New born rattlers

[adamanteus]

I could see problems with people wanting a venomous snake for the same reason people sometimes want aggressive dogs, ego, macho, intimidation, boasting, etc wrong reasons.

Yes, I agree. There is a 'hard-core' group of responsible keepers specializing in venomous snakes, but they are few and far between.

[Stefan-A]

I could see problems with people wanting a venomous snake for the same reason people sometimes want aggressive dogs, ego, macho, intimidation, boasting, etc wrong reasons.

A lot of people seem to get large species for the same reason. It's like glueing colourful feathers to your arse, climbing up on a dungheap and yelling "I'm the king of the world!" to passers-by.

[Loren]

Now thats funny Stefan- and probably accurate for some people.
Like James said, there are responsible, qualified people out there, that keep them for more valid reasons, but there just arent very many.
Just have to watch out for the ones that just want a venomous or large snake for no other reason than that they can call all their buddies over to watch it kill things for fun.
I think its usually fairly easy to decide if someone seems to have a legitimate interest and knowledge in them just by talking to them a bit.

[Stefan-A]

Now thats funny Stefan- and probably accurate for some people.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that it would be true for every person (or even most of them) who keeps large snakes.

[Loren]

I didnt take that way, either.

I always hate to see people lose the right to keep large snakes, but truthfully, only a small percentage of those that aquire them are qualified to keep them as adults.

[Lori P]

A lot of people seem to get large species for the same reason. It's like glueing colourful feathers to your arse, climbing up on a dungheap and yelling "I'm the king of the world!" to passers-by.

ROFLMArseO!!!!! OMG, Stefan, you are a hoot!!!

[Spiritwolf]

True too about a lot of people who want a big constrictor for the wrong purposes, and don't consider whether they can provide the housing needs, etc, for keeping an adult large snake.

Everytime I see baby anacondas advertised for sale, I wonder how many people who think it would be cool to have an anaconda, would be able to provide a proper home for an adult anaconda. Seems to me that it would be very difficult for any private individual who didn't have plenty of space, money, and access to knowledge in creating sufficiently correct habitats, would have an extremely difficult time in coming up with adequate housing and habitat for an adult anaconda.

People acquire giant snakes, alligators, & other such creatures that have "showing off macho" allure and then when that animal's needs grow with it, too often the animal is thrown out with the thinking "it will be able to survive ok in the wild," or "someone will find him and give him a home."
Then when such an animal who has lost its natural wariness of humans, happens to invade a home or injure someone, the animal gets all the blame and often ends up being euthanized for the thoughtlessness of its former owner!

When I bred German Shepherd Dogs, I also saw many people who just wanted a "good guard dog" that would "bite anybody who comes in my yard or messes with my stuff", and I would try to explain the folly of that kind of thinking.
When I visited friends in Chicago, I would see people being pulled down the street by their pitbulls and I would ask, "Why don't you teach that dog not to pull you like that," and offer to show them how to teach a dog to heel properly and watch the handler. The owners replied that they were scared to try to make the dog do anything because it was a pitbull. I would ask them why they had the dogs if they were scared to train and work with their own dog and show the dog the rules they wanted the dog to learn to obey, and they consistently replied that they had the dogs to scare the neighbors, or had the dog to keep people scared to try to come into their house, etc.

The type of person who wants animals with such "attention getting" stereotypes sometimes will turn into a wiser, serious enthusiast but more often, gets the animal, uses it to get the attention he/she wants, and then the novelty wears off, the animal's needs require more than the owner wants to give, or the inconvenience, work, and expense of keeping the animal becomes greater than the animal's novelty and ability to get attention, and the animal ends up paying the price.

[GartersRock]

Very well said Spiritwolf!! =D

[ssssnakeluvr]

The type of person who wants animals with such "attention getting" stereotypes sometimes will turn into a wiser, serious enthusiast but more often, gets the animal, uses it to get the attention he/she wants, and then the novelty wears off, the animal's needs require more than the owner wants to give, or the inconvenience, work, and expense of keeping the animal becomes greater than the animal's novelty and ability to get attention, and the animal ends up paying the price.

well put!!!!! I deal with the end result of that all the time with my job!!!!

[Bay_area]

I keep a retic & the rattlers because I enjoy them, not for attention! As a matter of fact, besides here on the forums, I do not show my animals to very many people except in an educational format. Several people I associate with do not want anyone to know they have snakes. So, I do not think the group I hang out with are in it for attention. Loren knows some of them & he could contest to that. As a matter of fact. The guy I go hiking with weekly is part of a group that is known only by "The Secret Seven". They have some of the nicest venomous snakes that are locatity specific & alot of people know of them, but not their names. I do not hide the fact that I keep rattlesnakes or my Retic, but I do not advertise it either. The neighbors have watched my retic grow up to the size it is. However, I do not take out around town. Many people have a genuine fear of snakes & I would not want to cause anyone to "freak out".