venomous

[honuman]

Anyone keep them?  What types.  We can't in New York without a license.  (I don't think I would anyway -- to clumsy and I know I would get bitten .

My favorite hot snake is a Gaboon Viper.  Sweeet.

[portal_reptiles]

i have worked with some but i will not have them in my house..., my fav. was the king corba, coolest snake i have ever worked with...it was so big...lol  have been thinking of getting a gila monster

[krazymuttzpuck]

my god portal, how big is your house? you seem to have so many reptiles!    Must be nice

[firecrested]

I use to keep them but our laws changed.  I had a gaboon, eastern diamondback, some canebrake's and pigmy rattlesnakes.  The only venomous I would keep now would be Eyelash Vipers.

[portal_reptiles]

my god portal, how big is your house? you seem to have so many reptiles!    Must be nice

no, i didnt own them, i was working for a large breeder....lol, he had them..

[Amy]

My favorite hot snake is a Gaboon Viper.  Sweeet.

I would totally take one of the them of a rhino if they were venimoid sp? i dont trust myself and others otherwise

[smith710]

I would love to have a venomous, but I just don't trust myself enough to have something like that. They are just amazing.

[Liz]

i think thats why i like goign to the hamburg pa show... to look at everythign we cant have. i think id be too scared owning one.

[portal_reptiles]

I would totally take one of the them of a rhino if they were venimoid sp? i dont trust myself and others otherwise
[/quote]

why have one if its a venimoid.....not to be mean, but thats half the fun of them,....i hate when people to this...its very hard on the reptile,...i said the same thing till my breeder friend said that if i counldn't handle a hot, i should stick to pythons.....so i stop playing with them when i almost got bit by a green mamba.....lol

[smith710]

I completely agree.  Making the snakes venamoid is very rough on the snakes.  Alot of snakes end up with infections or are just in loads of pain and end up very sick or die.  I don't like it, if you can't deal with a snake that has venom, don;t get one.

[Amy]

i hate when people to this...its very hard on the reptile,...i said the same thing till my breeder friend said that if i counldn't handle a hot, i should stick to pythons.....so i stop playing with them when i almost got bit by a green mamba.....lol

I completely agree.  Making the snakes venamoid is very rough on the snakes.  Alot of snakes end up with infections or are just in loads of pain and end up very sick or die.  I don't like it, if you can't deal with a snake that has venom, don;t get one.

If its done right you dont have those complications it when people are uneducated about it and do it anways. I really dont see the problem with it. people do worse thing and people do things  common to it like cropping a dogs ears and tails everyway, those dont benefit the dog in anyway they are just for out perosonally lpreferences at least having a snake made venomid would ensure saftey

[portal_reptiles]

have you handled a venamoid...its not the same as cutting ears, read this

http://www.snakegetters.com/demo/vet/venomoid-faq.html

[Amy]

i didnt say it was the same thing i was just implying that many unnesscary things are done to animals all the time. Id probably never get one anyway i was just stating if i did ever get one of those 2 types of snakes id like it to be venomid. And venamoid are suppose to be handled like they a venomous all the time if that what you mean...

[smith710]

i hate when people to this...its very hard on the reptile,...i said the same thing till my breeder friend said that if i counldn't handle a hot, i should stick to pythons.....so i stop playing with them when i almost got bit by a green mamba.....lol

I completely agree.  Making the snakes venamoid is very rough on the snakes.  Alot of snakes end up with infections or are just in loads of pain and end up very sick or die.  I don't like it, if you can't deal with a snake that has venom, don;t get one.

If its done right you dont have those complications it when people are uneducated about it and do it anways. I really dont see the problem with it. people do worse thing and people do things  common to it like cropping a dogs ears and tails everyway, those dont benefit the dog in anyway they are just for out perosonally lpreferences at least having a snake made venomid would ensure saftey

Yes, I agree, I don't like the ear cutting and tail cutting either, but that's just a cut tha will go away pretty quick and the dog will be fine.  The snakes can have pain for a long time and even death.  I don't like it, if you cant deal with a venomous snake, don't get one.

