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best non venmous snake for learning before handling venomus cobras

2K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  farnell182 
#1 ·
hi as title says. i want to know a good snake to practices handling on before i get a cobra. any ideas?
 
#4 ·
I've seen some stupid or provocative first posts on the forum recently, but this takes the biscuit.

As others have said, these snakes are in a class of their own, with excellent eyesight, quick reaction and a level of intelligence higher than some other snakes. Not suitable for someone with no experience (and even those with have been caught out in the past)

Maybe this should have been posted in the DWA snake section rather then help and advice ?
 
#6 ·
aspidelaps lubricus lubricus

Cape coral cobra..

There is no other snake that is like a true naja when it goes from bluff to attack.

If you want to go down this path get something that is small, it gives you a little bit more wiggle room. Rather than 8' of snouted cobra charging you:2thumb:
 
#8 ·
That was 8 FEET. Out of interest, how old are you? The spelling mistakes, confusion between inches and feet and just the general wording ie "I guess I just try to learn from someone who has a cobra and get my own if people really think that snakes act that differently" seems to suggest you are very young. You do realise that in the UK you can't just pop out and buy a cobra, you need a DWAL.
 
#11 ·
There are several exotic retailers that provide excellent venomous snake handling sessions - this would be my first port of call.

Not sure whether you will get to hold a cobra mind you but they would at least be able to give you practical advise on the reality of keeping an intelligent, large and obviously dangerous serpent.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I'm surprised you can get corbas in the UK. Are they easy to care for and come by? Not that I want to get one but I imagine they'd be pretty simple to care for. I'm talking in terms of housing, temps, humidity, etc. Obviously, the venom, speed and temperament make them a huge challenge and I'd absolutely shite it if I had to clean out ones cage...


I'm curious how many of you guys actually own one?


EDIT: Oh and I'd recommend a corn snake... Pretty much exactly the same as a cobra but without the venom. Both have scales and eat mammals. Stick with corn snakes for maybe 20 years and then reconsider a cobra...
 
#13 ·
I'm surprised you can get corbas in the UK. Are they easy to care for and come by? Not that I want to get one but I imagine they'd be pretty simple to care for. I'm talking in terms of housing, temps, humidity, etc. Obviously, the venom, speed and temperament make them a huge challenge and I'd absolutely shite it if I had to clean out ones cage...


I'm curious how many of you guys actually own one?
Hatchlings can be picky feeders, once they're past this stage their fairly bullet proof. No real difference to keeping a rat snake. They do tend to be messy. high metabolic rate and mine seem to crap down the walls.

You can get them in in the uk, most probably come in from the European shows.

The only real difficulty is the sharp end. removing stuck eye caps Etc.

As you can guess I keep a few.
 
#16 ·
What an interesting thread. Get some mentoring wrigglies dwa for example.
Look into what’s needed as a private keeper make sure you can tick all the boxes. Make sure you have plenty of money because you will likely need to bend over for your council and get inspection, plus the handling equipment and liabilities insurance. And doo
Much more research into your species rather than a forum thread. It does not show willingness to learn properly In my eyes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#17 ·
You are nowhere near ready to be playing with cobras just yet.

Whilst most of them aren't particularly difficult for keepers who understand snake behaviour, for you they will saturate your capacity and you'll get bitten.
You need to acquire the basic skills with the easy and safe stuff before applying it elsewhere, so spend a few years learning general snake behaviour before you touch something that could send you to an early grave.

Oh, and small vipers are the absolute worst lead-in to elapids (as I know you also asked about acquiring Vipera berus.) Any elapids. Working with vipers will not prepare you for working with cobras and vice versa.
 
#18 · (Edited)
..

They cost from 90 euros up for some hatchlings at Hamm, which is this weekend, incidentally. Some of these people are patronising you, which seems unhelpful. You can google the requirements for DWA licences relative to your particular council area easily. I keep UK and European snakes, quite a lot of them. Some venomous species I would very much like to keep. The requirements for a DWA in order to keep something that would interest me like aspis, ammodytes or Malpolon are costly and involve a great deal of scrutiny. So much so it is not something I would pursue.
 
#19 · (Edited)
They cost from 90 euros up for some hatchlings at Hamm, which is this weekend, incidentally. Some of these people are patronising you, which seems unhelpful. You can google the requirements for DWA licences relative to your particular council area easily. I keep UK and European snakes, quite a lot of them. Some venomous species I would very much like to keep. The requirements for a DWA in order to keep something that would interest me like aspis, ammodytes or Malpolon are costly and involve a great deal of scrutiny. So much so it is not something I would pursue.
Nobody is patronising.
It cannot be understated that venomous snakes absolutely "know" that they can hurt you.
They use it to their defensive advantage and as a result, behave like other snakes do not.

Whilst in theory, with the correct support network, you could start with venomous as a first, in practice it's extremely difficult, dangerous and hard work and nobody who values their reputation would even consider supporting it.

Working with cobras is not as simple as hooking the snake without a second thought. From the moment you unlock the vivarium, you need to be performing at an exceptionally high level; you need to know the room, you need to know where each and every one of your tools are that you'll require for the task, you need to know where the animal is at all times, whether you're within range or not and you need to be ready to respond to the situation quickly if it doesn't go as you hoped/planned. You also need to be competent with the tools, or else you're just going to annoy the animal more than you need to & place yourself at a greater risk of an accident.

It's not easy.
A Formula 1 team wouldn't let you drive a championship F1 car without building up to it, the RAF won't let you fly a Typhoon or F-35 without building up to it, and to be frank, you shouldn't be touching elapids without building up to it either. They're dangerous!
 
#20 ·
Firstly, I hate to shout "troll" just in case, but this time I think it probably was a troll/wind up post that started the thread, confirmed for me at least, by his/her later one.
But I have to agree that some of the replies soon became patronising.
The OP asked for recommendations for a none venomous snake to get first, as a precursor to getting into cobras, not; "which cobra should I get as my first snake?"
The first two replies covered the answer.
 
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