Anybody here own hot snakes?

[Kloster]

Just wondering what its like, im assuming they never handle them?
Any cool stories? Ever been bit?
It just amazes me that some people are brave enough to own highly venomous species of snakes. Really cool, I love snakes and i find rattlesnakes extremely beautiful.

Id love to own a rattlesnake but i would NEVER do it, I just woulnt be able to handle the stress, I already freak out when I open my B. Vagans enclosure, shes so mean!!

 

[LeilaNami]

Well...some people take the risk of free handling. Some do not and use tools. As for me, I use tools. I guess the only cool story I have was when I had Lovechild, my copperhead and first hot. He was wild caught and I had actually caught him in a kritter keeper. All I had to do was lay it on his side and poke him with a stick and in he went . Well, when I opened the KK to transfer him, he leaped out of it and envenomated my recliner. That is the only time I had to free handle him. His fangs got caught in the upholstery and I had to untangle him.

 

[Kloster]

Wow thats crazy!
Got pics? Is that species common in Texas? Did you have to go far from where you live?

 

[LeilaNami]

Yeah pretty common. I have the broad banded copperheads in my area. I caught Lovechild 5 minutes from my apartment. Here's his pic

EDIT: Oh and a side note: the free handling was technically only half free handling lol. I held him in place with tongs and used my hand to untangle him.

 

[Snuggles]

I had a copperhead briefly. I was walking a shelter dog not far from the shelter, and a guy ran up to me and thrust a sack into my hand saying he was being deported the next day.

I went back to the shelter with the sack and set it in a tank and threw a screen lid on it. The snake came out of the sack almost immediately. In turn, I immediately put a very large rock on the screen lid. "Holy $%&#!!!" I was pretty sure what it was and confirmed it later. I only (ONLY! ) had it for two weeks until a naturalist I knew found someone to take it.

Never before, and never again. You, LeilaNami, are very brave.

 

[Moultmaster]

If that pajki guy was a member of these boards he'd be the guy to ask. He free handles virtually anything, hot snakes included.

I tried to find his website but it appears to have been removed, I'll keep looking. The guy has either a lot of courage or just brass balls.

 

[ThomasH]

Well...some people take the risk of free handling. Some do not and use tools. As for me, I use tools. I guess the only cool story I have was when I had Lovechild, my copperhead and first hot. He was wild caught and I had actually caught him in a kritter keeper. All I had to do was lay it on his side and poke him with a stick and in he went . Well, when I opened the KK to transfer him, he leaped out of it and envenomated my recliner. That is the only time I had to free handle him. His fangs got caught in the upholstery and I had to untangle him.

:wall: :wall: :wall:
Free handlers DO use tools! I know 2 personally. They also, as the term suggests, use their hands directly. They usually use the tools to lift the animals into their hands. Putting your hand in a box with a Crotalus or any other hot is more likely to get you bit than not moving your hand to grip it. So they use hooks and/or tongs to grip it and put it into their hands. If you watch videos or see free handlers, take note that they never grip the animals. The most they will ever do is guide them around in their hands.
I do not think you should own a copperhead or any other venomous snakes.
1. You TRANSPORTED IT IN A KK! NEVER EVER do that! KKs are made out of cheap plastic and are extremely easily broken. I was transporting a black rat snake in a KK with a tiny crack at the top. Of course, since I was a novice at the time, I thought I should put enough substrate in to allow the animal adequate hiding for maximum comfort. Well, I looked away for a minute and it was gone! I was watching it practically the whole time, I must have looked away briefly and some how it had manuvered a way out of the kk and all the way into an empty paint bucket in the trunk!
2. I read somewhere that you waited many months for it to eat and you had extroardinarily little success. It looks young from the camera angle! You shouldn't have waited more than two months to release it. If it was at a critical period in growth, your negligence may have gravely harmed it.
3. You live in an apartment. I assume that this apartment is close neighbor to many other people. There are some things you just can't do around high population densities. Owning a dangerous item with a mind of its own is one critical thing that should go without mentioning. Please tell me you didn't slap it right into a petco glass fish tank with a weak screen lid on top of that!
4. You say it bit your sofa recliner chair? You should never have let it get out of control enough to cause that damage to itself. Have you ever thought that this incident alone could be the reason it won't eat? Mouth rot from its broken teeth maybe as it hung by its mouth? Not to mention, it could have harmed you as well.
5. I read in another thread that you were questionable as to the ID. NO! Copperheads live by area. They usually don't live in areas with other ssp. These areas are often integrade zones but still as well defined as all other ssp zones. There should be no question if you are experienced enough. You should have known that.
You do not have the experience to own a snake as/more dangerous than a copperhead. Please do not take it as a personal affront. I just love my hobby and don't want to see it as over regulated as it would be if a young woman or other people got harmed because of a captive pet.
TBH

