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Speak Out: Where do you stand on “free handling” of venomous snakes.

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Anonymous on 2003-06-15
Well....my name is Jeff Carter (olorin3791@hotmail.com).I have been in awe of and have been working with reptiles including venomous snakes for 25 years. My great Grandma Rainwater, Eastern Band Cherokee, taught me a healthy respect for ALL animals from the time I was just a kid. Unlike most people that work with venomous reptiles I do it as a profession. I have worked extensively with many of the worlds most deadly venomous snake species. I most recently lived in Australia and was the supervisor of the herp department at the famed Australian Reptile Park. There we collected, kept, displayed, researched, and milked all the venomous Australian species for the production of antivenine. In the case of milking snakes, yes, we had to put our hands on them and physically pin them, however, every other time that a procedure was done with our venomous reptiles we used tubes, shields, operant conditioning training, and other safety techniques. The Director there, John Weigel, taught me that safety should ALWAYS be priority. He was constantly looking for ideas on how we could increase the safety of directly handling and milking venomous snakes. As he always said, "It's a numbers game.....and one should always do everything possible to stack the odds, through safety techniques, in our favour and NOT the snakes." If YOU are free-handling venomous snakes then you are only doing a diservice to yourself and the entire herping community. I have worked in the zoological field all my professional life and have NEVER felt the need to take stupid risks. A good friend of mine and the Curator of Reptiles at The Jacksonville Zoological Gardens in Florida, Greg Lepera, taught me that if you are bitten by a snake......IT'S NEVER THE SNAKES FAULT!! It's ALWAYS something stupid that the keeper does. I live by those words. I DO NOT think that a person has to "Free-Handle" venomous reptiles in order to appreciate them and enjoy them. We have, as keepers of venomous, reptiles a responsibility to set a good example to ALL others. Free-handling dangerous venomous species for fun only fuels the fire and supports the old addage that "The only GOOD snake is DEAD snake".As Herpers and keepers of venomous reptiles that should NOT be the legacy that we leave for those that aspire to follow in our footsteps.

Regards & Safe Herp Keeping,
Jeff Carter
Curator of Behavioral Husbandry
Caribbean Gardens: The Zoo in Naples

ssshane on 2003-06-11
i think free handling is dangerous, and every bite that happens this way is just another stat 4 the media. keeping hot snakes is already viewed in a bad light. i never touch mine without the use of the tools.

LarryDFishel on 2003-06-03
Just to be picky... If you're referring to the "serpent" in the garden, I think that if you go back and read that carefully you will see that AFTER the fruit-eating incident God cursed the serpent to crawl on it's belly. Therefore...anyone, anyone...the serpent that tempted eve was something with legs (lizard, dragon, whatever) and was turned into a snake for his transgression. Wrap your mind around the implications of THAT for a while...

Anonymous on 2003-06-03
This is for all the religious" ones that use Mark 16:18. Yes, it does say that they handled snakes, but for the religious snake handling zealots that tell me my faith is not strong enough because I won't handle one? It's not about faith, it's about common sense, and if you know that you could be bit by a snake if you handle it, then common sense tells you not to handle them. My faith is in Jesus Christ, not some venomous snake. Actually the first appearance of Satan in the Bible is in the form of a snake, that should send a warning sign right there.

Anonymous on 2003-05-31
I have kept venomous snakes for many years. Although I never had a great many of them, the ones I had would be considered dangerous (Black & White Spitting Cobras, Gaboon Vipers, various Rattlesnakes). Because I now am a father, the only hot snakes I keep are a pair of Copperheads - which are among my favorite snakes. It is the recognition of the danger of a venomous snake and how it affects OTHERS that should always be in the forefront of the mind of a snake handler. No matter how experienced you are, even if you have a PHD in Herpetology, free handling a venomous snake, particularly one that can kill you is irresponsible. Not just because it can effect you but because OTHER PEOPLE are effected as well. While I kept venomous snakes I never touched anything more than their tails and Never got close enough to a head to get bit.

Anonymous on 2003-05-30
I have handled a few hots without the aid of tools. I do not prefer this method though and avoid freehanding whenever possible. I am pretty cautious when it comes to handling snakes, especially hots. I have a family that I enjoy being with and would hate to think what they would have to go through just because I wanted to feel a rush. I'll stick to rollercosters and hot women for a rush. Any way if you are going to do it just be as safe as possible. Accidents happen useing sticks and tongs too.

cobra_guy on 2003-05-25
I "had" a friend that always free handled his venomous snakes until an egg bound Indian cobra no longer wanted to be messed with (please note the past tense had!) I don't think that he would have chose to die this way! I continue to own venomous herps but leave free handling to the idiots,
as owners of venomous reptiles we are always at risk however tubes hooks and tongs can always save your life

sceniccityreptiles on 2003-05-23
This has been a good topic and has generated a lot of opinions. Thanks to everyone who posted, even if your opinion was ludicrous. =) I will be refreshing the topic after this coming week. If anyone has anything further to say, please get it in this week and if you have any ideas for feature topics, please email them to Chuck@SCReptiles.com. Thank you.
Chuck Hurd
www.SCReptiles.com
www.VenomousReptiles.org/managers
www.ChattaNature.org
Phone: 423.580.7513 Fax: 503.217.8695
Chuck@SCReptiles.com

Pdexter on 2003-05-23
Free handling is not for me. That's why they make snake hooks and tongs. By the way, I don't twirl a loaded handgun on my finger either!

Chevy on 2003-05-20
By "free handling" if you mean pinning a venomous snake behind the head and picking it up,I feel there are most certainly instances where this is the only safe way to accomplish the mission! This is not a macho statement but a safe alternative to whatever we are trying to do for the reptile. I started catching timber rattlers in PA when 11 yrs. old in 1958 and first pinned and handled the same at age 18 and to this day I avoid the stress on me and the snake as often as possible. It not only is dangerous to me but very risky to the snake. Over the past 10 years I have lost 3 large (45"-72") crotalidae due to broken necks caused by violent twisting in the last moments of pinning and picking up. These were not fresh caught specimens but long term captives. To this day I try to avoid pinning a rattler unless there is no other alternative. Also in regards to aclimating wild caught specimens, my experience has been most nonpinned rattlers will feed voluntarily versus about 40% of those which are pinned and handled first.

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