Rattlesnake venom & advice?

[Qball]

Something missing from my collection, which are mostly local species, are rattlesnakes. One of the rea I keep mainly local snakes is due to the fact that there is anti-venom on hand if the need ever arises.
For a little while now though I have had this notion of getting a rattlesnake. Getting hold of one isn't the problem... What I want to know is about their venom.
Obviously they are all dangerous, but which are less equal than others if you get what I'm saying? Does anyone have a list of venom potency & venom yield from least to worst?
I take every precaution when working with my reptiles and have never physically touched most of them, but there is always the chance of a freak accident. I don't want something that will almost certainly book me an appointment with the man upstairs if I get tagged and don't get antivenom.

Any suggestions on a (excuse the term) starter rattlesnake? Or that venom list I asked about?
Any constuctive input would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[shadowfoot]

What about a pygmy rattlesnake?

[Qball]

I've been aiming for a duskypygmy. There are for some for sale around this time of year, but either its a problem to transport them down here, or people don't get back to you... etc etc.
Would like a bit more adice on the more readily available species if possible. Possibly on some of the Crotalus genus?

[Unforgiven]

I know a guy you can get Rattlenakes from quite easily in East London, im just not sure of whether he has permits for all of them, he lives in Cambridge West, not sure which he has, but he had quite a few

[Qball]

Yea, I know who you talking about. Finding them really isn't a problem, I'm just wanting other peoples take on what on what to look at getting... In my opinion its a big decision when you get a hot that definately has the potential to kill you and you don't have access to anti-venom.

[Unforgiven]

Managed to find a few things

The types of venom
http://www.ehow.com/info_8118197_rattle ... nents.html
From this definitely dont start with a diamond back

These are all the different ones(i think) and a brief descriptions on them
http://www.reptileknowledge.com/squamat ... -types.php

As for availability Im not sure on each species, hope this helps a little, its straight off goggle so you may have already seen it

[Bushviper]

I have seen antivenom being used on bites from pygmy rattlers in the US. I believe one of the first bites ever treated with CroFab was a prisoner bitten by a pygmy rattler.

It is better to treat all of them as if they could kill you.

[TJ&ACP]

Just a question
From the link provided by Unforgiven it read “Mohave toxin; this toxin does not occur in every individual Mohave rattlesnake”. Will this be generic? If it is can you through selective breeding so to speak reduce the potency of a species?

[yoson10]

Something missing from my collection, which are mostly local species, are rattlesnakes. One of the rea I keep mainly local snakes is due to the fact that there is anti-venom on hand if the need ever arises.
For a little while now though I have had this notion of getting a rattlesnake. Getting hold of one isn't the problem... What I want to know is about their venom.
Obviously they are all dangerous, but which are less equal than others if you get what I'm saying? Does anyone have a list of venom potency & venom yield from least to worst?
I take every precaution when working with my reptiles and have never physically touched most of them, but there is always the chance of a freak accident. I don't want something that will almost certainly book me an appointment with the man upstairs if I get tagged and don't get antivenom.

Any suggestions on a (excuse the term) starter rattlesnake? Or that venom list I asked about?
Any constuctive input would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Their is no such thing as general "venom potency" because all animals react differently to different venoms...Their are general trends (ie a black mamba is more venomous to most (but not all) animals than a puff adder) but nothing more than that. The "Most Venomous" talk is nothing but unfounded hype...their is no real scientific basis in any of it.

I would say avoid any of the large rattlesnakes( The Eastern Diamondback is a VERY nasty snake!) but other than that I don't have much experience with them. Rattlesnake venom is quite cyto-toxic so be aware that a bite may cause long term local tissue damage even if you get antivenom quickly.

[yoson10]

Just a question
From the link provided by Unforgiven it read “Mohave toxin; this toxin does not occur in every individual Mohave rattlesnake”. Will this be generic? If it is can you through selective breeding so to speak reduce the potency of a species?

Probably because venom composition/potency varies regionally in the SAME snake...Mohave's from one population may have a much different venom composition/toxicity than Mohave's in another population.

[Qball]

I think most who are answering are missing my point. I am very aware of the effects of the venom and the disfigurement it causes as well as the fact that it is life threatening to say the least. I know the risk involved. Let me try phrase this differently... Based on previous bites/studies/statistics, which has the lowest ratio of bites to deaths?
I know that even my coral snakes could kill me if I have an allergic reaction to their venom.
Feels like I'm getting the "my first hot" speech... Lol

[croteseeker]

-Qball, I see what you're getting at. If you want to know which buzztails have the least chance of putting you in a box, I would have to go with Crotalus cerastes. Not much venom and not very potent. Remember that even some of the Pygmies and Massasaugas have neurotoxins. A Sidewinder bite would be something akin to a nip from a Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix).

In case you were curious, the worst bite would likely be the Mojave (Crotalus scutulatus), but Crotalus tigris has the nastiest venom with a LD50 rating similar to that of the Black Mamba.


-TJ&ACP, I'm sure that it's possible to do something along those lines using locality-specific breeding stock. As far as I know, the highest levels of Mojave toxin are found in animals from SE Arizona, SW New Mexico, and Northern Mexico.

[Qball]

@ Croteseeker: Thanks! "least chance of putting you in a box" was about the simplest way it could be put. From what I researched I also came up with Crotalus cerastes but I don't have too much knowledge on the genus so hence the reason wanting advice from someone with experience.
I placed an advert in the classifieds a few days ago for Crotalus cerastes, but haven't had a response yet...

If anyone knows who has any, or where I can get, please PM me.

[Bushviper]

Just to put this in perspective. I was woken up last night because someone in Cape Town had been bitten by a Uracoan rattlesnake. The venom destroys skeletal muscle, destroys the bloods ability to clot and also causes neurotoxic effects that paralyse the diaphragm and stops the breathing. Not something you want coursing through your veins when there is no antivenom in the country.

Luckily this was basically a dry bite but treatment would have been fluids and pain meds as well as possible blood transfusion but nothing to reverse the effect of a serious bite.

For a serious bite the patient would have died because there is not really anything one can do to counteract all these effects. For a mild bite this would have probably caused the kidneys to fail and dialysis for the rest of his life would have been on the cards.

All this just to try and determine the sex of the snake? I wonder if it was worth it.

[Unforgiven]

A bit off topic from what bush viper said..

I saw in the classifieds that someone is selling dusky pigmys for R750..

As to what BV said, that guy was VEEEEEERY lucky!