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Originally posted by KNOBTAIL also like to add that one of the other big problem is the ability of these people to get the snakes in the first place!
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That certainly is an issue, but I think Zoological Imports has shown more good sense and responsibility than most dealers in helping out with this problem.
The problem with deciding whether or not to sell a venomous snake to anyone is that you just don't know everyone personally. If somebody talks a good game and claims to have worked with cobras for 10 years, when in fact this is not true, what is the dealer's responsibility in this case?
Unless the buyer is very clearly incompetent or a minor, how can the dealer determine whether they are telling the truth about their handling ability? Do you expect the dealer to personally inspect every customer's facility and test his or her handling skills? I don't think that is a realistic expectation. If the would be customer is intoxicated, underage or otherwise clearly demonstrates incompetence, the sale should be refused by the dealer. Otherwise, the responsibility has to be on the customer.
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I am not knowledgeable about the de-fanging of poisonous snakes, but that also adds to the mystique.
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De-fanging a snake doesn't work and is likely to result in severe stomatitis, osteomyelitis (bone infection), systemic septicaemia and death. Fangs do regrow and a snake may have one or more fangs fully developed in reserve, positioned immediately behind the one that is currently in use. Some bite wounds from crotalids may show three or even four puncture wounds due to this phenomenon. (M. Petersen, NAVC lecture on crotaline envenomation, 2004)
This is what happens when an idiot in Africa crudely attempts to de-fang a snake:
http://www.kingsnake.com/snakegetter...vet/index.html We could not save this particular patient as the infection had progressed throughout the animal's body and osteomyelitis had basically eaten up its skull by the time the case got to us. Another patient that we did save was kindly donated to our veterinary rescue team immediately after she was found in this condition by Mario:
http://www.kingsnake.com/snakegetter...mamba-jaw.html Thank you, Mario, for giving this little girl a chance. She's doing just fine now albeit with some scarring. And no, none of this abuse happened at Mario's facility; the animals I have seen come in with this kind of severe capture trauma look like this right out of the box.
If you're talking about the practice of venomoiding or removing/ligating venom glands and ducts, that's an equally nasty business that is typically done by profit minded amateur butchers illegally under unsterile conditions with inadequate drugs and tools. It's not something that any responsible reptile keeper or dealer should be supporting.