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Posted by MsTT on November 26, 2002 at 03:19:47:
In Reply to: I didnt think i was being a jerk... posted by Jeremy G on November 25, 2002 at 13:40:26:
:Giveing false information to a newbi(no offense Amanda)can lead to many problems, most importantly the aqusition of an animal he or she is not prepared to deal with. I personaly feel that Aspidelaps are not good first hots for the reasons I mentioned above. I wasnt discrediting any other advice you gave. I feel I have enough experince with the genus Aspidelaps to chime in and give correct info and most would seem to agree. Sorry you obviously dont.
I agree that it's a bad idea to imply that Aspidelaps are not capable of very serious (in some cases fatal) envenomations.
However, I do not think that anyone can absolutely judge whether it is true or false that Aspidelaps make good first hots. I think that they are not a bad choice, especially the shieldnose cobras which are pugnacious but so physically small as adults that they are permanently manageable using simple safety procedures like trap boxes and scoops. As long as the new keeper has good enough safety tools to keep all of their body parts more than one snake-length away from the snake (or behind something solid), even the nastiest little Aspidelaps can be managed with relative ease. I would definitely recommend using a trap box for routine cage cleaning and also a fairly deep top opening cage because these fellows can be a bit spring loaded and it's no fun if they bounce out and hit the carpet.
There are probably better choices for a first hot especially considering the potential seriousness of an envenomation and the generally "psycho-yappy-chihuahua" personality of these charming little buggers, but if a new venomous keeper was very interested in this species and had sufficient experience with managing other snakes in the small-and-nasty category, I wouldn't be inclined to discourage them.
TT
