# Venom Lab's



## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

Hi,

I'm 16 at the moment, and have had a passion for reptile's all my life, I'm doing an animal course at college at the start of september and focusing on exotics mainly.

After college i'm hoping to go to University and study venomous snakes, or snakes in general.

I was wondering if anyone knew how could I become a venom doctor as it is a dream job of mine.

Thanks.


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## Spuddy (Aug 24, 2009)

You mean like helping to create anti venom's? .. If so there really isnt a large opportunity to work in that field currently in this country, there are a few labs, not many. 

So coming across a job would be hard. 


Also I dont think studying 'snakes' at University would really be beneficial for this, you're going to need some sort of scientific background. Such as Biology with Molecular Bioscience or Chemistry with Toxicology etc. 


I would think the above Biology course or similar would be more beneficial for that area of work than the Chemistry one.


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## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

Thanks for the reply mate, 


I thought it would be hard to get into this field, but it's a dream job of mine, I will just have to see what I can do at University I guess and choose a differnt path maybe, aslong as it's with Herp's ill be very happy.


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## trw (Mar 2, 2009)

RutherfordReptiles said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm 16 at the moment, and have had a passion for reptile's all my life, I'm doing an animal course at college at the start of september and focusing on exotics mainly.
> 
> ...


James... Viperlover... is.. is that you?


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## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

trw said:


> James... Viperlover... is.. is that you?


 
nope, Ive never trod in Dog feaces whilst herping :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Spuddy (Aug 24, 2009)

RutherfordReptiles said:


> Thanks for the reply mate,
> 
> 
> I thought it would be hard to get into this field, but it's a dream job of mine, I will just have to see what I can do at University I guess and choose a differnt path maybe, aslong as it's with Herp's ill be very happy.


 
If you like the subject area and think you would enjoy it, maybe go down the Biology route. This gives you the option of trying to break into that dream field area of snakes and venom. Whilst having the backup of still being able to work with animals if the dream fails/dies. Biology degrees can/do lead to jobs in conservation work : victory:



trw said:


> James... Viperlover... is.. is that you?


 I thought this when first reading the thread, instantly reminded me of that tools thread over on CB.


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## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

Do you think at University I could do Bioligy on just Reptiles, asmy school offerd Bioligy but they mainly focus on the Human body and plant's etc, and I couldnt see this beinfiting me learning about tottaly differnt things.


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

RutherfordReptiles said:


> Do you think at University I could do Bioligy on just Reptiles, asmy school offerd Bioligy but they mainly focus on the Human body and plant's etc, and I couldnt see this beinfiting me learning about tottaly differnt things.


 
First question = no, there are no 'snake only' biology (or even Zoology) course at uni.

Second point, if you can not see the inherent value in learning every thing about human biology, cell biology, ecology, plant science, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry etc, then you may need to reconsider your overall career plan.

To get anywhere near working in a 'venom lab' you will have to have exceptional knowledge of a large range of biological disciplines.

Chemistry to understand venom compounds and composition

Human anat/phys to know how the venoms act when delivered (as the vast majority of your funding would come from human snake bite charities and initiatives

Evolution and phylogeny to understand the natural history and venom families

Oh, and a bit of knowledge of venomous snakes will be useful.



Just for the record, I believe there is currently only one person in the country who is currently earning a living milking venomous snakes. There are a handful who are working on venom as part of their research roles within universities and hospitals but all of them will have broader research interests.




Incidently, (I think I may have asked this before) but what college are you going to and what course have you applied for?


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## chalky76 (Aug 23, 2007)

bothrops said:


> First question = no, there are no 'snake only' biology (or even Zoology) course at uni.
> 
> Second point, if you can not see the inherent value in learning every thing about human biology, cell biology, ecology, plant science, physiology, anatomy, biochemistry etc, then you may need to reconsider your overall career plan.
> 
> ...


 
^^This^^

I also did an ND in animal science and intended to study Zoology at Uni however my plans were scuppered when I started Uni as I had never really done much chemistry (only a little on the ND animal science) and as a result I was well out of my depth when I had to read Chemistry as part of the Zoology degree. I ended up jumping across to Psychology and did an MA in that instead. However all was not lost I still had the opportunity to take on other subjects outside of Psychology and therefore did Animal diversity and function and Evolution. 

I ended up teaching evolutionary Psychology, and animal diversity at a college myself but realised that the pay meant the missus and I would be living on a very meagre salary so I ended up going into some “interesting” security work. 

Anyhow I would suggest you keep your options open and perhaps look at Zoology as a good degree to get under your belt. A lot of decent work comes from a degree such as this whereby you could do a thesis or private work within your chosen area. In turn that may lead on to other things. In addition the Zoology would allow you to branch out and work abroad where you may find your niche.

I would strongly recommend getting your head around chemistry if you haven’t done so already as this is a MAJOR component of toxicology. In addition don’t brush off human anatomy and physiology, think of the subjects as more of a blue print. If you can get your head around human systems then the majority of animal science will fall into place (with the addition of learning some additions). 

Anyway best of luck 

Chalky


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## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

Thank's for all the reply's, will have a further look into it all.


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## DavidR (Mar 19, 2008)

It depends what you mean by 'venom doctor' and what you actually want to do. Obviously to be a medical doctor specialising in snakebite you need a medical degree. If you want to get into venom research then you need to choose a degree subject that is relevant, biochemistry, neuroscience etc or general biology or zoology can also lead on to toxinology. A word of warning, if you want to work with snakes all day then toxinology is not the way to go, if you are lucky you will get occasional contact but most often you are working in a lab rather than with animals. I am quite lucky in that I still get a lot of contact with the animals because I need to get the toxins from them myself, but that is because nobody supplies the compounds that i study, so I extract them myself. Usually labs buy in their toxins if they can.
If you want to work in venom extraction then you need to build up your experience and go down the animal tech or zoo route. It is much easier to work with venomous abroad, zoos are now as hands off as possible and only two UK universities/research institutes maintain venomous collections.

David.


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## SWMorelia (May 15, 2007)

There are a couple of members here who actually work within the field you are considering...
Maybe they will read this and contact you as they will know exactly the path you need...
OTOH.... They may figure once bitten twice shy... Thats not a snake reference more a VL reference....
I think it is fair to say that a uni degree won't guarantee a snake handling job...
That comes with years of experience... And usually the guys with the degrees just take the venom away after it has been extracted......


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## LukeRutherford (Jun 15, 2010)

SW-morelia said:


> There are a couple of members here who actually work within the field you are considering...
> Maybe they will read this and contact you as they will know exactly the path you need...
> OTOH.... *They may figure once bitten twice shy*... Thats not a snake reference more a VL reference....
> I think it is fair to say that a uni degree won't guarantee a snake handling job...
> That comes with years of experience... And usually the guys with the degrees just take the venom away after it has been extracted......


what you mean by this mate?

and yeah Im hoping someone in the field can contact me and help me choose the right path, that would be a massive help.


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## SWMorelia (May 15, 2007)

RutherfordReptiles said:


> what you mean by this mate?
> 
> and yeah Im hoping someone in the field can contact me and help me choose the right path, that would be a massive help.


A lot of people in the field once tried to help someone else who came along with a post similar to yours.... It ended badly and the poster became the most infamous snake keeper in the world... They may not feel like trying again.....


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