# Would you take the experience anyway?



## Matt_Baitson (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi all. I've found someone to mentor me in hook training ect with hots which is great, the only problem being I only want to keep an eyelash viper and he only has bulky terestrial vipers. 
Knowing what you all already know about hooking ect would it be worth it for me or should I kindly thank him for the offer and find someone else?
Matt


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## GT2540 (Jan 31, 2012)

Always worth being around venomous before you keep any. Good to see how protocols are important and how you behave when handling something that can cause you harm.

Like driving a car. The more different types you drive the more confident you are in one that is new to you.


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

General experience is ideal, however I am not impartial offering courses


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## Matt_Baitson (Nov 13, 2011)

Learning all the protocols is good yes but its the things like getting the vipers out of tight spaces and off branches ect that I dont think Id learn from terestrials.

I dont get ya Slipery42?

Cheers, Matt


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## PDR (Nov 27, 2008)

Matt_Baitson said:


> Learning all the protocols is good yes but its the things like getting the vipers out of tight spaces and off branches ect that I dont think Id learn from terestrials.
> 
> I dont get ya Slipery42?
> 
> Cheers, Matt


Do you use or have experience with hooks already? A hook may seem like a simple tool but there are a lot of subtleties in using one correctly. It is well worth getting as much experience as you can.....


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## leptophis (May 24, 2007)

hiya

pauls right, learning about hook use is a major part of learning venomous, and i would always encourage people to use them prior to actually handling a venomous snake, I am sure paul here would agree, you need to feel comfortable with it before hand


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## PDR (Nov 27, 2008)

leptophis said:


> hiya
> 
> pauls right, learning about hook use is a major part of learning venomous, and i would always encourage people to use them prior to actually handling a venomous snake, I am sure paul here would agree, you need to feel comfortable with it before hand


Yes, absolutely, get to know your hook/s, sit in front of the TV and twiddle with it.... We have quite a number of different hooks here but I still go for the same old 3 that I've been using for the last 19 years here (LSTM) and they are the same brand / model I used at the zoo previously. They just become an extension of your hand in the end.


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## Matt_Baitson (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks you for your advise guys. I've used hooks to an extend, but no not enough to cann myself proficient with them, I'm thinking of buying a couple to use just generally to pick up my 2-3ft Boas up just for general practice. I already have one but its poor quality and hard to slip under a snake.

Cheers Matt


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## rhysishere (Jun 29, 2011)

slippery42 said:


> General experience is ideal, however I am not impartial offering courses


he means he runs courses to get experience so is saying he could be biased on offering you advice to get experience : victory:


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

rhysishere said:


> he means he runs courses to get experience so is saying he could be biased on offering you advice to get experience : victory:


That is correct, its hard for me to comment when I run licenced courses so not fair for me to input


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## Matt_Baitson (Nov 13, 2011)

Ah, makes sense now. I didn't know you ran courses. All I knew is you have some lovely Vipers and are handy with a camera :2thumb:

Matt


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## PDR (Nov 27, 2008)

In my biased opinion, (I only run a course for the Gov.) Slippery is a great guy and I'm sure he is a good teacher.... I wish him the very best with his course.


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

PDR said:


> In my biased opinion, (I only run a course for the Gov.) Slippery is a great guy and I'm sure he is a good teacher.... I wish him the very best with his course.


Thanks Paul thats very nice of you!


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## Matt_Baitson (Nov 13, 2011)

For anybody who's interested I got hands on or should I say hooks on for the 1st time with terrestrial Vipers last night and they where a little trickier to manoveur that I 1st though, a little faster too! 

I started with a juvi Atrox which was fairy easy and very placid, I was shown how to move from the viv to the holding bucket and secure the lid without getting my fingers close then I had a go, little tricky screwing a lid on without hands, also his holding bucket is opaque (not see through) and I didnt like that when it was time to put the animal back as opening the lid I didnt know where it was and in what position without putting my head over it, which is why, long before this I got myself a large empty coffee container for my Eyelash :lol2:

2ndly was a Copperhead, adult female. I was suprised at how the weight at the end of the hook was really magnified due to the length of the hook and she was a little more difficult as I was using 2 hooks and she wasnt keepin on sitting still and kept climbing off, took me a good 9 or 10 attempts to get her out and then I couldn't get her in the bucket at all. Head in, tail out, tail in, head out so had afew watch and learn lessons on that. But all in all I enjoyed myself, think it helped non of the snakes where at all aggressive, must of known it was my 1st time!

Anyways cheers all, Matt.


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