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The most impractical snake?

snakewispera snr said:
This thread has required a reality check for a while Jim....
I don't think there are any impractical snakes (well sea snakes may qualify LOL) Just misinformed owners.
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I agree with you to some degree Mike. A lot of snakes are practical to keep for some more experienced herpers. I just think most odd ball feeders though are typically not practical, even for the experienced. It would just be hard to find food for them on a constant basis.
I personally do not have the time or requirements to feed such snakes right now.
 
Wow, I thought the whole thread was a "What would YOU want but find impractical" sort of thing...as in what would be impractical to each individual posting.

Any of the giants would be impractical for me as I live in a small condo and I like using the space available for other things. Obviously, that doesn't mean squat when it comes to any other keepers. I don't see how that makes me misinformed....quite the contrary, actually.

I think an Indigo would be impractical for someone who is very busy and lacking in free time, as they are MESSY animals, and I spend more time cleaning my Indigo's tub every week than I spend on any interaction with all of my other snakes combined. Fine by me, but a full-time student with a job might find it impractical because they have a lot of other stuff going on.
 
wstphal said:
When we own long-lived pets (horses, dogs, cats, reptiles, psittacine birds) we have to think about what's going to happen if we have an close encounter of the fatal kind with a drunk driver. Who will inherit the animal & will that be a good thing?
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This is a very good point, I actually made out a "snake will" and need to send it off to a few of my friends. After the scare I had a few weeks ago, it made me think who would get some of these animals. I have a few herpers in the community who would help a friend of mine deal with these animals.
There is a list of animals and who I think should get them.

All i am saying is Gene would get a box marked Fluffy. :sidestep:
Don't worry I am sure Fluffy would greet Gene before he had the chance of opening the box. :grabbit:
 
tricksterpup said:
I agree with you to some degree Mike. A lot of snakes are practical to keep for some more experienced herpers. I just think most odd ball feeders though are typically not practical, even for the experienced. It would just be hard to find food for them on a constant basis.
I personally do not have the time or requirements to feed such snakes right now.
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ceduke said:
Wow, I thought the whole thread was a "What would YOU want but find impractical" sort of thing...as in what would be impractical to each individual posting.

Any of the giants would be impractical for me as I live in a small condo and I like using the space available for other things. Obviously, that doesn't mean squat when it comes to any other keepers. I don't see how that makes me misinformed....quite the contrary, actually.

I think an Indigo would be impractical for someone who is very busy and lacking in free time, as they are MESSY animals, and I spend more time cleaning my Indigo's tub every week than I spend on any interaction with all of my other snakes combined. Fine by me, but a full-time student with a job might find it impractical because they have a lot of other stuff going on.
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I have to agree with both of you on this, but thats personal choice at play..
When it changes to misconceptions being bandied about and then repeated by anyone who reads it, I have to step in....
Granted feeding issues or time required could be seen as impractical and need to be mentioned..
Though with careful research (and I mean meeting keepers, not trawling forums) a lot of the barriers can be got around.
I once thought that GTP would be so difficult to keep after reading forums... They are not.. Just cycle them and leave them alone and they are easy... Not a handle everyday snake and not a ram food into snake.. Just a different type of snake..
 
snakewispera snr said:
I have to agree with both of you on this, but thats personal choice at play..
When it changes to misconceptions being bandied about and then repeated by anyone who reads it, I have to step in....
Granted feeding issues or time required could be seen as impractical and need to be mentioned..
Though with careful research (and I mean meeting keepers, not trawling forums) a lot of the barriers can be got around.
I once thought that GTP would be so difficult to keep after reading forums... They are not.. Just cycle them and leave them alone and they are easy... Not a handle everyday snake and not a ram food into snake.. Just a different type of snake..
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Oh I agree, but there are just some snakes that would require just to much work and any type of effort to keep happy and healthy.
Plus I do alot of research on many snakes that I own or attempt to own. I know many long time experienced herpers and keepers. I do read resource materials, you should see my personal library. Heck there are times I even disagree with stuff I have read due to its age.

