[Aaron_S]

Your eyes light up, your heart jumps a beat, you're thinking, "Finally I GET TO GET ONE OUT." You go over to the box and open it up as your trainer says how did the bite on your finger feel because you stuck your fingers under the lid when opening. You look at him and say "I did not get bit." He says look in the box and you see its empty except for a plastic snake and your thinking "What the #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&." You look at your trainer and realize he fooled you! Or did he? He said how did the bite feel and you realize that you did put your fingers under the lid and had it been real you would have been bitten. You let your emotion and anxiousness get you in trouble. You realize that had it been real you would now be on your way to the hospital. You just received a very valuable lesson in never getting ahead of yourself because your so eager to see or work with an animal. The animal is not going anyplace so there is never a reason for you not to take things slow and meticulous with deliberate actions and purpose.

Fifth Grade: Your come in after that major eye opening experience and are wondering what is going to be next. I really blew it with that cage opening I could have been bit. I didn't look first to see where the animal was. I didn't use proper technique in opening the cage. I was too excited about getting to work with the animal and broke every rule I had learned. You trainer looks at you and says what are you thinking about as he sees your thinking hard. You tell him and he says, "You are now starting to show the maturity and thought needed to see your own mistakes so you do not make them again." He tells you not to dwell on your mistakes but to learn from them now when they don't kill you.

He says OK, lets go back in the room. He points to a box and says it needs to be cleaned. You go over and look inside and see what appears to be a live snake in it, but the box is too cloudy to tell which species so you place it on a counter and pop the lid so it's still on but never opened. You then reach for a small hook and open it. You had on your mind the disaster from before and do not want to risk it again especially knowing there is a live snake in this box! As you use the hook to open the box lid you see what appears to be Lataste's Viper "Vipera latastei". You are in heaven - finally I get to work with a hot even if it's just the repetition of taking the animal out and placing it in a safety holding container to clean the cage. You reach in with the hook carefully remove the viper and place it in the hold container. You go about cleaning the cage and changing the water. Then you replace the snake in the container and put the lid back on. As you do it you feel a sharp pain and realize you had your fingers under the lip of the lid and have been bit.

You turn in a state of shock and look at your trainer and tell him you just got bit. He looks at you in a funny glare and says, "You were so excited to have been working with the animal you forgot that placing a lid on is just as dangerous as taking one off. Fortunately what you thought to be the Lataste's Viper was just a very nice Solomon's Island Ground Boa, Candoia ssp. One though that looks very similar to the deadly Lataste's Viper Vipera latastei."

Another important lesson learned today in patience and attentiveness. One that caused some pain and blood this time but at least it wasn't fatal.

Sixth Grade: You have learned now how to clean cages. You have learned from your mistakes that not being patient and not thinking ahead can be painful if not downright deadly. You need to look back over these last six months or so and think to yourself, is it worth it to proceed? Do I really want to work with animals that can with one mistake take my life or disfigure me? At this point in your training you have learned much, you realize there is more to keeping venomous reptiles then just sticking them in a cage and throwing in food once in a while. After reflection of what you have seen and learned you still want to proceed with your training. You know there is no substitute for safety and awareness of your surroundings and that you must always maintain a calm and collected train of thought about what your doing, never letting emotions dictate how you handle or work with the animals. Just like in School you have to learn, sometimes learning is not fun and sometimes it is.

Looking back over your grade school introduction to venomous reptiles, you have learned the very basics of which you probably already had some knowledge. How to use a hook, how to use tongs, how to use tubes, how to clean cages. But now your trainer has forced you to use the tools more than you ever would have for your own collection of nonvenomous reptiles. He/She has taught you safety through repetition. Having a hook in your hand is now just an extension of your own hand. You are so comfortable with a hook or tong that is second nature. Your nose has developed into a sharply tuned crap smeller. Your eyes have become safety tools for noticing things out of place or out of the ordinary. Your brain now thinks about all places in a cage an animal can use to hide from sight before you open it. Safety is always on your mind. You have learned all these things but more importantly you have developed a more mature understanding of the animals and yourself. Congratulations - the elementary levels have been learned.