best beginer venomous snake
 

what do you guys think is the best 'hot' snake to start with? feel free to elaborate or give stories why.

1. copperhead
2. cottonmouth
3. rattlesnake
4. other (elaborate)

In a way, it depends on the person involved...but for a generic response, I will say a copperhead. They stay a very workable size, care is pretty straightforward (and they are pretty forgiving of many husbandry mistakes), and their bite is not generally considered lethal.

Since you specifically stated "start with", it should be noted that working with a copperhead does not necessarily give the required experience to keep other venomous snakes. As I have stated many times, nothing behaves quite like a pi$$ed off rattlesnake on a hook...likewise, cobras are a totally different experience.

beginer hot-snake is an oxymoron

Out of curiosity, why do you want to own a "hot" snake? Do you have quality medical that can take care of you if you were to be bitten? Also, do you have the means to pay the medical bills?

Your best way to get experience is to find someone who has been working with venomous for over 10 years, and help them out. I say 10 years because that is, in my opinion, long enough to begin to understand the venomous snakes. They have a lot more experience you can learn from, then someone who has owned a venomous snake for only 5 years. Even after 10 years anyone can make a stupid mistake and be tagged.

Personally I have no desire to keep venomous, so that is all I can offer for advice. I have nothing against those that do keep them, especially if they are the one who are out there milking the snakes and providing the venom necessary to save the lives of others that are bit.

Everyone who keeps hots started somewhere. I would say (with the disclaimer that I don't keep venomous snakes myself) that you shouldn't keep venomous snakes until you are pretty skilled in keeping nonvenomous snakes. But I don't see why someone who has half a brain and a lot of experience working with i.e. ill-tempered ratsnakes and/or large pythons couldn't successfully keep any of the snakes mentioned above without getting bitten or killing the herp

Because venomous snakes are totally different from ill tempered ratsnakes and large pythons. They move in different ways, react differently, can bite you when ratsnakes and boids could not, blah blah blah. Now look at a few of the common mistakes that "happen to everybody": bites and escapes. It really doesn't matter if you get bitten by a ratsnake...or even a fairly large python. And it isn't a huge deal if a ratsnake or python gets loose, but if a hot gets loose...just think of the potential.

If I had a choice between getting bitten by a 2' copperhead or getting constricted by a full-grown retic, burm or green anaconda, I'd take the copperhead bite without a moment's hesitation. (Not that I'd be thrilled about either possibility, mind you...). A feeding error with a 15-20' constrictor can leave you just as dead as getting tagged by a krait or taipan -- and there's no antivenin available for crushed ribs and internal organs. :ack2:

The original poster had said that no beginner should deal with venomous snakes... and my point was that everyone who works with hots had a "first hot" somewhere along the line. OTOH, I also think that most of the people who successfully work with hots (i.e. the people who didn't wind up gracing darwinawards.com or losing digits or limbs) had pretty substantial experience working with other snakes before they started keeping hots.

If we're talking about "first venomous snake," a copperhead might be a decent choice. If we're talking about "first snake, period," a copperhead would be a Very Bad Idea, although probably not quite so bad as a Mojave or Diamondback.

now your changing the rules, lol. I didn't say anything about being constricted by a full grown retic, burm, or green anaconda...I said it doesn't really matter if you are BITTEN by a ratsnake, or even a fairly large python. As an example, I will say - up to 15 ft. MOST of the defensive type bites, even in that size range, do not cause tremendous amounts of damage (I have seen photos of injuries caused by bites by LARGE WC snakes though...
and I would pass on taking those, too). The bottom line is that working with large boids is nothing like working with hots. Sure, you can get just as dead, but that is another subject entirely.

I can see your point. On the other hand, I might say that working with giant pythons teaches you (or should teach you) to treat your snakes with caution. If you're used to working with an animal which is capable of killing you, you may be able to transfer that mindset over to working with something that injures by biting rather than constriction. It's not so much a matter of "I know exactly how to deal with this copperhead/pigmy rattler/etc." but rather, "I know how to treat a potentially dangerous animal with respect."

And as far as working with ratsnakes goes: I would think that learning how to avoid getting bitten is definitely a skill which comes in handy when dealing with venomous reptiles. :) That kind of mindset, again, isn't something you are going to get with i.e. a ball python or other even-tempered animals. Sure, a rattler's strike is different than a ratsnake's biting style, but it's a matter of knowing in your gut -- not as an intellectual exercise -- that yes, snakes bite sometimes and if I put my extremeties in striking range I'm likely to suffer for it.

Here's a question: what would you recommend as a starter for someone who is interested in working with hots but who has no experience with them? I'd agree that you have to treat a venomous snake differently than even the most ill-tempered nonvenomous animal... but would you agree that one should have some experience with nonvenomous reptiles before deciding that a cobra would look lovely in the dining room?

lol ill tempered ratsnakes? a ratsnake can bite you all day and all you need is a band aide. Yes everyone starts some place. But most work with other animals before purchasing their own. Unless things have changed by law you need so many hours before you can even get a licence.