# rattlers and venoms



## toan

woah wee... never ceases scare the crap out of me.

I currently have a baby rattler and i was just tried to milk it... it gave a large shot of venom into the cup... wow scary. i think i should try to get rid of it... any wanna buy a baby western ratt for cheap???


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## Ravnos

I'm curious as to why you would want to put yourself at that risk?  Its not like the venom would be usable for anything after you milked it, unless you just wanted to just see if you could do it. *shrug*

Sorry, no interest in buying it. 

Rav


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## Phillip

*My thoughts exactly...*

As Ravnos asked... Why in the hell would you want to try and milk your baby rattler? If you are not already hooked up with an antivenin lab that will buy from you which is highly unlikely and you aren't in possesion of a freeze drier costing several hundred bucks then there is nothing to be gained by doing so. Nothing that is except exposing yourself to a potential accidental bite. Trying to cheat death so to speak by playing with a highly venemous snake and seeing just how far you can push it is a good way to take a trip on the meat wagon not to mention bring bad press towards the hobby. Restraining a small snake can actually be more dangerous than a large one due to there not being much head to hold on to and again there is nothing to be gained by it save the macho feeling of look what I did. To the ones out there thinking of getting into hots please research and think seriously about what you are getting into and the risks involved. And to the ones that already have them please be careful and try not to lose respect for the animals as this and a lack of maturity in handling them is one of the largest causes for bites which in turn bring bad press and fines. Something that none of us need.

Phil


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## Ravnos

Even if he had a freeze dryer, extraction needs to be done under sterile circumstances in a proper lab setting, it is highly unlikely any antivenin producer or university would buy it without assurances of a pure product. Any contamination at all and it is pretty much useless.  

I can't agree more with researching, reading.... You can't learn enough about these animals before you aquire them. When you put your life is at risk, and that of those who you share a home with, every single precaution needs to be taken.

Rav


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## Craig

i'd buy your snake. i've been working with venomous snakes (mostly pit vipers)  for quite some time.


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## Lasiodora

This is another reason why not everyone should own hots.  The unecessary handeling of venomous snakes only leads to being bit.  Like Philip and Rav said, milking it is useless.  It will not make them any less venomous.  They have the ability to produce venom throughout their lives.  If the venom from the bite doesn't kill you, the anti-venin will.  Believe it or not a lot of people die from an allergic reaction to anti-venin.  Often times the person bitten needs to gets something amputated. Besides all that you have the cost of the anti-venin. It's not cheap.  It can run over 100 dollars a vile. Some bites can require ten viles or more to be administered. This does not include surgery that may required and other hospital bills. A snake bite can be an expensive mistake.  These snakes are not for the inexperienced.
Just take a look at this WDB bite picture *(graphic picture)*: http://www.venomous.com/snake/armpic.jpg
Be careful,
Mike


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