.I.P Steve Irwin and all other amazing Herpetologists