Its called a fact and they come in books. I have worked closley with a hot owner he was tagged in the palm by a copper and said all he felt was pain and swelling
That's a great way to gain experience. I read, too. But I don't try to pass off one experience that I witnessed as my own experience. And I don't pass off someone else's writing as my own knowledge.
The bottom line is really quite simple...you *might* be right that cottonmouths are more toxic than copperheads. OK. I don't know for sure, but I will grant you that it *could* be true. So what? It had no place in this topic. It didn't add anything to the topic. And for you to state it as though copperheads were not dangerous is irresponsible. Copperheads are dangerous and they DO have the ability to kill, whether or not that FACT is found in your book.
I have worked with snakes whe I was 4 and my grandmother was a wildlife rehaber I own a reptile education business and work at a zoo
My daughter has been working with snakes since she was 2. My girlfriend owns a turtle and tortoise rehab clinic. I am one of the people that the lcoal vet hospital calls when they get in exotics. In my family there are 4 vet techs, 2 licensed wildlife rehabbers, and a CA propogation permit. None of that makes my daughter an expert...much like your friends and family's experience is not YOUR experience.
On the converse, I myself have been playing with wild snakes since I was about 7 or 8. Shoot to make the math easy, let's call it 10. I'm 35 now. That means I've been in the field longer than you've been alive. MOST of my experience is limited, and precursory, and I readily admit that. Over the last year I have made a SOLID effort to work closely with clinical and field herpetologists in the study of animals in my area. It STILL doesn't make me an "expert", as I know I've a LOT to learn. But I am mature enough to
admit I have a lot to learn, and to accept when I am wrong, and to be
humble in my facts and opinions. You, on the other hand...you may know some fancy toxicity rating for a copperhead, but you haven't learned how to be polite yet. Sad, really...
I told you before...I don't care about what your family knows...I care about your attitude. You might have some information that could be valuable to people here. But NOBODY is gonna listen to a snot-nosed 14 year old kid talk down to them. No one should HAVE to listen to a 14 year old kid talk as if he is the only person with any knowledge. there are A LOT of people on this forum with YEARS more experience than you. Probably more experience than your family, too. So drop the attitude. We don't need it...
