hot snakes

americanrebel79 · 05-15-12, 10:27 AM

Does any one know anyone or where i can get some nice hot snakes in the college station area of texas i have found a few and they were way expensive and unhealthy looking? ?

**lady_bug87** · 05-15-12, 11:12 AM

you'll probably have to be more specific in terms of what 'kind' of snake you're looking for

youngster · 05-15-12, 11:26 AM

kingsnake.com - the information portal for reptile and amphibian hobbyists.

americanrebel79 · 05-15-12, 01:01 PM

Im more interested in Pygmy rattles there my favorite

americanrebel79 · 05-15-12, 01:06 PM

I really like pygmy rattlesnakes and others but thoes are my favorite

StudentoReptile · 05-15-12, 01:39 PM

Okay someone has to ask it....

Have you had any experience keeping venomous snakes?

americanrebel79 · 05-15-12, 07:02 PM

Yes i do my old friend showed me and taught me how to handle them he is one of thoes crazy people how does that rattlesnake round up i love them but im not getting in a pit with thousands of them lol

youngster · 05-15-12, 07:28 PM

Yeah doing a roundup makes you a pro....

Take a good read through this, hots are not something to take lightly.
Hot school

Shmoges · 05-15-12, 07:52 PM

I think pygmies are the scariest to grab after there pinned.

RandyRhoads · 05-15-12, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by youngster

Yeah doing a roundup makes you a pro....

Is that not experience?

youngster · 05-15-12, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandyRhoads

Is that not experience?

Not enough to keep hots, no.

RandyRhoads · 05-15-12, 10:07 PM

You can have all the fancy technical training you can ever get and still not be as experienced at handling as some hillbilly with a tree branch that has been dealing with them his whole life. There's knowledge, then there's experience. You don't have to be knowledgeable to be experienced.

shaunyboy · 05-16-12, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandyRhoads

You can have all the fancy technical training you can ever get and still not be as experienced at handling as some hillbilly with a tree branch that has been dealing with them his whole life. There's knowledge, then there's experience. You don't have to be knowledgeable to be experienced.

^^^^^
now you got me picturing someone out " the deliverance " in his dungaree's,playing with a stick and a rattler,the equivelent of a hillbilly x box mate

but i hear what your saying,you can be a hands on expert,if generations of your family have lived in hot territorys and had to deal with them on a daily basis

i think Eli's just concerned someone may get hurt without proper techniques mate

cheers shaun

StudentoReptile · 05-16-12, 07:35 AM

I'm with Shaun. No one is saying you have to have a PH.D in "snake handling" and have a piece of paper that says you have X amount of experience.

Genuine hands-on experience is good, especially if you have the opportunity to work with a mentor.

This has been floating around the web for a while, but it is still worth a read for anyone seriously considering branching out into hots: the K-12 of Hot Keeping

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From what I hear, whatever experience you get at a rattlesnake round-up is hardly applicable to keeping a venomous snake alive and healthy and yourself safe in a captive environment. Rattlesnakes are collected by the truckbed load, thrown into pens with no water or shelter to escape the heat. By the time anyone has to do anything with them, the snakes are exhausted and emaciated and hardly a threat anyway...but just for good measure, they might get thrown in a nearby grubby freezer to cool any potential "bad attitudes." Most of us know what freezing does to a snake. It is inhumane. Then, some of the snakes have their mouths sewn shut, just so ignorant tourists can have their photos taken with them. At some point, most of the snakes are skinned alive before the event is over.

So yeah...sorry to get on a soapbox there, but virtually nothing about a round-up has the rattlesnakes' health and well-being in mind. I'm really sure whatever experience you got from your "crazy friend" will be any help to you. Seriously, if you have any respect for these animals at all, distance yourself from that world as much as possible.

MoreliAddict · 05-16-12, 07:55 AM

All the hillbillys generally do is hook them off the ground and into a bag with the help of another. In my opinion that doesn't prepare you for manipulating all different types of venomous snakes (mambas, najas, ect) in and out of cages without stress or harm to you or the snake. Also, rattlesnakes are somewhat complacent and hook fairly well.

However I don't have a problem with people who have little experience and pick up a hot, that's their choice. A friend of mine who only had experience with a ball python once bought a beautiful green pit viper. It was wicked and fun to look at, but my friend ended up bringing it back to the breeder himself because it was just too mean, scary, and fast to work with.