Ouch.

LMAO

I've just always treated venomous snakes as something to avoid. I'm no ophiologist though, so I've never had a reason to put myself at risk.

As most people should. I had the rare and for me beneficial experience of being able to conduct field and other work with herpetologists for a brief period. I wouldn't encourage others to behave as I have with snakes/monitors/crocodilians without the proper training. I do recognize that mine was rather brief and not extensive in any means, therefore I don't go and try and free-handle EDBs, Coral Snakes (huge mistake, LMAO at anyone who does that consistently), Crocs or gators over 4ft. It is simply stupid and just encourages A) Rasonable injury and B) Stress + injury to the animal. I had a buddy send me a video of him catching a ****ing black rat and trying to mash it's skull with a stick as he tried to secure a hold behind the jaw. ****ing asinine. First, that snake isn't going to hurt you if it bites, secondly, it will calm down pretty quickly and let you free handle it and be as happy as can be once it realizes you aren't a predator trying to ****ing eat it.

People are morons with reptiles but with good reason. There are quite a few on the planet especially where we first developed as a species that will ****ing kill you rather quickly. Before anti-venin was produced for the Black Mamba, the mortality rate was 100%. So yes, people that are not familiar with snakes should just stay the **** away. It just leads to bad results for all involved.


Additionally, anti-venom is both risky and super expensive.

I was into that stuff as a kid, but never got that far with it to handle the nasty little ****ers here in MO. I could ID them, so I knew not to try and catch them. I bet that was a pretty interesting experience working in the field like that.

I will say that there is nothing you'll experience as far as pure adrenaline as holding something in your hands that can really ruin your day. I don't really crave it as others do (i.e. those who **** around with Bothrops or Cobras) but it is a very unique sensation. I doubt I'd free handle a timber rattlesnake but given the perfect conditions, I could see it. Anything else that was hot, no ****ing thanks.

The medical bills alone are enough to discourage me from ****ing with anything that can really **** you up. Plus, you;d be surprised how many people get snagged from improperly holding a hot behind the head. You get rattlers, etc that have pretty long fangs + flexible jaws, all it takes is a moment of not paying full attention and you've got a fang in your thumb. You really have to know what you're doing and have complete respect/awareness of the animal.

I wouldn't hot handle any of those things. I'm friends with this guy http://tongs.com/ ... he lives a couple miles from me and has all the most venomous snakes in the world at his house/shop/compound. I've been inches away from those nasty things. No thank you. I'm a big dude and I've faced some bad, bad things. I'm scared of very few things. But I'll need a sealed aquarium between me and any of those nasty animals. Not my deal at all.

Relax, it's not like the sting after a cobra bites you

Ball Python or Bearded Dragon. Probably Bearded Dragon, we took care of one in high school zoology and if I could get one reptile for the rest of my life it'd be a bearded dragon. I owned snakes, sucks having to buy rats as food all the time, I owned anoles meh, but bearded dragons are the shit.

I had a snake once, I fed it beer. It was wriggling this way and that. It was all ****ed up.

Growing up I've kept monitors (savs), skinks (northern bts), chams (veilds/jacksons), geckos (new caledonian crested/gargoyles/leopards/african fats). Iguana (rhino/spiney tail), uromastyx (ornate/mali)...and probably a few oddballs in between.

I wont even list the colubrids and boids I've owned in the past.

Currently, i keep/breed ~30 ball pythons.

Let me know what you are interested in...i more than likely know of a breeder.

To the OP;

Google overland park reptile show. Jason from GoLizards puts it on every other month...then again, im on my phone and don't know if you are local, but its at the holiday inn off of 87th and 69 hwy.

I usually am a vendor at the show...but there are always a great selection of leos from reputable breeders. DO NOT BUY FROM PETCO OR SOME CHAIN LIKE THAT.

I once owned this type. We capture them from the wild alive.

http://www.reptilechannel.com/images...zard-2-500.jpg

Then I ate it. Not kidding. Tastes like chicken.

http://www.waraqat.net/2008/06/qans_zaban32.jpg
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Next show is actually this Sunday.

http://coldbloodedexpos.com/kc-reptile-show/

If you are choosing between the two of those I would actually go with a bearded dragon. They may require a slightly bigger cage but other than that leopard geckos don't have much benefit over a bearded dragon (other than the exotic color morphs you can find).

The biggest difference you may not be thinking about is the feeding. Leopard geckos are exclusively insectivores. So you will need to have a steady supply of mealworms and crickets. Mealworms are easier to keep around because they sell them in the tubs and you won't notice them much and they are escape artists. But if you have to run to the store every few days for crickets you will become increasingly annoyed and the likelihood of some escaping is pretty much a guarantee.

Bearded dragons on the other hand can basically be trained to eat anything that is in your refrigerator and they actually prefer a varied diet of dark greens, fruits, and vegetables. All of that can be easily stored in your refrigerator and you have a ready supply of food for it. Essentially, it is like feeding a dog or cat.

The difference in price between initial setup for a leopard gecko and bearded dragon is minimal. They both require the heating elements, substrate, decorations, etc. The only difference is that of the larger tank. And you can easily offset that cost by getting a tank off craigslist.

I know some in here are shocked but reptiles can actually make really good pets. you just have to know which ones have the best temperments for your style. I have an Argentine black and white tegu which I have had for about six years. You would be shocked at how well trained he is. He lives in a two story house and uses the bottom floor exclusively for burrowing and sleeping, then when I turn the lights on, he walks up the latter to the top floor to bask, eat, drink, be handled, etc. (a 2X4 plywood with a latter up to another 2X4 plywood piece). When you pet him, he arches is back and closes his eyes like any cat or dog does. He even has a leash and harness to go out in the back yard to get fresh air.