(Snakes) so I'm called a puss! That's OK

[Pokey]

They shouldn't be legal to own IMHO, top of the food chain animals are not pets. Don't y'all watch Fatal Attractions, that shit is for real and you are all on borrowed time who continue to own killing machines. To each their own of course, but some of you are nuts.

[Steve Butters]

you could say the same thing about dogs....theres more dog attacks than snake attacks per year

a pit bull could kill a child as easily as a snake could, yet people on here rave about how sweet and awesome and lovey their pit bulls are......i dont see any difference....just because an animal "can" do something, doesnt mean it will....snakes are not aggressive, they are very docile and lazy animals....most snake bites occur from improper handling and a defensive snake (waking it up suddenly and startling it, feeding it by hand and having it miss and strike you, etc).....a good handler will have a secure enclosure, and only have the snake out when its in the mood to be out, and when it can be closely watched....thats why padlocks are important, to keep kids and unfamiliar faces away from the snake without proper supervision

i can think of more than a few dogs who i would not want to be locked in a room with without their owners around

statistically, there are 45k snake bites per year that require medical attention - and there are 800k dog bites that require medical attention......maybe dogs should be illegal to own

especially those killing machine bully breeds! ......notice the sarcasm there

[cOoTeR]

you could say the same thing about dogs....theres more dog attacks than snake attacks per year

a pit bull could kill a child as easily as a snake could, yet people on here rave about how sweet and awesome and lovey their pit bulls are......i dont see any difference....just because an animal "can" do something, doesnt mean it will....snakes are not aggressive, they are very docile and lazy animals....most snake bites occur from improper handling and a defensive snake (waking it up suddenly and startling it, feeding it by hand and having it miss and strike you, etc).....a good handler will have a secure enclosure, and only have the snake out when its in the mood to be out, and when it can be closely watched....thats why padlocks are important, to keep kids and unfamiliar faces away from the snake without proper supervision

i can think of more than a few dogs who i would not want to be locked in a room with without their owners around

statistically, there are 45k snake bites per year that require medical attention - and there are 800k dog bites that require medical attention......maybe dogs should be illegal to own

especially those killing machine bully breeds! ......notice the sarcasm there

I think there are more dog bites per year because there are more dogs around. I bet people get bit by dogs way more than lions tigers and bears also. That doesn't make them any safer to own.

[Beegreenstrings]

Well the bro seems to be OK, he said honestly the first two days were hell. Couldn't eat and if he did he got sick. Just misaerable.

He had underlying lung issues, speculations were that the venom that was in his system caused the ruptured sacs in his lungs which caused him to caugh up blood. They had never seen this in a "healthy person".

[Steve Butters]

I think there are more dog bites per year because there are more dogs around. I bet people get bit by dogs way more than lions tigers and bears also. That doesn't make them any safer to own.

who determines what is safe and what should be illegal?

if it is able to bite, it should be illegal? i love how everyone on this forum will argue against breed specific dog bans, but when it comes to another animal that has been proven to be non-aggressive, its a different story and should be killed and banned

hey bdb - how many people has your killing machine python bitten and or killed?

also - that 45k number included all snake bites, even wild snakes.....i dont know for sure how many dogs are in the us or how many snakes are in the US, but 45k to 800k is a BIG gap.

and comparing a common pet you can buy in any pet store or reptile expo (which are held monthly in columbus) to a lion, tiger, or bear - doesnt even make sense

logic like this is the exact reason pit bulls were ever banned in the first place....ignorance and prejudice

why do we need more legislation telling people what they can and cannot have? idk about you, but i dont know anyone who was injured by a snake that escaped its enclosure and was out roaming the streets.....thats more than i can say for other common pets

snakes arent your thing? i get it. thats how i feel about cats and parrots and horses etc.....but to ban them because youre afraid of them? really?

Edited June 21, 2012 by Steve Butters

[Steve Butters]

Well the bro seems to be OK, he said honestly the first two days were hell. Couldn't eat and if he did he got sick. Just misaerable.