[honuman]

Also with the venomoid thing.  I can't imagine it is good for the snake's digestive process either.  After all the venom does break the prey's tissue down. 

Personally -- ear cropping, tail cropping etc.  is kind of bad but it does not affect something that is a natural process in the animals life.  You are in effect removing part of the snake's digestive process here.  That's a little worse than a an unnecessary cosmetic nip and tuck.

Steve

[warnersister_2000]

i thought they didn't need venom for digestion (when fed pre-killed prey, they don't inject venom before consuming it)?

[honuman]

i thought they didn't need venom for digestion (when fed pre-killed prey, they don't inject venom before consuming it)?

The tissue breaks down though.  Look what happens when a rattlesnake bites something. The cells immediately start breaking down.   I'm sure that in some cases this part of the digestive process.

[monster]

some of my carnivorous plants operate on the same level. nepenthes nectar gets the bugs somewhat "drunk" on poison, aiding them falling into the trap, and starting the digestive process. i believe some sundew's also have numbing properties. nature is pretty funny that way.

[Smaug]

Rattlesnakes are hemotoxic.  Hemotoxins break down tissue.  Neurotoxins don't.  Venomoids don't have any problems digesting from what I've heard.  I personally think it is a terrible practice removing the venom glands.  I was going to attach the same FAQ on venomoids that Portal did.  It is incredibly hard on the snake.  On top of that, you can't be completely sure that all of the gland was removed.  You would still always have to handle a venomoid reptile as if it still had its venom.  Nobody should be handling venomous snakes that don't have the experience and training.  A green Mamba bite is nothing to laugh at.  I personally don't think you would be able to get access to anti-venin in time to save your life.  Gaboons are awesome, but they have the largest fangs of any snake and very large venom sacks.  Obviously, I wouldn't want to be bitten by one of those.  I would love to own a bushmaster or king cobra (my 2 favorite snakes), but I love my family and my life too much to own one.  However, I would consider owning eyelash vipers. 

[honuman]

Rattlesnakes are hemotoxic.  Hemotoxins break down tissue.  Neurotoxins don't. 

Correct but what about venomoid rattlers then?

[Liz]

why wouldnt it be like a non-venomous snake when it eats if it didnt have venom/

[Anthony Caponetto]

The idea that venomoids have problems digesting their food is a myth spread by people who don't understand how the digestive process works or how venom really works.  Simply stated, hemotoxic venom (the type found in viperids) essentially causes blood to clot effectively causing a heart attack.  It does break down a relatively small amount of tissue, but if it "digested" the tissue too much, there wouldn't be any nutrients left for the snake's digestive tract to absorb.  I've seen mice bitten repeatedly by copperheads and then left uneaten in a cage overnight...the mouse was certainly dead, but no "digestion" had taken place.  Neurotoxic venom (the type found in elapids) attacks the central nervous system, effectively causing paralysis (including respiratory failure).  Neurotoxic venom doesn't destroy or break down tissue.  Myth busted.

I have a venomoid Gaboon that I took as a rescue.  He has absolutely no problem eating and digesting a meal.  He eats like a horse and has been venomoid for at least 5 years, if not longer.  There's nothing wrong with that snake, period.

It's true that pain and infection are certainly a possibility with the surgery, but you can't name any surgery where those things aren't a risk.To me, that's a weak argument because if done properly, there's no greater chance for pain or infection than with any other surgery.  That's just a risk associated with surgery of any kind and nothing more...it has nothing to do with "what" the surgery is being done for.

The problem I have with the idea of venomoids is that any risk is being taken for peoples' entertainment...so they can own a snake they shouldn't be owning for no other reason than because they want to.  That said, if an institution needs a venomoid for educational purposes, that's a different story...but very rarely is that the case.   I don't like the idea of venomoids for private keepers, but I think a lot of lies and misconceptions are spread by "less than intelligent" opponents of the issue.

