Close Call with a King Cobra

[RandyRhoads]

Originally Posted by infernalis

Should firefighters have to enter a burning building (a mortal risk already) only to be bitten by a scared venemous snake who's cage just broke from the heat??

I thought about this after the whole sign at the bottom of the door stating venomous snakes inside. I can't think of any possible way of a fire or superheated gasses causing enough damage to an enclosure to let the snake out without killing it in the event of a fully involved structure fire requiring interior operations.

Originally Posted by bronxzoofrank

Regulating dangerous activities is a normal function of government - seat belts, drug use, firearms, food processing, (and in NYC, the size of soft drinks!..obviously that one has some up in arms), tobacco use, and so on...

Yeah, sometimes a little too much. You can't baby people into living longer because they are too stupid to keep themselves alive. There's a certain natural selection thing going on, or rather, should be, if you take a look at those chromosome lacking individuals...

Originally Posted by bronxzoofrank

But aside from all that, look at it this way: how many venomous snake keeping private people have, on hand, the number of vials of the appropriate antivenin (at several thousand dollars per vial, and some of which is very hard to import, even for zoos on hand, the commitment of the local police dept or ambulance to respond instantly when notified, and a backup transportation method if that fails, the resources and a plan to get more antivenin choppered to the hospital if, as often happens, more is needed, a trained person present at all times when a cage is opened so that snake can be secured or killed and first aid can be started, this same person must know, and keep up with changes to, the care protocol which must be started as soon as a bite occurs...ie.. limiting spread of venom, process of which varies by group and in some cases by species (the victim cannot move after being bitten, lest venom circulate more quickly); instant updating on the many changes that occur re antivenin needed (snake venom composition evolves quite rapidly as prey species evolve defenses, and this greatly affects treatment), please understand - this is just a quick rambling and poorly worded, sorry) example of some of the considerations that need be addressed; in my long experience, and in among my contacts worldwide, no private keeper has taken care of all of the above).

Well, you're wrong.

And as far as antivenin, maybe things are different in other states, but here those will only be administered by an MD, regardless if you stock them or not. Paramedics will not administer it, and unless you've had it before, i'd consider you a fool to administer it yourself with the possibility of anaphylaxis killing you faster(species dependant).

[jarich]

Originally Posted by RandyRhoads

Yeah, sometimes a little too much. You can't baby people into living longer because they are too stupid to keep themselves alive. There's a certain natural selection thing going on, or rather, should be, if you take a look at those chromosome lacking individuals...


Well, you're wrong.

And as far as antivenin, maybe things are different in other states, but here those will only be administered by an MD, regardless if you stock them or not. Paramedics will not administer it, and unless you've had it before, i'd consider you a fool to administer it yourself with the possibility of anaphylaxis killing you faster(species dependant).

Actually we do baby people into living longer; we do so because most people are obstinately stupid. This is a pretty good example of such, since I would say at least 90% of the people I have met who keep hots have no business doing so.

And in what way is Frank wrong? Or arrogant for that matter. You are talking to someone who has been professionally handling these cases for 20 plus years, and aside for Kim, all the rest of you just have vague personal opinions. He has books and literally decades of international research to back up his statements, while you are trying to say you feel a certain way and so that should be just as good as Frank's decades of dedicated research. Do you argue with your doctor about cancer treatment because you know someone who had cancer? There is a certain level of knowledge that trumps here and its pretty obvious who has it in this discussion. Im impressed you have taken the time to keep going with this, Frank.

While I dont necessarily think they should be illegal, I do think they should only be able to be kept with a very difficult to achieve license. I also think that they should require very cost prohibitive measures, like insurance and up-to-date anti venin at the local hospital for every species kept. However, thats just an opinion I have without knowing the facts like, say, a professional herpetologist.

Kim, I think you can probably understand that you are in the vast minority when it comes to hot keepers. And the reason that so many hot keepers have access to these animals is because they are not strictly controlled across the entire US. If only one state had those tight regulations you spoke of, it would make no difference. Idiots would hop across the state line and come back with their king cobra or gaboon viper, which happens all the time. You know of the example I told you about here where I walked into that guys apartment that had the cobra in his living room. Its totally illegal in NYC, but he bought it for $200 online and kept in in his apartment. That thing could have easily bit him, slipped into the ducts, and lived for quite some time free roaming and biting whomever it chose to. And that was one unhappy cobra, so Im sure it would have had a field day. Laws like this are not enacted for those who do things the best way they should be done, unfortunately. Laws are enacted because most people are stupid and require control so they dont harm others.

[RandyRhoads]

Originally Posted by jarich

And in what way is Frank wrong? .

"No private keeper has taken care of all of the above"

I can't speak for every idiot out there, but all the things on that last were pretty standard for keeping hots....