Comments on: Gaboon Viper Found In Maine

By: kittenz

kittenz — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:05:04 +0000

“They’re not legal in Maine. You could not get a permit for that,” Spahr said. “I don’t even know if they would be legal in the U.S.”

There are many places in the USA where it's legal to keep "hot" snakes, even the most deadly. Some states have no regulations at all. You can buy Gaboon vipers legally in many states. Their venom is highly toxic, and they inject a tremendous amount of it, but they are generally considered rather placid, and although uncommon in captivity, they certainly are not unheard of.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:33:08 +0000

It’s unfortunate that Australian snakes get such a bad rap. Many people like to play up the fact that Australia is home to such a large percentage of venomous snakes but this is disproportionate to the actual threat that these snakes typically pose.

For one, most of these venomous snakes are quite shy and wary of humans. We are not their intended prey and they seek to avoid us if at all possible. In some cases venomous snakes don’t even inject venom when they bite defensively. Stories of snakes actively chasing down or seeking out humans to attack are most likely exagerrated.

These snakes are not wicked creatures out to kill us. These are merely animals doing what they do and being brought into further forced contact with humans due to our encroaching ever more into their habitat. When you have us living in close proximity, of course incidents will occur, but in many cases these could have been avoided.

Many of these bites could have been avoided with proper precautions such as watching where you are going, wearing proper footwear, and being mindful and respectful of your surroundings. Bites like these are typical to those who are careless or who handle snakes directly such as one of the reports mentioned here.

There are actually relatively very few cases of completely unavoidable snake bites in Australia, and many other countries such as the United States, have a higher rate of deaths due to venomous snake bites than Australia does. I understand that more people die of honey bee stings than venomous snakes in Australia.

The snakes are certainly not out trying to wreak havoc on human beings.

I’m sure that there will be big media panics due to these bites, and attention drawn to Australia’s venomous snakes. Undoubtedly the news is tragic for those involved. However this media coverage will most likely be overblown and I’m afraid not truly representative of the actual situation.

By: Dr Kaco

Dr Kaco — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:13:27 +0000

That’s why I say leave it to expert Herpetologist to keep hot snakes. Even then it’s not safe….look at what happened with Hurricane Andrew in Florida
Peace!

By: MountDesertIslander

MountDesertIslander — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:08:07 +0000

Not only am I happy this snake froze to death, I wish the person who released it was out there too.

How reckless, how stupid, how insane can anyone be?

Are you kidding me!

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:41:20 +0000

Kalashmikovnik: I agree with you. And I personally do not see anything wrong with keeping pit vipers as pets as long as the people who won them are responsible, knowledgeable and ready to accept the consequences of keeping such a type of pet. Don’t be complaining if they bite you and you almost die.

By: Kalashnikovnik

Kalashnikovnik — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:21:56 +0000

I certainly am not glad the snake froze to death but imagine the havoc that could have been caused had that thing been released during the summer months when the weather might have been warm enough for it to survive for a while.

By: Dr Kaco

Dr Kaco — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21:01 +0000

Pretty lame to keep “Hot” snakes as pets. “Hot” referring to venomous snakes. I personally keep 2 corn snakes that grow to a max 6ft. (I’ll let you know if they surpass that Loren I just don’t think it’s wise to keep pit vipers. Let’s leave that to the Zoo people.
Peace!