To Fishes33:
While I'm not apologizing for calling you names, I hope you understand my reasons for doing so.
You asked about an animal that happens to be venomous (which you did acknowledge yourself). We answered your questions, and because we were concerned about your well-being as well as any new pet you may acquire, we questioned your experience level. I mean, come one. This is not like just buying an aggressive snake that bites a lot and may draw a little blood; this is a snake that could potentially send you (or a loved one) to the ER, regardless of what some site says. Quite simply, its NOT something to be taken lightly.
But your attitude seems to imply you're doing exactly that. Because only "one" website said the species stayed small (which was innaccurate) and not "that" aggressive (another questionable claim to make regarding any hot), you immediately declared it as "manageable and affordable" and something to obtain as soon as humanely possible (when you move out). And this is after you admitted to having no hot experience whatsoever.
Now I know there's no set procedure to training to keep hots, but in this hobby, there does seem to be a general road to take; i.e. getting to know a fellow herper who has experience working with hots, and essentially, mentoring under them and gaining enough experience for yourself. And most of the folks in this thread advised this, and you blatantly said that you could learn everything from that website. I don't care who runs that website, but thats a load of crap, and anyone with a brain will tell you the same. Like I said before, its like someone trying to teach you to ride a bike over the internet. How well do you think you're gonna learn?
I don't know what its like in Canada, but down here in the U.S., people with attitudes like yours do this all the time; they buy some animal they can't handle, and sooner/later, someone gets hurt (whether its a python that eats someone's dog or a hot that bites someone), and its that persons' fault. The media blows the story wide open, and in the end, there's one more law that gets passed that says "people living in [insert state] cannot own [insert said reptile] any longer". Did you know there's laws in some places that ban the ownership of all constrictor snakes? That's not just boas and pythons; that includes kingsnakes, ratsnakes, milksnakes, etc. How dumb is that? All because some idiot didn't keep his burmese python in an escape-proof cage, means no one there can even own a kingsnake.
Now when some exotic hot snake bites someone, its even worse. The media just views it as "Wow, you mean anyone can buy a venomous snake?' and the lawmakers (who never knwo anything about herps and just assume all snakes are dangerous) get worried and just pass an ordinance that makes it illegal. I'm not saying the logic behind this is 100% correct, just that its what happens.
And besides the 'danger" factor, the legality and everything else mentioned above, there's the insurance thing. Say you buy this snake, and it bites you one day. You go to the hospital. Providing you're not allergic to the venom or the antivenin (which is another pickle within itself), they treat you with the right antivenin and you recover. First of all, antivenin is expensive and most insurances don't cover it anyway. Here's why: you go home and the insurance gets the hospital bill. They call you asking about the very expensive exotic snake antivenin on the bill, wondering how on earth did you get bitten by a viper thats clearly not native to Canada. You tell them you own one. They think, "why on earth would anyone own such a dangerous animal?" and do one of two things: they either drop you as a client because they don't want to risk paying for another antivenin shot, or they bite it and then jack up the cost of your insurance.
See? There's many things to consider before simply buying a venomous snake. Now, I don't claim to know your age or maturity level, but judging by your statements on this thread, you have not thought all of this through...and you're still wanting to get the snake just becuase its "cheaper than a green tree python"? This is not the logic of an intelligent mind, and thats why you ended up getting insulted.