 

[LeilaNami]

:wall: :wall: :wall:
Free handlers DO use tools! I know 2 personally. They also, as the term suggests, use their hands directly. They usually use the tools to lift the animals into their hands. Putting your hand in a box with a Crotalus or any other hot is more likely to get you bit than not moving your hand to grip it. So they use hooks and/or tongs to grip it and put it into their hands. If you watch videos or see free handlers, take note that they never grip the animals. The most they will ever do is guide them around in their hands.
I do not think you should own a copperhead or any other venomous snakes.
1. You TRANSPORTED IT IN A KK! NEVER EVER do that! KKs are made out of cheap plastic and are extremely easily broken. I was transporting a black rat snake in a KK with a tiny crack at the top. Of course, since I was a novice at the time, I thought I should put enough substrate in to allow the animal adequate hiding for maximum comfort. Well, I looked away for a minute and it was gone! I was watching it practically the whole time, I must have looked away briefly and some how it had manuvered a way out of the kk and all the way into an empty paint bucket in the trunk!
2. I read somewhere that you waited many months for it to eat and you had extroardinarily little success. It looks young from the camera angle! You shouldn't have waited more than two months to release it. If it was at a critical period in growth, your negligence may have gravely harmed it.
3. You live in an apartment. I assume that this apartment is close neighbor to many other people. There are some things you just can't do around high population densities. Owning a dangerous item with a mind of its own is one critical thing that should go without mentioning. Please tell me you didn't slap it right into a petco glass fish tank with a weak screen lid on top of that!
4. You say it bit your sofa recliner chair? You should never have let it get out of control enough to cause that damage to itself. Have you ever thought that this incident alone could be the reason it won't eat? Mouth rot from its broken teeth maybe as it hung by its mouth? Not to mention, it could have harmed you as well.
5. I read in another thread that you were questionable as to the ID. NO! Copperheads live by area. They usually don't live in areas with other ssp. These areas are often integrade zones but still as well defined as all other ssp zones. There should be no question if you are experienced enough. You should have known that.
You do not have the experience to own a snake as/more dangerous than a copperhead. Please do not take it as a personal affront. I just love my hobby and don't want to see it as over regulated as it would be if a young woman or other people got harmed because of a captive pet.
TBH

First of all you need to calm down. Second most of what you've just stated was incorrect. Third, by free handling I meant that you're touching the snake with your hands. PERIOD.
1. About the KK, that was all I had at the time. I also said it was 5 minutes from my apartment. Do you understand where that was? That's right, in the apartment complex.
2. I did NOT wait many months to feed the snake. Get your facts straight. I had him less than a month and he ate once. I then released him because he wasn't a great feeder.
3. No it was in a locked, secure enclosure. Having a hot snake in an apartment is no different than having in a house in a residential neighborhood.
4. Good god you are making idiotic assumptions. It did NOT have broken teeth and in fact I took it to an experienced herp veterinarian. Not to mention he ate after the incident anyway. If you would read more closely, it happened when I first got him. It was an unfortunate incident and I learned from it.
5.Excuse me? Copperheads have natural hybrids in the wild with the different subspecies. Broad bandeds happen to be in my area and IDd it as such and I was just double checking the ID with some more experienced hobbyists considering this was my FIRST.

