Teen bitten by poisonous snake at Reidsville friend's home

Teen bitten by poisonous snake at Reidsville friend's home
Friend has more than 10 venomous snakes
UPDATED 1:28 PM EST Feb 25, 2014

Rockingham Co. Sheriff's Office

REIDSVILLE, N.C. —Charges are likely after an 18-year-old was bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake at his friend's home overnight Monday, Rockingham County deputies said.
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Kameron Burgess of Ruffin was bit by a Canebrake Rattlesnake at a home on Auburn Street off Vance Street Extension west of Reidsville. Burgess was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for treatment.

Burgess and a friend were returning the snake to its enclosure when Burgess was bit in the arm, deputies said. The friend, Kaleb Williamson, has a collection of nearly a dozen poisonous snakes at the home.

Charges are expected to be filed after the investigation concludes, deputies said. State wildlife officials have joined deputies and Rockingham County Animal Control in the investigation.

It's against state law to keep a Canebrake Rattlesnake as a pet without a permit, deputies said. It's also against the county's animal control ordinance to keep wild animals as pets.

Deputies are working with Williamson to move the venomous snakes out of Rockingham County to a facility that will care for them. State wildlife officials will likely seize the Canebrake Rattlesnake, which is native to some parts of North Carolina.

Other snakes in Williamson's collection include an Eyelash Viper, a Gaboon Viper, a Rhino Viper, a Brazilian Lance Head, a Mojave Desert Side Winder, a Puff Adder Viper, a Southern Copperhead, a Neotropical Rattlesnake, a Monocled Cobra and a Costa Rican Jumping Viper.

Read more: http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-new...#ixzz2uSkW0gFE

Original article here.

Tell me more about this poisonous snake...

Never been too worried about being bitten by a poisonous snake.
Being bitten by a venomous snake however, is not on my list of things to experience.

Poisonous, poisonous ... tomato, tomahto.

Bigger picture being a teen-aged, inexperienced keeper was in possession of many venomous snake species, in violation of his state laws, and someone got tagged.

That idiocy now makes it easier for state and federal lawmakers to prosecute and ban the species and lawful keepers.

Duh.

Originally Posted by LauraB

Bigger picture being a teen-aged, inexperienced keeper was in possession of many venomous snake species, in violation of his state laws, and someone got tagged.

That idiocy now makes it easier for state and federal lawmakers to prosecute and ban the species and lawful keepers.

Duh.

Breeders of hots need to be extremely selective of who they sell to if they want to continue keeping venomous animals.

I keep repeating the same thing over and over, but: keep it legal and there will be few problems.
I would love to keep hots but they are illegal in CA. Even one illegal snake would put my entire legal collection at risk of greater scrutiny.

Never thought I would say this... but he is lucky it was ONLY a canebrake.

One more time around the mulberry bush...IT IS NOT illegal to keep "hots" in California. And NO, your "entire collection" would NOT be jeopardized. ENOUGH of the blatantly wrong info Jon. Your misguided info does nothing whatsoever to help anyone. Learn the laws if you are going to preach them. People benefit from the truth, not misguided info.

People in California ARE allowed to keep native "hots". Anyone interested in this further should contact people who actually keep and breed them... Nuff said.

Originally Posted by g.spencer

One more time around the mulberry bush...IT IS NOT illegal to keep "hots" in California. And NO, your "entire collection" would NOT be jeopardized. ENOUGH of the blatantly wrong info Jon. Your misguided info does nothing whatsoever to help anyone. Learn the laws if you are going to preach them. People benefit from the truth, not misguided info.

People in California ARE allowed to keep native "hots". Anyone interested in this further should contact people who actually keep and breed them... Nuff said.

I am not preaching any laws and I DO know them.
I said:

Originally Posted by j_dunlavy

Breeders of hots need to be extremely selective of who they sell to if they want to continue keeping venomous animals.

keep it legal and there will be few problems.
I would love to keep hots but they are illegal in CA.
Even one illegal snake would put my entire legal collection at risk of greater scrutiny.

I never said anything about natives.

When there is an illegal snake in the collection and the authorities are involved, often times the entire collection is confiscated. The legal snakes are likely to be returned if there are no other violations found. I would not want to risk that just to keep the illegal (in CA) hots. All it takes is one person to complain that you have snakes, and the authorities move in.

There are also city ordinances restricting the keeping of venomous animals in some cities, but not all. In Other words it may be legal in CA to keep native hots but where one city may allow it, they may be illegal in another.

All I am saying, and have ever been saying is if everything in a person's collection is legal to keep then there is nothing the authorities can do if they are called by a fearful neighbor.

I really do not appreciate your condescending attitude towards me Mr. Spencer. That does not help anyone.

"I would love to keep hots but they are illegal in CA"

That's your quote. And it's a lie.

Originally Posted by g.spencer

"I would love to keep hots but they are illegal in CA"

That's your quote. And it's a lie.

Look, I am fully aware of what is legal and illegal (regarding hots) in CA. I said I would love to keep hots, not native hots. If wanted to keep native hots I would.
I was so serious about obtaining death adders & Bitis sp. at one time that I took an in depth look into obtaining the permit to do so. One reason I did not continue that venture was I just did not have the time to complete all the hours of work at an institution that keeps hots (required as part of the application process). Another reason is that CA does not recognize "hobby breeder" (regardless of experience) as a legitimate reason to allow the average citizen to keep and breed venomous snakes; I would literally have to start a venom milking business or own a reptile zoo in order to obtain the state's permission.
This is my hobby, not career, so I stuck with the animals that did not require permits. I want to be able to sell some of the offspring of my animals so I don't mess with natives.

The article about the teen who was bitten was the topic of conversation; he was keeping some of the other hots I wish I could keep, that is what my statement was in reference to (however poorly worded). Going on to call me a misguided liar is just ridiculous and I do not appreciate it.