Why hots?
 

No judgment... just curiosity. I look at the venomous classifieds frequently because I find it interesting what all is out there to buy. I just can't wrap my head around any good reason to be putting your life in danger owning hots. A lot of these species have nonvenomous lookalikes. Green mambas for instance, you could get any number of green snakes that look very similar. I will admit some of the pit viper and cobra types are very attractive but not enough for the risk to me. So why keep such dangerous animals?

For me, they are a test of and a way to improve my abilities to "read" reptilian body language, as well as truly incredible animals that are just as worthy of time and attention as those that are non-venomous.

That said, keeping hots is definitely not, and should not be, for everyone. It requires and demands a greater level of responsibility and maturity from the keeper, as any mistake that results in a bite or an escape can be damaging to the reptile keeping hobby as a whole.

And there are certain hots that I know I will never be willing to touch, as they are either too fast, too potent, too intelligent, or any combination of the three.

Which ones are you unwilling to keep?

I refuse to touch mambas, taipans, and king cobra's at a main top three. There are a few miscellaneous others where there is no antivenom produced for them, which I want nothing to do with.

As I am still training, they are way outside what I can deal with. Even if I were as comfortable with hots as my mentor is, I wouldn't touch them as they are all fast, intelligent/twitchy, and potent (My mentor is of the same mindset).

Makes sense... Some of the hots are really pretty I'll give you that. I really like the look of cobras and the gaboon vipers have some really unique markings. Thanks for your input.

I can remember when many years ago my wife and I visited Hank Molt's place and had a particularly unsettling experience. You had to knock on the door, and he would look out through a sliding peep hole to see who was there. He let us in and then locked the door behind us. They were unloading a shipment, and while doing so, a black mamba got away from someone and was loose in the room. They caught it quickly, but it seemed like an eternity to me. We were trapped with a fast and lethal wild animal, with our backs to the door, and had visions of Connie getting bitten there and dying right before my eyes. When I regained my voice, I told them we needed to leave, NOW.

Beyond catching the odd copperhead or two, never had any interest whatsoever in keeping or handling venomous reptiles. Keeping wild animals can be stressful enough without the added component that their unpredictable nature could result in a really, REALLY bad day for you. I think anyone considering keeping hots should spend an hour or two every now again viewing images of the results of a venomous snake bite to remind them what is at stake if they make a mistake.

Source of photo: http://www.rattlesnakebite.org/rattlesnakepics-htm/

That photo is disturbing... Your thoughts are about how I feel on it. But I'm someone who is intimidated by a four foot boa...

I think that the law and insurance will go hand in hand over the next few decades to make those who voluntarily partake in non work related extremely dangerous activities liable for their own medical costs if something happens.
The law already places financial responsibility for tort injury that occurs to others on the keepers of 'wild creatures' which include reptiles, if the wild animal causes such injuries.

Looking at the photo above, I can't imagine how a keeper would feel if there was a slip-up and the hot bit his wife or child, and their hand ended up looking like that.

Some people just want to be more extreme or exotic than others...bragging rights so on....i think it's silly

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I've only personally met one person who does, he milks them and sells the venom to labs and large pharma companies under his own corporation.

He also can't find an insurer who will write him a health or life insurance policy so he keeps enough cash in the bank (actually multiple banks due to FDIC limits) to cover hospitalization in case he gets tagged.