Get off your high horse and get a grip. This was my first hot and so no kidding I wouldn't have the experience that you would. I would never endanger the hobby with something stupid in the event of a bite. I used my tools to care for this animal and he was HEALTHY. The reason he was released was because he wasn't adapting to a captive environment very well. I know I don't have the experience yet to own hotter species. I'm still learning and for some reason that doesn't seem to click in your head. You had to start somewhere too and stating that I shouldn't own these animals IS a personal affront.

 

[DavidD]

First off a copperhead is not a light choice. Thomas is smarter than most of you here!

 

[LeilaNami]

First off a copperhead is not a light choice. Thomas is smarter than most of you here!

Well neither is P. murinus when starting out with Ts yet some people do it and no one has a problem.

 

[Noexcuse4you]

I was bitten by a copperhead a few different times. The first two must have been dry bites, but the third time wasn't! Although it wasn't life threatening, it wasn't very fun. My whole arm swelled up to maybe 2.5 times its normal size and it was probably one of the most painful experiences I've ever had. It also left my parents with a pretty big hospital bill. Needless to say I don't mess with them anymore. This all happened when I was 14 so don't harp on me too much!

 

[Kloster]

First off a copperhead is not a light choice. Thomas is smarter than most of you here!

I dont think ANY hot species is a light choice. Thomas may be more experienced with these animals but I deffinetly read that as a flame.

Not to sound like a douche here but if Leila released her back to the wild and didnt just keep it because "it looks so kewl!" id have to say that she had the best intentions for it. At least that seemed obvious to me...

Moving on and staying on topic:

Since Thomas seems to keep hot species... what do you keep? any cool stuff? This may sound cruel but im just curious, how long does it take for a rat to die once its been struck?

 

[Kloster]

I was bitten by a copperhead a few different times. The first two must have been dry bites, but the third time wasn't! Although it wasn't life threatening, it wasn't very fun. My whole arm swelled up to maybe 2.5 times its normal size and it was probably one of the most painful experiences I've ever had. It also left my parents with a pretty big hospital bill. Needless to say I don't mess with them anymore. This all happened when I was 14 so don't harp on me too much!

WOW! How did that happen? Where you keeping them or did you go out on a walk or something and get struck?

 

[Noexcuse4you]

WOW! How did that happen? Where you keeping them or did you go out on a walk or something and get struck?

There was a nest of them living under a log in my backyard. I used to go back there and mess with them. I was an idiot, knew nothing about handling snakes, and eventually got bit.

One year there were a bunch of babies under there and I tried keeping it as a pet. It eventually died from not eating.

 

[Endagr8]

There was a nest of them living under a log in my backyard. I used to go back there and mess with them. I was an idiot, knew nothing about handling snakes, and eventually got bit.

One year there were a bunch of babies under there and I tried keeping it as a pet. It eventually died from not eating.

Didn't you learn your lesson the first two times? :}

I've never seen a hot snake where I live, I'm jealous of you all!

 

[Nich]

I love how people are capable of giving insight or opinion without ripping into anyone or simply having a conversation.

As for things actually relating to teh thread, I love hots. I also happen to be in an area (atm) infested with various Crotalus sp., particularly orgeonensis and have to remove them from my garage frequently. Sometimes I come into unfavorably close contact with them, at lest every month or so....in my motorcycle helmets Ive found three over the last three years.
I ended up keeping one, an oregonensis that was incredibly melanistic. I had her for about 2 years, and recently entrusted her to a local breeder. As for handling, I perfer a hook, a towel, and my hands. Though Ive only actually free handled a hot once after a very interesting situation.

 

[Nich]

You do not have the experience to own a snake as/more dangerous than a copperhead. Please do not take it as a personal affront. I just love my hobby and don't want to see it as over regulated as it would be if a young woman or other people got harmed because of a captive pet.
TBH

So now, please tell me....how long have you kept hots? Your profile says you are 14.....

 

[ThomasH]

Well...some people take the risk of free handling. Some do not and use tools. As for me, I use tools.