He had underlying lung issues, speculations were that the venom that was in his system caused the ruptured sacs in his lungs which caused him to caugh up blood. They had never seen this in a "healthy person".

good to hear he is going to make a recovery....bet he thinks before the next time he tries to play footsie with a copperhead lol

[cOoTeR]

who determines what is safe and what should be illegal?

if it is able to bite, it should be illegal? i love how everyone on this forum will argue against breed specific dog bans, but when it comes to another animal that has been proven to be non-aggressive, its a different story and should be killed and banned

hey bdb - how many people has your killing machine python bitten and or killed?

also - that 45k number included all snake bites, even wild snakes.....i dont know for sure how many dogs are in the us or how many snakes are in the US, but 45k to 800k is a BIG gap.

and comparing a common pet you can buy in any pet store or reptile expo (which are held monthly in columbus) to a lion, tiger, or bear - doesnt even make sense

logic like this is the exact reason pit bulls were ever banned in the first place....ignorance and prejudice

why do we need more legislation telling people what they can and cannot have? idk about you, but i dont know anyone who was injured by a snake that escaped its enclosure and was out roaming the streets.....thats more than i can say for other common pets

snakes arent your thing? i get it. thats how i feel about cats and parrots and horses etc.....but to ban them because youre afraid of them? really?

I never said they should be banned I was just pointing out that there are more dog bites per year than snake bites due to people being in contact dogs more than snakes (even wild ones). Comparing the snakes to dogs is the same as comparing dogs to the exotics.

[Steve Butters]

I never said they should be banned I was just pointing out that there are more dog bites per year than snake bites due to people being in contact dogs more than snakes (even wild ones). Comparing the snakes to dogs is the same as comparing dogs to the exotics.

gotcha. misunderstood the context of your post.

[BDBGoalie]

I don't think any specific breed of anything is predisposition-ed to attack people. That does not cover the ownership of venomous reptiles or lions and the like. That is just asking for trouble.

I think that if an animal is raised right, and has lots of proper attention from humans, they will be fine. If the animal is not trained or properly exposed, it will be a crappy defensive animal, and with good reason. Blaming a breed for an owner's inability to train it is just wrong.

But I'd also say that there are likely as many bad dog owners as bad snake owners. However, most snake owners don't take their pets for walks around other people.

I also don't think that it should be illegal to own those kinds of questionable pets. But that ownership should be monitored, and the licensing prior to obtaining the animal should prove the owner is financially of caring for the animal for the length of its life, as well as fully knowledgeable on the animal.

Now the people that make thousands of dollars a year breeding large constrictors and venomous reptiles I do have an issue with. The average person cannot properly care for these animals. Venomous reptiles can and have killed people due to the person's stupidity.

Burms and Retics can get 17'-24' in length and 200lbs+. They both can be very cage defensive even when properly trained. Both have huge cage size requirements. They can live for nearly 40 years. Getting bit by a full grown Burm/Retic is supposed to be akin to a baseball bat to the face in force levels.

That is not something for someone that is not very well versed in snake care, and some of the fucks that sell them lie outright on the eventual size and other requirements. So regulating the breeding for profit I wouldn't be opposed to, within limits.

That being said, back to the snake questions.

I've heard that Retics can be nice. I've handled a few that were. I've also seen someone get bit by one taking them out of the cage, and then have the snake calm down once he was out.

My wife can vouch that our baby Retic we had caused a more painful bite than some of the larger ones. It would alternate pressure on each side of the jaw sort of sawing the bite. Our baby never really got over the aggressive nature and eventually got sold.

The Retics are really intelligent though. They remind me of raptors from Jurassic Park in their head and eye configuration, and how they always look like they are thinking.

I love the personality of Burms. They can be a bit touchy coming out of the cage, but once they are out they are great. Really docile, like to wander, fun to chill with.

Boas are the same without the cage aggressive problem, and much smaller. Boas tend to hang on you a bit more since they are arboreal more so than Burms.

That picture of the Burm is our girl, Hermione. She was sold to us as a boy, and the vet proved that wrong. A female Burm is just too big for us, so we had to sell her and get a male.

I have piles of pictures, but most are not posted. My wife's Flickr has a bunch of random pictures so here is that. https://plus.google.com/photos/109577768902804117966/albums?banner=pwa

I'm located in Central Columbus so if anyone is interested in seeing our collection just send me a PM and we can arrange something.

Edited June 21, 2012 by BDBGoalie

[MadMax33]

Wild snakes can be picked up without any trouble, as long as you know what you're dealing with. The constrictors of North America can be pretty mellow but that can vary among individual snakes. Watersnakes are aggressive for the most part, as well as the racers. My first store-bought snake was a Ball Python, one of the most docile snakes that you can purchase. Perhaps the reason why so many people fear snakes is that during the early days of our species, we were exposed to so many dangerous ones in our original continent, Africa, and it would have been adaptive to avoid an encounter with the numerous deadly reptiles. Or we are just a bunch of pussies...