there is a species of snake here in the US that only feeds on freshly Moulted Crawfish. I would think that would be hard to come by at any means. I am sure you can find them and then freeze them but again, I am sure not easy to find.
Another snake would be the Mud Snake from the South US, they main choice of food is amphiumas. And I would say that amphibian is not easy to come by. Again, I am sure they will eat frogs and salamanders as a secondary choice.

easternmudsnake.jpg
 
snakewispera snr said:
Please don't Oren... The last time there was a discussion on here about condas lots of misconceptions were put out as fact... I brought a few conda keepers, I know, on here to explain the actual facts about them... The thread is here if you search... Yes they are heavy bodied, nowhere near as long as people suggest and they are puppy dog tame if kept from young (like any snake) and the stench is because people think they need to live in an aquarium... The do smell a bit musky though... I will agree to that LOL
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I had the distinct displeasure of seeing - I did not dare to handle as they repeatedly tried to bite their owner.
Most people I know, including keepers, disagree with the puppy tame statement but alright. An opinion's an opinion.
 
wow, this really took off a bit more than I expected. For me, I said the rattlers were impractical because I have no need to own them that I can justify. I can see them all in captivity if I want somewhere. I don't run an educational program on rattlers, and if I did, educating locals on a rare species of south american rattlesnake they'd never see probably wouldn't help them much. And while I've had a bit of experience working with hots, I still don't know if I'd want to own one full time. Every time I think I do, I go look at the SHHS webpage, venomous.org. Note the amount of experienced keepers over there with a "I've been handling hots 20 years and didn't think it would happen to me" stories. Many of which are accompanied with photos of fasciotomies (sp?) and severe necrosis of the tissue around the area of the bite, stories of long recoveries etc... To that I say, no sir, no hots for me.
 
WingedSweetheart said:
Mine would be a Leucistic Ball Python. Or any Leucistic Python really. But it's impractical for me because once while browsing breeders that had these for sale all had prices in the thousands! Plus there would be the cost of properly housing it and caring for it.

Lucy0930.jpg


Another impractical snake that I would love to own would be a Green Tree Python Blue phase. I think they are so pretty but a bit hard to care for. I've read they don't have the best temperament and are more of a look but not touch sort of animal. Not to mention the pretty price tag!

DPTMmalewc.jpg


Last but not least a very impractical snake. Unless I had a death wish hehe. A Blue Coral snake. I love blue and this snake is a very nice shade but also nice and deadly if bitten.

Snake3.jpg


Ps
I love the color blue and if I could find a smallish non venomous blue snake that was as easy to care for as a corn I would be in heaven. If you know of any...
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Check out garters & ribbon snakes, there are several sub-species & phases of each that are blue. My two favorite are Puget Sound garters & Neon blue phase red sided garters.
 
JNugent said:
Every time I think I do, I go look at the SHHS webpage, venomous.org. Note the amount of experienced keepers over there with a "I've been handling hots 20 years and didn't think it would happen to me" stories. Many of which are accompanied with photos of fasciotomies (sp?) and severe necrosis of the tissue around the area of the bite, stories of long recoveries etc... To that I say, no sir, no hots for me.
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LOL. Don't forget the huge cost of the hospital stay... a price "bandied about" on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel was $65,000 while a quick internet search showed prices of $20,000 for the antivenin alone.

As for the "impracticality of things", sure... it is "impractical" for ME to keep hots or large snakes. Just doesn't make any kind of sense with all the children I have around AND would definitely not pass state licensing for the organization I work for. Hence, if I want to work here, the "impracticality part" is all on me.
 
Guys, my point wasn't that I think large snakes are killers. My point was that, while it's unlikely to come home to eaten dogs and cats, these snakes are capable of doing it. I think it's impractical to have a snake that is capable of doing it. Corns and smaller snakes are highly unlikely to try to eat a dog or cat in the wild. However, larger snakes may try. We all remember the picture of the snake that ate the alligator and exploded right? Whether that was fake or real, it does point out that snakes may try to eat animals larger than mice and rats.

Seeing as I have lots of animals that a larger snake, even a ball python, may see as a last chance food item, I think anything that can get big enough to eat an adult rat is impractical for me. I love Burmese, but they have the potential to eat through my other animals. If I had one, I wouldn't plan on letting it roam around the house like the cats do so I really wouldn't expect to come home with eaten animals. However, mistakes do happen to even the best of us and one day 40 years down the road, maybe the snake happens to get out somehow. Maybe you're on the phone and thought you locked up when you were yelling at the telemarketer for calling for the fifth time that day.

