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coral snakes...

N

norbert03

norbert and aelfric
considering the fact that while coral snakes are extremely venomous i realize that it would not be recommended to keep one as a pet, but unlike other venomous species coral snakes tend to be very docile, correct? they also lack fangs, instead they have mollar like teeth and have to chew into their prey in order to release their venom. if a person was to be bitten by a coral snake they would have a few seconds to remove the animal before the skin is broken and the poison is released...so...while it is not highly recommended what are thoughts on keeping coral snakes as pets? i have come across them several times during hikes in one of florida's state forests and they are beautiful, very calm, it seems they are unaware that they have the ability to inflict death upon man.
 
That's an interesting question (although it probably belongs in the forum on natural history / field observations. I would say that the biggest reason for people not to own coral snakes is our general misconception and fear about venomous snakes. In fact that misconception is expanded to non-venomous snakes for the vast majority of people. Check out Rich's petition regarding shipping non-venomous snakes.

Personally, I have always been afraid of venomous snakes, because of the fear instilled in me when I was young. It was common thought that you should kill a rattlesnake if you come across one because they are a menace. What a terrible thing. I still have regret for the only rattle snake that I ever saw being killed, and that was at least 40 years ago. I am really glad that laws have been enacted to protect these beautiful animals and keep misinformed people from killing them.

So go ahead and keep talking about coral snakes, and tell us how wonderful they are so that we can begin to tear down the walls of misinformation.
Mark
 
yes...i worked at...

a camp in florida for two summers...florida is home to a wide variety of a venomous snakes along with their alligator infested lakes, along with their 6 inch centipedes, scorpions, and water bugs. on two occasions the maintenance guy at the camp found a coral snake and immediately chopped it's head off with a machete...he did the same to a young rattler. i found this EXTREMELY disturbing. i mainly posted the message about housing corals as a bit of a joke, BUT they are my favorite snake. i will not take one as a pet though...i will simply go for the king snake that mocks the coral :) close enough, right?
 
You have some misconceptions. Coral snakes do have fangs, just like the other members of the cobra family. These fangs are at the front of the mouth. They are shorter than the fangs of similarly sized rattlesnakes because coral snake fangs are not retractable. You have no time at all to get the snake off before it injects venom.
 
I don't know how it is in Florida, but in Missouri if you kill a rattler, it's a felony, and you could get a huge fine and time in jail.
Mark
 
Watch out, Norbert

Eastern coral snakes flail excitedly when picked up and their short fangs are plenty long enough to pierce human skin.
Their venom is one of the most toxic in North America.
 
paulh said:
You have some misconceptions. Coral snakes do have fangs, just like the other members of the cobra family. These fangs are at the front of the mouth. They are shorter than the fangs of similarly sized rattlesnakes because coral snake fangs are not retractable. You have no time at all to get the snake off before it injects venom.
Click to expand...

Coral snakes are rear fanged, which is one reason it makes envenomation difficult.
 
They are beautiful.

Personally, I would probably just buy the type of king snake that looks like a coral snake :) Not the same thing, but you don't have to worry about death from a bite, just a mean pretty little snake.


On Jeff Corwin, he caught a coral snake and held it in one hand (it was well behaved, but he also held it's head), and in the other hand he had the similar looking king snake. He held the king snake more loosely and it was biting the heck out of his hand.

I would be too scared to have a venemous snake in my house, what if it somehow managed to get out, and lurked about biting people? Far fetched, but posible.
 
Cuda said:
Coral snakes are rear fanged, which is one reason it makes envenomation difficult.
Click to expand...

I'm always willing to correct myself if I'm wrong. I understood that all the Elapidae were front fanged (proteroglyphs). I'd appreciate a reference supporting the statement that coral snakes are rear fanged.

Conant's field guide (2nd edition) says that coral snakes' short fangs and small mouth make it hard for them to bite most of a human, but fingers and toes are vulnerable. Unfortunately he did not state whether corals are front or rear fanged.
 
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