Do you think I'm ready?

Question

I think I'm ready to catch venomous snakes. I'm 15 and I've benn catching snakes since I was 9-10. I've caught a lot of snakes, and a wide variety of them. I'm only caught one venomous snake, and it was an agkistrodon piscivorus (cottonmouth) neonate. My dad thinks I could catch one, but professional herpetologists don't think so. What do you think?

Answer 1

Even in places where it is legal to possess venomous snakes, you must be 18 to possess them. Therefore you cannot legally catch them. And why are you catching them? How about just taking a photograph and leaving them alone? And unless you have a degree in herpetology, you're not a herpetologist.

Answer 2

Yea i agree with madsnake. Altho i really like your enthusiasm towards snakes you do not need to be capturing snakes especially venomous snakes and you are def not no herpetologist. Id say keep whatever pet snakes you can properly care for and enjoy them leave the wild snakes in the wild. when you get through high school go to college and get a degree in herpetology then you can study wild snakes and actually contribute to the herp world.

Answer 3

I'm only 14 myself and i have been catching snakes with my step dad since i was about 4 or 5. i have caught plenty of venomous snakes myself. unlike what most people say i have found they are allot commer. still u souldnt take any wrisk. i have had many snakes in my life. i have had about 70 non venomous snake at one time and about 20 venomous snakes at one time. but if you are gonna keep them u will need the proper inclosures. but they are not the things you wanna play with if u are not very good as my friend found out when he was bittin by a pigmy rattlesnake.now this is my opinion and i think you should wait a few more years and practice catching alot more non venomous aggresive snakes with out bein bit. and once you havnt been bittin for a while you can go out and try and catch a venoumous one but honestly you should wait a few more years because i only just started having venomous ones a couple years ago

Answer 4

Leave the dangerous ones to those who've been certified and trained to handle them. A grumpy rattler can turn on you faster than you can see(experience almost killed me). Take a course on reptiles at a comm. college, or online to learn how to better predict reptilians, before you go Croc hunter on them. Your dad may just want to brag... you are better off asking your herpetologist for some training or apprenticeship.

Good luck!