Shannon's Snakes Photo Thread

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

They can get to one meter in length.... I can't wait to see them grow more so I can take more pictures of them that you can see!

[ssssnakeluvr]

those are sweet!!!! Kinda fond of rhabdophis myself....used to have a tigrinus.....brought it back from Korea. had it for about 5 years, awesome snake!!! crap...thought I had a photo of her on here....will find it later and post it

[brain]

Hot, Hot snake, right? Its a rear-fanged species which has fatal envenomations toxicity. And recently been reclassified as a dangerous species, but then of course you knew this, right?
We don't want to read about your death in the news. Please be carful. Is there antidote?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Hot, Hot snake, right? Its a rear-fanged species which has fatal envenomations toxicity. And recently been reclassified as a dangerous species, but then of course you knew this, right?
We don't want to read about your death in the news. Please be carful. Is there antidote?

I knew all of this, yes. I am not concerned. And I would not classify them as a "hot, hot snake" I would classify them as a "watch where you put your fingers at feeding time" snake. There has only been one report of a death, he sought no medical attention, and probably had an allergic reaction on top of that.

they have been reclassified as dangerous because a few envenomations have been serious... but i read that anyone who's ever had problems after being bitten by one of these snakes allowed the snakes to bite them SEVERAL times, or allowed the snake to chew for MINUTES before making it let go and then had some complications. Ever which way you put it, I am not worried about these snakes biting and killing me. I was a CRAZY kid and have been bitten, stung, and chewed by a wide variety of lovely creatures... bees, wasps, emperor scorpions, a centipede once (ouch), spiders, lizards, snakes, latex, peanuts, penicillin, I am not one to break out into allergic reactions. If one of these snakes were to somehow get ahold of me... Which would be hard for these little guys because I work behind a big set of tongs, I would at least use common sense and seek some medical care.

Don, I am a big fan of tigrinis and they are next on my list, Tigrinis are very neat in the way that where they come from they can eat normally VERY toxic toads and store the toxins in a gland on the back of their neck, making them poisonous to anything that would happen to eat one of their species (these toxins are separate from the venom they produce and secret) They will actually arch their neck and display this gland if confronted!

Eventually I am going for the majestic mangrove snakes, but I am going to wait on a healthy pair to come my way before I get into them. From there, I will probably start keeping a few crotalus and bitis species. I am not much a fan of elapidae but I DO love the viperine's!!!

As long as I use some common sense... as in, do not make it a point to handle/cuddle these snakes, do not allow fingers to be chew toys for snakes.... these snakes are NOT going to hurt me

[brain]

Ok it’s just that a good buddy of mine out here who has dealt with monocles, mambas and rattlers for a good bit of time. Just last summer got tagged by his “defanged” monocle we guess the venom sack must have grown back or not properly removed, but the short of it was we rushed him to Seattle.

[ssssnakeluvr]

my mom was feeding my tigrinus while I was away...it bit her finger, no problems at all, she was hand feeding it...since my other snake was brain damaged from the spoiled fish it ate.... the tigrinus almost seemed to feel bad and never took food from her hand again! took me a year or 2 after she passed away before I found out what kind of snake she was.... would love to have some more of them, but utah won't allow rhabdophis, rear fanged snakes.... POO!!!!!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Ok it’s just that a good buddy of mine out here who has dealt with monocles, mambas and rattlers for a good bit of time. Just last summer got tagged by his “defanged” monocle we guess the venom sack must have grown back or not properly removed, but the short of it was we rushed him to Seattle.

You must be referring to venomoid's cause you can't de-fang a snake, teeth grow back! If the venom gland was entirely removed, it is impossible for it to grow back. Just like a kidney, a venom gland is an encapsulated organ that does not have the ability to replicate once removed. Therefore, when a venom gland is completely and correctly removed, it cannot, does not, will not won't ever grow back. In a proper venomoid surgery, the entire venom gland and duct system are removed and are usually replaced with a silicone filler to retain headshape and a metal rod inside for permanent ID through Xray that the animal is indeed venomoid. While the surgery is generally done from inside the mouth to promote quicker healing and no scarring, the fangs are left untouched seeing as removal of fangs does absolutely nothing permantently to a venomous snake. Venomous snakes regularly shed their fangs and replace them with new ones. If a small piece of the venom gland was left behind, that most likely was still able to function and produce venom. and it means that the surgery was not properly done, and was most likely performed by someone that was not liscensced and with no real knowledge of how to perform an operation. Picture a guy in a basement hacking up a snake that has been chloroformed. It is very important for aspiring venomoid owners to acquire their snakes from a reliable source and recieve firm documentation ID'ing the snake.

I own a venomoid animal myself that was more of a rescue than anything, she has cancer unfortunately and I don't ever really talk about her publicly. She is a texas blacktailed rattler, her name is Cuppycake, and she is a doll. She is like having a cornsnake with fangs. I can pick her up, pet her, hold her, let her crawl on the floor, poke her, prod her, she is totally indifferent to people. Until her cancer starts to impede her daily routine, she will remain alive and in my care. I love her to death and I will miss her very much when she is gone.

Not to go off on a tangent but I feel very strongly about this...Do I support mutilating an animal for sheer convenience, vanity and safety? no. I think it is wrong for us to cut off any part of an animal that we don't like, that goes for declawing cats, cropping dogs' tails and ears, even dew claws, who are we to say that they are imperfect? I find any of these commonly performed procedures disgusting, selfish, and backward. Every time I see someone walk into my store with a dog with cropped ears and tail, or is looking for litter for their declawed cat, I just want to cut off one of their toes, chop off their buttocks, reshape their ears with scissors and rip out their fingernails and see how they like it. I watched a littelr of day old poodles have their tails and dew claws cut off, with NOTHING to sedate them, they just take scissors and chop them off while the puppy screams in pain. Just because they won't remember it when they are older does not make it okay.

Will I have another venomoid following cuppycake? no way. But I may as well put out the information about the topic for all to read.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I don't necessarily agree with removing venom glands....the venom is there for a reason...to subdue prey and also starts the breakdown of the prey for digestion. at least yours has a great home and will be well cared for!!!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

and also starts the breakdown of the prey for digestion.

this key point is often overlooked when people have their crotalus devenomized, their venom is supposed to play a very important role in digestion.

[ssssnakeluvr]

yes it is!!!!!