# What age were you?



## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

I'm interested to hear from the keepers at which age you became interested in Venomous snakes and the age in which you first began to handle them, Also how did that first opportunity eventuate?

Thanks in advance


----------



## chondro13 (Aug 18, 2008)

I became interested in reptiles in general when I was about 5, but only really started to appreciate venomous snakes 'separately' when I was in my early teens. I first handled a venomous snake when I was 18, and this opportunity arose when a friend of mine who kept venomous told me to "stop dribbling over them and grab these hooks..." 


... it was all downhill from there :lol2:


----------



## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

My father gave me a book on venomous snakes when I was 5 or 6. That was me hooked!


----------



## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys, keep them coming!!!

If you don't mind at what age did you begin to handle Slippery?


----------



## Owzy (Jan 19, 2009)

Became interested when I was really young, about 6-7...

Venomous handling began at around 19-20... few adders then got invited to a DWAL holder and went from there.


----------



## Southerncopperhead (Oct 5, 2011)

i am just getting into venomous snakes and i am 19
first interest in snakes was a book given to me on my 7th birthday


----------



## dunny1 (Feb 2, 2009)

I started keeping snakes at 14 and venomous when 31. did have boiga at 30 if that counts


----------



## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

I acquired my first snake aged 5, back in 1964…. handled first venomous, _Naja naja_ aged 10, kept first venomous, _Crotalus scutulatus salvini_ aged 12.


----------



## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

Chris Newman said:


> I acquired my first snake aged 5, back in 1964…. handled first venomous, _Naja naja_ aged 10, kept first venomous, _Crotalus scutulatus salvini_ aged 12.


Would I be correct to assume you were living somewhere where Naja occured and it was wild?


----------



## Molly75 (Jul 10, 2006)

First got into reptile keeping at the age of 10 and handled my first DWA at around 18, I kept DWA reps for a good few years and worked with them for many years after, but these days I tend to stick to Boids and Colubrids due to where I live.


----------



## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

Elapidae said:


> Would I be correct to assume you were living somewhere where Naja occured and it was wild?


Captive bred, and raised in the UK!


----------



## Moshpitviper (Oct 21, 2005)

i got into keeping venomous animals at about 26 years old. started handling them a year or so before. been keeping them on and off since then really.


----------



## rinkels (Jun 17, 2011)

i got into venomous around 9 years old when i use to collect spiders,would buy them weekly from e.l.s in the midlands.then moved into reptiles then venomous snakes .im 38 now and still doing it.:2thumb:


----------



## Yorkshire Gator (Oct 16, 2009)

got into venomous snakes after seeing a wdb on telly when i was about 6, still waiting for a chance to handle one though


----------



## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

Chris Newman said:


> Captive bred, and raised in the UK!


Ah ok did you have permission, LOL.

Can anyone give me an approximate % of keepers in the UK who also deal or have dealt with venomous snakes professionaly as opposed to those who keep purely as a hobby?

I guess I should explain my interest.
I'm 33 and started handling 3 years ago, I can't say that reptiles have allways been a sole interest but from a young age I was often in front of the telivision captivated by all things nature and while growing up spending many hours in local bushland here in Australia I rarely came across reptiles, but it's no surprise to myself or others that 3 years ago, after being given the opportunity to own a python it quickly developed into an interest in Australian Elapids and other reptiles.
While not technically a keeper I often have Elapids in my care as the only way to legally gain experience over here was to aquire a relocators license. By law, unless injured I can keep them in my care for 72 hours.
However this was not enough and I soon developed a passion for finding and photographing reptiles.
The thing is among most of my Australian peers, I'm a late bloomer so to speak, as the common story among keepers and handlers over here seems to be that against parental advice many of them just went into the scrub and started catching them between the ages of 8-12. They either learned fast or learned hard and for the most part are self taught.

I did a 1day course on catching and relocating (and soon realized it taught me next to nothing) and was lucky enough to meet a few people that I have been able to observe and learn a great deal from, you guys would probably call them mentors but to me their just mates, LOL.

Mentoring is not a term that is used over here and the opportunities to be mentored seem to be few and far between,, most people just seem to learn.
In contrast and I guess much of it is due to your lack of native reptiles "mentoring" is a common term on this forum (UK) and there is many threads on people wanting to be mentored and as a result age/maturity often comes into the discussion.

So to cut my babbling short it just got me thinking How old, and how did the opportunity arise.


----------



## tigersnake (Sep 30, 2007)

I was six years old when an auntie, who lived most of the year in Africa, brought me a book on African wildlife. I turned a page, and there was a full page picture of a Gabbon Viper, I was hooked at that point.
Through my auntie, I handled, (hooked), my first venomous snake,(a western daimondback rattlesnake), at seven.
Cheers,
Brian.


----------



## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

Elapidae said:


> Ah ok did you have permission, LOL.
> 
> Can anyone give me an approximate % of keepers in the UK who also deal or have dealt with venomous snakes professionaly as opposed to those who keep purely as a hobby?
> 
> ...


Did I have permission, well that depends upon how you look at it! A well known snake keeper at the time call by home and said that he would take me to school that day, instead of going taking me to school he took me to Windsor Safari Part to collect all the venomous snakes as the then keepers, George ‘snakey’ Williams had gone walk about. Being given a hook a bag and placed in a large walk in enclosure with an irate Indian cobra was an education, perhaps not the education my parents thought I would be getting, nevertheless it was an education!

The number of professional keepers, professional I would conceder those who do it as a living, zoo keepers, specialist reptile shops etc, would be very small, 30- 40 people perhaps, I would be surprised it its’ more. The number of private keepers would be significantly higher, here we have a difficulty as there are legitimate keepers, i.e. those who are licensed, and illegitimate keepers, i.e. those who are unlicensed. In 2010 there were approximately 180 licensed keepers of venomous snakes, it is estimated that up to 90% of keepers are unlicensed, so, well you do the maths! 

As for mentoring, I have to concede this is a relatively new term here, it’s only in the last four or five years I have heard it used. It is an issue that troubles me greatly, the UK is a very boring country in many ways, our only venomous snake is the adder, and they are a bit wossy. Even our spiders don’t bite, so venomous animals are not something we particularly live with. Other parts of the world venomous snakes are a fact of life and therefore courses on how to deal with them, be this relocating them or what ever is a necessity. In principle mentoring new keepers is a very good idea, what troubles me is the reality and responsibility of it – would I want the responsibility of teaching others to handle venomous snakes, the short answer is no. I taught my children but if they get bit, that as a parent is done to me. Would I be comfortable doing this for someone else, no I wouldn’t it is as simple as that!


----------



## Elapidae (Jul 7, 2010)

Thanks for the insightfull reply Chris. Quite a lesson indeed.

I guess thats where my mates differ from mentors, they have never really actively attempted to teach me handling skills and have on a number of occasions expressed that they wouldn't take the responsibilty, while we may have discussed techniques I have learned mostly from hours of observation.

We do get many threads on Aussie forums from people seeking advice on how to begin, I guess many would welcome a mentor so to speak but the generall advice given is to do relocation courses, I always follow it up with advising people to try and seek out a voluntary position where the opportunity to observe will arise eg: parks, zoos etc


----------

