# Thinking of getting a dwa license



## bignick (Mar 24, 2007)

i am think of getting a dwa license is it worth it as i have over 10 years experience with snakes and lizards and i can convert our out house's in to a hot house which i have asked a friend to help me with 

and which snakes are the best to start with


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

Is it worth it?

Well... do you want to keep venomous species so much that you are happy to spend £1500+ and devote a LOT of time and energy into it? 

If the answer is yes, then of course its worth it... 


But if you need to ask which species to start with, perhaps a little more research is in order... I dont know why but a lot of people suggest copperheads as an ideal starter hot - the only copperhead i have ever dealt with was a NASTY fast little sod... not what id really go for in a starter hot PERSONALLY - because i am an 'arboreal' person. I deal better with disentangling bitey things from sticks, whereas i feel a little out of my comfort zone when dealing with heavy bodied terrestrial snakes. Obviously this is something that can be trained out of you, but it depends on your preference. 

Obviously starting with a cobra or a mamba isnt the best move... 

Its common sense really : victory:


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## bignick (Mar 24, 2007)

i have been told to start with rattle snakes that was by brian who used to own keighley reptiles


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## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

bignick said:


> i have been told to start with rattle snakes that was by brian who used to own keighley reptiles


If your comfortable working with rattlesnakes, you can keep them happy husbandry-wise, and you have experience with them - then sure, why not!

As i say - its down to preference and if you are skilled enough to deal with your choice of snake. 

Do a lot of research before taking the plunge... getting the room sorted, the vet fee, licence fee and public liability insurance doesnt come cheap. You sound like your not really sure if you want this - be sure, confident and experienced before spending all that and risking so much...


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## fubarmovies (Jun 11, 2009)

What sort of snakes had you kept b4? I would start with falsies and mangroves if you can not find a starting point.


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## terciopelo_dave (Jun 1, 2007)

There are lots of things you need to give consideration to that it seems you haven't, but I'll get to that.
Do not, under any circumstances, get a mangrove snake or false water cobra and think they are suitable "practice" snakes for anything dangerously venomous. With the greatest respect to the person who suggested them, this is a myth that gets thrown around by people who don't keep venomous snakes. Mangroves and FWCs behave like, well, mangroves and FWCs. They don't prepare you for anything else. And in the back of your mind you will know the venom isn't that bad, relatively speaking. What I mean is, you'll know you won't die. Wrong mindset altogether.
The only way to prepare for dangerously venomous snakes is with dangerously venomous snakes. You'll need to find keepers willing to show you around their collection. Even if it's not for any mentoring, you need to see a working, licensed set up, so you can see if you can meet the necessary criteria.
Also, you may have kept snakes for 10 years, but what challenges with husbandry have you faced? Have you had to restrain a snake and remove eye caps? Have you had to aid with stuck shed? Have you had to force feed? These are aspects of keeping that we all try to avoid with correct husbandry, but sadly we all face from time to time. You have to be sure you can restrain the snake without putting yourself at risk and also without putting the snake at risk. You mentioned rattlesnakes. Well they, along with most other vipers, have large heads, large bodies, and thin necks. If you improperly pin them or allow them to thrash whilst restraining you can cause severe and even fatal spinal damage. Are you good enough at handling to avoid that? Also, how much hook experience do you have? As I said, nothing will prepare you for the venomous stuff, but you need to know how a snake will behave on a hook. Can you control an animal that is held at arm's length on a hook? Can you use the hook properly so it isn't putting undue pressure on the animal's ribs or organs?
Seems to me you've got lots to consider just concerning the animals, let alone the criteria for a license application.


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

bignick said:


> i am think of getting a dwa license is it worth it


If you're asking "Is it worth it" then it _probably _isn't.

If the only species that were DWA were, say, _Bitis _... then, for me, it absolutely wouldn't be worth it to get the licence because I know I do not want _Bitis_. Until I physically in-person met two species that made my brain go *ping - I WANT* it was not even vaguely worth considering a licence "just for the sake of it". Based on the animals I'd seen previous to those two species, it really wasn't worth it for me because I didn't feel the desire to have something that I wasn't passionate about AND that could potentially kill or maim me.

Never mind the "starter hots" question for a moment, or what you've been told to keep.

Is there a species on the licence list that you honestly, genuinely WANT? That you're willing to go to the expensive lengths to get the licence for?

If there isn't a species you really, really want... why go for the expensive licence?

If there is, I would suggest your first port of call is contacting your local council asking them what their requirements would be for you to keep that species particularly. "I want to keep an XYZ. What do I need to have in place in order for an application to keep XYZ to be successful?"

For example, I'd be writing to my local council asking what they want in place in order for me to have _Heloderma suspectum _- what would make my application be most likely to be approved. Of course, since I have expensive tastes, I'm not actually going to be applying any time soon, since I just plain can't afford a trio of Gilas.


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## tenebrae (Feb 6, 2012)

The fact your asking what are ideal species to start with to me suggests you should not pursue this idea. Having an animal that can kill you just because you want to say you have one is completely the wrong approach.


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