Failed research on my part

[finaldecember]

It's been ages since I even logged into this site, but I need some help deciding something that could be potentially very difficult. Somehow, when I bought Maja, I managed to completely miss the fact that she is a colubrid. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when I found this out a few days ago, I started doing more research into colubrids. Guess what I found?

Turns out that Indonesian Striped Keelbacks are a mildly venomous species. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but two other forums I've checked now, as well as a few non-forum sites, have said that the reaction to a ISK bite would be similar to the reaction a person would have to a bee sting.:eek:

NOT GOOD! I am, unfortunately, very highly allergic to bee stings. Not quite anaphylaxis, but I've swelled up very badly and painfully the three times I've been stung. It's not a fun thing to deal with and right now, I have no medical insurance, so that adds more things that wouldn't be good.

My question to you all is: What should I do? I really don't want to get rid of Maja, but I feel like it would be better for me to rehome her and completely avoid the risk of her biting me, as she's already snapped a few times while I was doing simple cage maintenance (changing water, scooping out poo and urates, etc).

[adamanteus]

The fact the you are allergic to bee stings does not necessarily mean that you would be allergic to the bite of a Xenochrophis, the two venoms most likely contain very different factions. But if the risk concerns you then you should consider rehoming your snake.

[Stefan-A]

The potency of the venom is probably exaggerated a bit, as are the presumed consequences of a bite. Even if it was comparable to a beesting, the components of the snake's venom probably aren't the same as the bee's and may not cause the same reaction. That being said, there are no guarantees.

My suggestion is to start treating it like a dangerously venomous snake, even if it probably isn't. Wearing gloves when handling it and cleaning the enclosure should be enough protection. That's if you're still concerned about bites, but still want to keep her.