[honuman]

Well digestive effects or not it still comes back to the same idea as in the offtopic section ("bring home the bacon").

Whittling away parts of animal just so someone can have a "watered down" version for a cool pet.

Definitely okay for an institution (as mentioned) but for a cool pet NAH.  Unfortunately, as long as there is a market for this stuff in the pet trade it will exist for that purpose.

Steve

[Liz]

Well digestive effects or not it still comes back to the same idea as in the offtopic section ("bring home the bacon").

Whittling away parts of animal just so someone can have a "watered down" version for a cool pet.

Definitely okay for an institution (as mentioned) but for a cool pet NAH.  Unfortunately, as long as there is a market for this stuff in the pet trade it will exist for that purpose.

Steve

i know what you mean. You think this animal is so great but you rtaking apart of it away just so you cna have it for a pet... an aniaml that shouldn't be kept as a pet to begin with. and with most of those things taht shouldn't be pets are alot of work to deal with, cleaning feeding just taking care of them.

[cfriskney]

Any body have any pics of venomous animals that they own???

[KatiesCresteds]

If you can't own a venomous snake without leaving the venom alone, you shouldn't own one at all. Same with the declawing and such. I think it's wrong, immoral, unethical...all that. Get a corn snake or something if you want a snake (or whatever it may be) you can handle.

[honuman]

If you can't own a venomous snake without leaving the venom alone, you shouldn't own one at all. Same with the declawing and such. I think it's wrong, immoral, unethical...all that. Get a corn snake or something if you want a snake (or whatever it may be) you can handle.

Well Katie --

I agree by and large but as far as the declawing thing goes - While it is a terrible process and should at best be avoided -- there are some instances where it is a question of a cat having a home or being in the street or ending up in a shelter.  If that is the price to pay and the animal will be kept in the house then so be it. 

Venomous snakes, wild type exotic cats, or other potentially dangerous creatures are not breeding rampantly and running around in our neighborhoods ending up sick, hit by cars or destroyed in record numbers in shelters.  They do not need homes.  They need to be left in the wild where they belong or kept for purposes of education.

Cats on the other hand need our help.  If it means a home for a cat and there really is no other way -- so be it.  A tough concession but one that I personally have no problem with. 

I just see too many cats suffering needlessly and in need of homes.   I run a turtle rescue and yet I find myself feeding kittens in my front yard.  Feeding the mother of the three kittens I kept (as indoor cats) in the backyard (had her spayed before realeasing her again -- she is completely feral) and scraping unfortunate little kittens off the road in front of my house to have a problem with declawing them.

Steve

[KatiesCresteds]

VERY true. I didn't think about it that way. My mom's cat was a stray that we picked up one day after feeding her for a few days. She got close enough where we could grab her, and then she just PURRED and purred. So cute. I was expecting her to freak out, being a stray and all (like the other cats were...we tried to catch them to see about finding them homes). Have had her ever since.

[justanotherfroginthepond]

Customers at work ask me my opinion on declawing regularly... whether they're purchasing one of my kittens or just asking in regards to cats they already have.  I always say the same thing...

If at all possible, don't do it!  It's the amputation of the claw from the joint... like us losing the tip of our fingers at the joint.  It's painful (I've done a few paws as a Tech.... and watching a cat wake up afterwards is HORRIBLE!), there is a high risk of infection, and there is no guarantee that it will take (occasionally a claw can grow back). 

I reccommend trying less invasive measures FIRST.  A good cat tree or cleverly placed burber carpet squares for floor scratchers, the wise use of a spray bottle, and good ol' Lee press-on nails for cats/dogs... SoftPaws/Claws.  I've used all the above methods with success on my own cats over the years.

However, that said, there is no swaying a determined cat!  If all else fails and it's a matter of losing the claws or getting rid of the cat, then I agree with Steve.  I believe it should only be done as a last resort, though.

[Liz]

Anyone keep them?  What types.  We can't in New York without a license.

We can, just don't tell the wrong people. I actually know quite a few people who do.