If a small snake gets out, you'd hear the dog barking at it. If a big snake gets out, you'd hear the dog yelping because it's an animal that could eat the dog and the dog probably knows that. My only point was that I prefer snakes that won't see my cat as a potential meal, whether it escapes or not. I'd rather my leopard geckos be in danger of being seen as Christmas dinner than my cats. Does that make sense?
 
pridecity said:
If a small snake gets out, you'd hear the dog barking at it. If a big snake gets out, you'd hear the dog yelping because it's an animal that could eat the dog and the dog probably knows that. My only point was that I prefer snakes that won't see my cat as a potential meal, whether it escapes or not. I'd rather my leopard geckos be in danger of being seen as Christmas dinner than my cats. Does that make sense?
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I am sorry but it makes no sense and your logic is pretty ridicules and fear mongering.
 
Snakes are primal animals, driven by instincts and even the most veteran of keepers will make a mistake.
It is important that we will be able to handle the implications of something going wrong- if we can't handle and control such a situation, we have no business keeping said animal.

Big snakes are not prone to be aggressive anymore than small snakes are- they are simply powerful enough to cause much more harm, and are, due to that fact, more dangerous.

Some people are very gifted and have a real talent of working with such animals- but for many, large constrictors is going a tad too far.
 
I have a habit of asking myself "What's the worst that could happen?" When going into a new situation...new pet, new home, whatever. If I can't live with the worst that could happen, I re-think my decision.

Thus, I wouldn't want to own a large parrot (As much as I adore them) after seeing one of my customers at the pet store I worked in who had to let her face heal up a bit before she could have plastic surgery to repair the damage her Amazon did to her when he got cranky and tore a chunk of muscle out of her face.

Also, I wouldn't want to own one of the giants because if the worst DID happen (Not that I think it would, I'm very careful with everyone here, and I would be doubly so with a big guy), I would be devastated by the consequences of my own error. I don't see that as fear-mongering as much as recognizing my own limitations as a keeper.
 
ceduke said:
I would be devastated by the consequences of my own error. I don't see that as fear-mongering as much as recognizing my own limitations as a keeper.
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This is knowing your own limitations and you are correct. The fear mongering is stating that the snake is going to get out and eat the dogs.
Trust me, when you own an animal that big, you put a lock on the cage and always make sure its locked.
As for the comment about smaller snakes killing cats or dogs, I know there is an image out there of a King Snake that killed a cat on some one's deck. The cat was to big to eat but I believe the snake didn't realize it at the time.

But being a safe pet owner, one will never ever face an issue like this. Like I stated, I own a large burm and have cats. When the burm is out, the cats are locked in a bed room. When the burn goes up, they are out.
 
I also think people over think situations from hearsay, and decide their limitations based on imagination.
Having been around nearly all the snakes mentioned in this thread I know what most of them are capable of. And watching people who are comfortable working these animals puts it into perspective. I'm not suggesting for one minute that everyone should try and handle a cobra, but with the right tuition it's not as bad or impossible as you first think.
 
The_Thunderer said:
LOL. Don't forget the huge cost of the hospital stay... a price "bandied about" on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel was $65,000 while a quick internet search showed prices of $20,000 for the antivenin alone.
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Recently I read a story of a teenager on there who talked of sitting on a rock and hanging his arm over the side, then being struck by a Prairie Rattlesnake I believe. After initial treatment, helicopter medevac fees, follow up surgies, skin grafts at everything else, his bill is over $300K.

I'm not trying to fear monger, and to snakewispera, I understand handling hots isn't isn't impossible. In fact, I've handled quite a few between working at zoo at one time, and running a few years of rescue calls removing snakes for the Chihuahua Desert Wildlife Rescue organization. I was just stating the large number of "I didn't think it would happen to me" stories and the large number of hot keepers over there who have been tagged at some point. In fact, most over there consider it an occupational hazard and accept that it will eventually happen at some point.
 
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