[Aaron_S]

The Middle School

Seventh Grade: Today you walk in and your trainer says it's time for you to get to know the hot room. He says, "Go on in and I will be there in a moment". You have learned from the past that training is never as simple as that. You open the door and look in and see on the floor a box that looks like a lid was popped open. What do you do? The box could have had a snake in it and now it's out! You err on the side of caution and tell your trainer about what you just observed. He says, "Good, I'm glad you didn't go in the room although I did place it there to see your reaction." So now the two of you go in and he says, "Today we go over the basics of a hot room."

First thing is to make certain all cages are of a locking nature or secured to prevent escapes. The room itself should be completely escape proof with a locking door and any vents should be screened to prevent escape. You should know where all tools you need are located at all times and the floor kept clear of debris as well as the counter tops. All the cages should be properly marked and labeled as to what species are in them. An emergency protocol book should be handy and all emergency numbers posted. Emergency lighting set up in case of a power outage. Your trainer asks you to familiarize yourself with everything in the room. He then hands you the protocol book for you to see what's in it. A list of all species that is kept is list in this book along with the species is where they are from what their habitat is, their prey, and importantly the type of antivenin needed in case of a bite along with where to obtain it. All the phone numbers of other keepers in your area are listed as well as Miami Dade Fire Rescue and Poison Control. There are also papers in their on treatment for bites for each of the species kept. You notice a "DNR"order Do Not Resuscitate order and a living will. Also is the keepers full medical records. All of these things are important to have in this book in the event of a bite. They will help the hospital in better treating a bite when it occurs.

My own DNR/LIVING WILL specifically states that I do not wish to be saved if I cannot live a high quality of life after a bite. I spelled out very specifically what I felt was quality of life. I do not wish to be a vegetable or burden on my spouse. I also states in there that only my wife and my best friend who is also a qualified paramedic and one of the finest snake keepers are to make any and all decisions on my medical care and wishes in the event I am not capable of making them. I know many hospitals are not qualified due to lack of understanding of snake bites to make these important determinations. And felt that it is best to leave those decisions in the qualified hands of people who understand venomous reptiles and what occurs post bite.

Now that you have done all this your trainer says, "We have a few cages need attention today." He pulls out some boxes and says, "OK your turn." You look around and see the animal at the far end of the cage and pop the lid and use a hook to lift it. Inside you see a small copperhead. You use your hook to remove the snake and place it in a secure container and clean its cage and water it and place a small hopper in. You then replace the snake and using the hook to slide the lid back on and push it down to secure it. You move on to the next cage and the next cage the same way checking each one first. Finally you're working with venomous species. Though they are small and relatively harmless copperheads at least you now getting hands on training. You are deep in concentration of what you're doing when you hear a crash from behind after you just put the last box away. What do you do?

As you turn you realize that the rack holding the black mambas just fell! 12 baby black mambas just hit the ground. Scary prospect isn't it? At this point instinct should hopefully take over. You grab a hook alongside your trainer and look to be certain all the containers are still intact and no shoestrings of death got out. Yes, it was nerve wracking but all is OK and no escapes happened. This is a very valuable lesson in calm and taking in what happened what needs to be done and how important it is that when working in a hot room to know your surroundings and tool placement and where other persons are. Inside that room your life and that of any person in it is in your hands.

Eighth Grade: A joyful time! Many new specimens have just arrived and they need to be unpacked. Unlike when you're at home and get in new animals these are venomous and deadly. So no reaching in with your hands. Your trainer explains to you that when you open each crate you must be very careful as snakes might have escaped their bags. You open each box up and carefully with a hook move bags around to insure no escapes. Your trainer then uses a pair of tongs to carefully remove each bag and place it on a counter top. He tells you to prepare cages and fill a trash can with some water. You ask him why the trash can with water. He explains these animals need to soak and get rehydrated. After preparing the trash can and cages he pulls the bag flat with a pair of hemostats and places a hook securely between the knot and the snake and unties the bag. Then with the bag untied he uses two hemostats to pick up the bag and place it in the trash can to allow the animal to go directly in. Wow, a Cobra. After letting the animal soak it's time to put it in the cage and put him away. Remember to label the cage so you know it's a cobra or whatever species.

On to the next bag - it's obviously a heavy bodied animal that is huffing and puffing. You watch your trainer perform the same procedure with the hemostats and hook, then see the bag jump and two very large fangs blow through the bag. You realize that had a part of anyone's body been on it they would now be envenomated by a viper. After the shock of what has happened your trainer dumps it in the trash can to soak and you see this outstanding Gaboon Viper. It should settle in how deadly this animal is and what would have happened had it bitten you through the bag. Though bags offer some protection a snake can and will bite through one and unfortunately people have been bit during this very dangerous time of unpacking animals.

Ninth Grade: After the day before and the mental and visual lessons you just learned, with the knowledge someday you will be the one having to do these exact same procedures as yourself, you ask yourself again, "Is it worth it to keep venomous?"

Today the animals are going to be medicated and inspected for external parasites and quarantined from the general population. This is a very dangerous day as you know that oral medications mean dealing with the business end of the animals. You and your trainer are in the room and he/she is getting out the animals for proper medications to be administered. You watch as he pins a cobra and inserts a tube in its mouth as it chomps down on the tube and venom starts flowing his fingers only inches from those fangs and a sure bite with one slip. He/She moves on to the Gaboon viper pinning the head and as he lifts the snake it bites down, sending its own fangs through its bottom jaw. The fangs miss his finger by millimeters. This is one of the nasty things a viper can do and improper placement of a finger will get you bit as sure as the sun rises in the east.

One hundred percent concentration is needed for dealing with animals on this level and an understanding of proper handling. It should be said that unless it is absolutely needed NEVER handle a venomous reptiles with your hands.

Quarantine time! Many people have asked me about quarantines, So I thought I would share what works for me. Hope it helps. This is the method I have found to work best for the safety of myself and well being of my animals. Remember a new animal that is not QUARANTINED can bring in unwanted pests and diseases that can be fatal to your entire collection. Remember NEVER under any circumstances place a new arrival in the general population of your other animals. This is very tempting for most people to due but the contagiousness of certain viruses that reptiles can spread to one another it can prove fatal to not only the carrier species but also other species in your collection.Also if an animal has external parasites such as mites or ticks these parasites do have legs and will travel to other members of your collection thus infesting the entire collection.