Good first venomous
 

I have kept many different non venomous snakes before and a copper head for a while. I am wanting to get a venomous snake this summer. I am not sure which snake to get to start with though. I like the banded kraits but I have a feeling that would be a big no no for a starter since they are so dangerously venomous. What kind of venomous snake would you recommend to a starter?

Thank you.

Find a mentor...
 

Work with a mentor to gain experience and get a feel for what you want to keep.

Available antivenin needs to be a serious concern.

Some states do not allow exotic venomous also.

I am not sure of anyone who keeps venomous snakes in my area so a mentor would be hard to come by. I live in Missouri the only thing I could find is that I have to alert local authorities that I am keeping a venomous snake.

What part of Missouri do you live in?

South East.

It took me a long time to find a mentor here in my area... but there is no way I would be keeping 'hots' without that training. Not only can they show you the right way... they can teach you WHAT NOT TO DO... which is sometimes even more important.

Your best first 'hot' would be your mentors.

Before you get any hots i'd start practising with a fast aggressive non venomous snake like a tiawan beauty or something along those lines.. after you've mastered hooking and everything then you could try getting a false water cobra, a mangrove snake, a cape coral cobra or sheild nosed cobra. There pretty good starter hots but you have to remember all venomous snakes have the potental to kill and they should all be treated with respect wether their's been recorded deaths or not. Btw their's no antivenom for those species.. i hope this helps.

If you've already kept copperheads in the past, you should be able to keep any of the small-medium rattlers as well. They are similar to keep and require the same polyvalent.

IMO, no pit viper is going to prepare you for cobras, kraits, etc. I don't necessarily think they are harder to keep but they are different in how they act/strike.

I started out with rattlers a few years back and thought I was ready for cobras........wrong, they are much faster and seem more high strung to me. Not saying you cant do it, but i would think long and hard...

If your thinking about getting some elapids then i'd suggest getting some aspidelaps (sheild nosed and cape coral snakes) like i'v already said above. Other then that i'd say go with some rear fanged snakes or with some small crotalids like BlindOne has said..