pygmy rattlers

[Telson]

Originally posted by Ravnos
Hehe, that is extremely silly. Most amphibians have skin excretions that we wouldn't want to ingest, regardless of whether it is actually dangerously toxic. I'm sure dart frogs probably have some natural bodily mechanism that just happens to combine with their diet to be even more dangerous. Afterall, in their native habitat they would be a light snack for many things.

But we digress from the original topic.

Rav

Ummm.... What is "extremely silly"?

My curiousity about the matter was related to the fact that the toxin passes through the skin, and from what I've read P.terribilis is toxic enough to kill by way of someone coming in contact with something a specimen has simply crawled across.

 

[Reitz]

I don't mean to interrupt this conversation, so please feel free to ignore my post, but if the hognose is venomous, technically, and John wants to keep a mildly venomous snake, wouldn't a hognose be perfect? As far as I could tell, he was trying to be responsible by getting as mildly venomous a snake as possible. He chose a pygmy rattler, but was told that the pygmy was not a good choice because it was hard to control and delivered a relatively dangerous bite. In the realm of venomous snakes, the hognose can't be too dangerous (or pardon my ignorance), or they wouldn't be on dealer's non-venomous lists. So wouldn't that deliver exactly what John was looking for? (And if you're still reading this thread, what do you think?)

Chris

PS, I realize I'm speaking outside of my expertise, so again, take what I say with a huge grain of salt. The thread just seemed interesting, so I thought I'd share what came to mind!

 

[Phillip]

Hognose venom ( if you want to call it that ) specifically targets toads and has very little effect on humans beyond sweling and itching. Even these effects are only experienced by a few folks and are after allowing one to chew on them repeatedly.

Also it is extremely hard to get a hognose to bite you as it simply does not fall into their defensive list of behaviors. The very few bites that do occur are from folks hand feeding them and having a finger grabbed by mistake. Hissing and closed mouth striking are what they do when threatened followed by feigning death in extreme cases but they don't bite.

Which is why they wouldn't be a great choice for teaching one respect for hots.

Phil

 

[scorpio]

I caught a hognose once. Hard to find here. My hands smelled terrible after washing my hands 15 times. And hognose venom probably couldnt kill a baby with a life threatening disease. Ive never heard of it being even mildly venomous.

 

[Ravnos]

Originally posted by Telson
Ummm.... What is "extremely silly"?

Putting amphibians in your mouth is extremely silly.

Hognose are a great group of snakes, and generally do quite well in captivity if cared for properly. I think they make excellent pet snakes, I just don't think they are anything someone looking to get into venomous would be much interested in.

Bullsnakes also do very well in captivity, and calm down if worked with regularily... not exactly a good practice animal. My suggestion for 'practice' animals would be a wild caught coachwhip or a wild caught Texas rat. If you can manage to go a year without getting bit by one of those, you'd be doing pretty well - I've worked with both of those snakes for quite some time now - I have a wc TX rat that has been in captivity now for 8 years and has yet to calm down. He's a real trip.

Anyway, back to the original thread: I simply don't believe in getting a venomous snake of any kind if all the occupants of the house/building are not aware of it and know how to go about treating a bite from it. Sure, you may have the most secure cage on the planet and nothing could ever escape, but theres an old saying: "S**t happens". You are responsible for anyone who could come into contact with that animal, and in the case of parents, they are responsible for you. If you get bit - are they going to know what to do? You may not be conscious to tell them. Are they going to know how to make sure the snake is contained if you neglected to do so in a panic?

Think. Research. Responsibility.

Rav

 

[Phillip]

Ya left out one for the bitiest of all grouping Rav Black Racer.

Anyone who has grabbed a few of these knows exactly what I mean. lol Texas rats and redtailed ( Gonysoma ) are pretty nasty in the temper dept as well.

Phil

 

[Ravnos]

I'll give you that. Nothing like climbing up over an embankment and coming face to face with one, and by face to face I mean literally. Racers will often raise the front part of their body off the ground to get a better look at things around them. The yellowbelly species is common around here, they are a handful to catch, and are -fast-.

Rav

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

I just know that my dad pointed out both hognose and black racers to me once.

"if you ever want to catch a pet snake grab a hognose, if you ever see a black racer DON'T grab it."

Seems to be pretty sound advice to me.