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Ray Hunter aka Cobraman

mbdorfer

New member
Just wondering if any of the Florida people know this man.
He apparently has worked with Bill Haast and has a very interesting web site.

http://www.cobraman.net/

Dr. Hunter was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback on October 30.
Drove himself to the hospital and was found slumped over in his car.
Last word was that he was in critical condition, but improving.

If you visit the site, click on the photo section.
Especially if you are considering getting into "hots".

Oh, and is it just me, or does he bear a strong resemblance to a certain fictional New Jersey crime boss :shrugs:
 
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He seems to be the poster child for "How NOT to handle your hots" lol...Bite me once once, shame on you, bite me twice, well...shame on me hehehe...

Good thing he's "born again", looks like he's at the front of the line to get in ;)
 
Gives condo living and friendly neighbors a whole new twist, I wonder how many people in a condo on that street are walking around on stilts.
 
I've never heard of the guy, but that's one crazy bio! For a guy who's obviously very knowledgable, he seems extremely irresponsible. I hope he recovers.

And I love that leucistic monacled cobra in his photo gallery. :cool:
 
Yeah, I'm sure they all appreciate knowing some kook is living above them with a very large King Cobra lol. Not to mention I'd love to see a neighbor's dog get loose and find this guy interesting :uhoh: I'm glad the guy loves his snakes, but after looking at all of those photos....wow, he has a death wish. (the nice version :) )
 
Yeah, I'm sure they all appreciate knowing some kook is living above them with a very large King Cobra lol.

I get the impression that he's not so much a kook, but suffers from a bit of over-confidence. Probably picked that up from Mr. Haast.:shrugs:
 
:eek: Brave is not exactly the word that comes to mind with this guy. I looked at his website again he sells these snakes and for the most part they are rather inexpensive, just seems really odd to me.
 
A member of another forum posted about this yesterday. I guess she knows him personally. I do think we should all keep him in our prayers. However...I understand some people's fascination with hots, but cannot see how anyone with such experience and knowledge could expose unknowledgable people to this danger. IMO if you want to work with anything venomous you find yourself a nice secure research/rehab/zoo facility and keep the risk to yourself.
 
I saw this on another forum as well. He himself admits he gets overconfident. This time he may not be so lucky. From what was posted on the other forum he is being dialyzed for kidney failure and is attached to a ventilator to breath for him. I hope he makes it but for now he is critically ill and has a long precarious road ahead of him.
 
I know this will turn some heads and provoke some scoffs, but all I can say is that it sounds like the best thing for him is prayer :)
 
I was more referring to the fact that I mention prayer... I added the first part because I didn't want ot offend anybody or instigate an argument about religion. Its just my opinion on what we can do :)
 
He'd scare me if he was my neighbor, but for the most part he seems to take some precautions when dealing with his animals and the one he rescues. At least he is LEGALLY keeping the snakes, and not under the table and hidden without permits.

I do hope he pulls through and recovers and that in the future he exercises just a touch more caution when dealing with an unfamiliar hot.

People should be giving the guy a touch more credit. He drove himself to the hospital, probably after securing the snake that bit him, and informed authorities that he has hots at home are secured. He did take a gamble on driving himself in, but most likely he saved his own life by doing so. Seeing as how an ambulance would have had to travel at least twice the distance he did.

Jenn
 
Wow.. Some of those pictures blow me away. Did you guys see the one where he's holding a cobra hatchling like you would a corn? :confused: I've been tagged several times doing that (*edit* by corns, lol)... I wouldn't expect they come out of the egg any more docile..
Is there a point in Florida where they would pull your permits to keep these animals?

More importantly, I hope he pulls through..
 
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"Hunter "self-immunized himself against many different exotic, poisonous snakes and had been bitten many times in the past," the report states."

Well sign me up for that! I wasn't aware you could self immunize... Maybe I could self immunize myself against stupid people and they wouldn't bug me as much...

He seems like a cool dude, but he is way to self confident and takes too many risks... I wonder if his insurance covers the hospital bills.
 
First, on the self-immunization thing. Bill Haast was the first real explorer into that realm that I'm aware of and has been doing it for years. The "cobraman" basically followed in Bill's exact footsteps and looks to have copied almost every move Bill has. And as far as self immunization goes, it may save your life, but look at Bill's face, hands, and overall disfigurement. The man is a legend, but he looks like a walking mummy and his hands barely function.

Second, I don't think any health insurance covers envenomations. :eek1: That's why most people who keep hots keep their own antivenom on hand because it's going to cost them ten-fold to have it imported from Venom-1 in Miami in case of an envenomation. Not to mention you'll probably be dead by the time it gets their if you're keeping some of the animals he is. The hospital bill is still gonna be a "female dog" though. :eek:

Hope that helps answer questions :)
 
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