You are clearly implying without a doubt in my mind that free handlers don't use tools. Saying some do not [Free handle.] and listing the difference as using tools is pretty much saying that free handlers don't use tools. You may have just worded it off. I'll give you that.

First of all you need to calm down. Second most of what you've just stated was incorrect. Third, by free handling I meant that you're touching the snake with your hands. PERIOD.
1. About the KK, that was all I had at the time. I also said it was 5 minutes from my apartment. Do you understand where that was? That's right, in the apartment complex.
2. I did NOT wait many months to feed the snake. Get your facts straight. I had him less than a month and he ate once. I then released him because he wasn't a great feeder.
3. No it was in a locked, secure enclosure. Having a hot snake in an apartment is no different than having in a house in a residential neighborhood.
4. Good god you are making idiotic assumptions. It did NOT have broken teeth and in fact I took it to an experienced herp veterinarian. Not to mention he ate after the incident anyway. If you would read more closely, it happened when I first got him. It was an unfortunate incident and I learned from it.
5.Excuse me? Copperheads have natural hybrids in the wild with the different subspecies. Broad bandeds happen to be in my area and IDd it as such and I was just double checking the ID with some more experienced hobbyists considering this was my FIRST.

Get off your high horse and get a grip. This was my first hot and so no kidding I wouldn't have the experience that you would. I would never endanger the hobby with something stupid in the event of a bite. I used my tools to care for this animal and he was HEALTHY. The reason he was released was because he wasn't adapting to a captive environment very well. I know I don't have the experience yet to own hotter species. I'm still learning and for some reason that doesn't seem to click in your head. You had to start somewhere too and stating that I shouldn't own these animals IS a personal affront.

1. Like I said about the black rat, it was a thirty minute drive and I was watching the snake the whole time. I must have looked away for ten seconds and it had manuevered its way out. Although terrestrial crotalinae, such as the copperhead, aren't as agile as Pantherophis I have no doubt that the copperhead could get out of a kk if it found just the right place to exert a little bit of force.
2. I must have read wrong or my memory doesn't serve right. I apologize. It was the right thing to do letting it go when you did.
3. Apartments and townhomes are not the same thing as seperate houses in residential neighborhoods. My uncle was a minimum wage apartment contractor when he was young, you would be surprised at just how many ways you can fit a small item into the next apartment, especially if it had a mind of its own. Some complexes share vents and most share plumbing, I'm sure a few here remember seeing a burmese python getting into a neighboring apartment by using the pipes on the news. It was a big snake too, it ended up in a poor lady's toilet and it made headlines.
4. The point is you lost control of it due to inexperience, just about all hot herpers will tell anyone who asks the common question "What is the best beginner hot?" Someone else's. [Mentoring.] The mouth rot theory was speculation, glad you got it checked out.
5. Actually it is integrade. Hybrid is a cross at the species level, integrade is a cross at the subspecies level. That is what I was explaining to you. There are well known areas called integrade zones with copperheads. Some areas only contain integrades. In parts of Georgia you will only find A. c. mokasen x A. c. contortrix. Either way, you should have known.
I didn't say you shouldn't own them, I'm saying get proper mentoring. You have obviously made novice mistakes, that is okay. Learn from them and let a mentor teach you the rest.
TBH

 

[ThomasH]

Well neither is P. murinus when starting out with Ts yet some people do it and no one has a problem.

I disagree. I started with C. schioedtei and it was alright. P. murinus is overrated as far as aggression in my opinion. I own 6. Some are crazy aggressive, others are docile. Believe it or not, I've seen rosea top out P. murinus. Haplopelmas are way worse, especially hainanum.
TBH

 

[xchondrox]

Years ago, before our state whent reg crazy i had a breeding pair of Shield nosed Cobras and a Sub-adult pair of Coral Cobras. They were pretty cool, both stayed burrowed 95% of the time and ate like a big ravenous colubrid. Always thought that was funny, like it was going to come back to life and run away, I fed F/T.

I never had any close calls and ended up trading them off for some Albino Ruthveni's after a year or so. I look back and kick myself now for trading away all the cool stuff i had at one point in time!