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SNAKE BYTES (SHARON'S BLOG)
Another article for your consideration".
Is That A Boa In Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Pros
Easy to care for, does not require daily feeding, walks, baths or brushing.
Cons
Escape artists, may scare the Hell out of your friends, can be dangerous as can a dog or cat unsupervised.
The Bottom Line
Before you buy, do your research; read, read, read. Snakes require specialized care and feeding.
So, you think you want a reptile, do you?
Not just any old reptile; you've decided your world will
not be complete without a gigantic snake - a Boa Constrictor sounds perfect--you think.
A few things to consider...
Snakes are not cute, fuzzy, or particularly interested in YOU. They
do not require an excessive amount of care, but the care they need, is non-negotiable. Provide it, or they die. Many people are afraid of snakes; have the cage in your living room, like I do, and your visitors may
not come around as often as you'd like.
Snakes are incredibly powerful, and can escape from the most secure-seeming enclosure...upon which they will find a place to hide, which in turn can lead to highly
unpleasant surprises - curling up in the toilet...or crawling into the heater ducts,being gone for days if escaped.
What snakes are like
Snakes do what they do, and seem to know of your
existence. They They can become very attached to their owners. They will not come when called, sit, play dead, or roll-over on command. They eat cute, fuzzy creatures...like I do. Snakes do not eat vegetables, cookies, bread, fruit or candy. They are strictly predatory, and do not really distinguish between a dead feeder rat,or a cute live mouse, hamster or gerbil .
I currently have a small menagerie consisting of three rescued dogs (two Pitbulls and a Rottweiler), one husband, a roommate, and a nine foot long Red-Tailed Columbian Boa named Kaa. Over the years, I have
owned many, many dogs, been owned by quite a few cats, and gleefully ran the gamut of "odd" pets - goats that thought they were dogs, chickens, horses, pigs, one immensely stupid steer, various small garden snakes,
lizards, frogs, turtles and a ground owl.
I strongly suggest prior ownership of reptiles before investing the time, knowledge and effort - not to mention expense - needed to maintain a liveable space for both
the snake, and you. True, one can look in any reptile section of their local classified ads, and see entries for "Reticulated Python - nine feet long, good eater, tame, comes with heat lamp and aquarium - $150.00" BUT...
What that doesn't tell you, is that a Retic (Python reticulatus) at nine feet long, weighs nearly one hundred pounds, and is only a youngster - he or she will continue to grow...and grow. Retics are an unwise choice for the amateur Herpetologist; as they get older, that once-docile snake becomes a bit...um, cranky. A bite from a 15 foot Retic is no laughing matter - picture hundreds of needle-sharp spikes, backed by bad temper and considerable muscle power. (My husband was bitten by Kaa(Retic) about 4 years ago, while he was still a teen-snake. It took 30 minutes for the bleeding to stop, and over 2 hours for the swelling to go down.) This is why BOA stands for Best of All, Great Disposition, and rarely bite....and if they do, it is only because they are afraid or hungry. Did you know a snake that is not hungry will let a live food animal chew them up to the bone. That is why a snake should never be left unattended with a live meal.
You need to ask yourself several important questions.
1. Am I, or anyone in my house, in the slightest bit afraid of snakes? (If you said yes, then what the hell are you thinking of?) However, if they are intellegient, they can learn the truth about boas, and how great they are.
2. Am I willing and able to invest in a setup of a secure cage? (It must be 100% secure - locking, and able to withstand tremendous forces...not to mention unbreakable.)
3.
Do I have small children? I reared my children around snakes, and I feel they were much more prepared to meet a wild snake in the yard and come tell us parents than a child who is only curious and decides to pick up any snake he sees, or on the other hand developes a phobia from a young age.
4. Will I take responsibility for this reptile for the next 20+ years? (Yep, they can live that long.)
6. Will I be able to feed this reptile? (i.e., Can I kill a cute, furry
critter so my snake can eat?) We kill plenty cute brown eyes cows for us, so who are we to judge.
7.
Will I handle and hold my snake (oh, shut up) on a regular - preferrably daily - basis, so that it is used to being held by humans? However, if you are really busy for a few days, your snake will not care. The boa is very forgiving, and glad anytime you are ready to take him or her out to spend time with you.
This is an article I want to pass on. Enjoy.
"Snakes: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?"
Ophidiophobia
is an irrational fear of snakes. Many people, perhaps a majority, claim to have a loathing or dislike of these limbless reptiles. Why do snakes get such a bad rap? A recent scientific study has concluded that the
fear of snakes is evolutionary, passed through the mammalian tree since the first mammals lived in a world dominated by reptiles. This may be true, but in most of the world today, a fear of snakes is out of
proportion to the danger that snakes pose to humans.
Snakes lack limbs, eyelids, and ears. They are covered in scales, sport forked tongues, and have the flexibility of contortionists. Some people find their
looks reason enough to resent having to share the planet with them, while others love everything about these fascinating reptiles. One thing is for sure, snakes excite interest in just about everyone. Here we
present some basic facts -- as well as some myths -- about snakes, and then about snake bites.
Snake Basics
Snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and in every country except
Ireland, Iceland, and New Zealand. (Recent fossil finds show that there were snakes in New Zealand 20 million years ago.) There are about 3,000 snake species worldwide and just under 140 species in the United States
and Canada.
Snakes continue to increase in length throughout their lives, but their growth rate slows after they reach maturity. While the world's largest snakes, Anacondas, can reach 25 to 30 feet in
length, North America's longest snake on record was an Eastern Indigo Snake that measured 8 feet 7 1/2 inches.
The giant boa constrictors of the American Tropics, including the Anaconda, are among the
most feared snakes. There are a couple of species of boas in North America, but these reach only about three feet long. Boas are not the only snakes that kill prey by constriction, however. North America's
constrictors include the common and widespread Milk Snake.
Snakes display a full rainbow of colors and patterns; some even have iridescent scales. North American snakes come in blue, red, yellow, orange, and
green, as well as more mundane grays, browns, and blacks, and are adorned with spots, bands, stripes, diamonds, and other often beautiful patterns. The Milk Snake and the Common Kingsnake are among the most variable
species, with numerous subspecies of varying and bold coloration. Snakes periodically shed their outer layer of skin, usually in one piece. A rattlesnake adds a new segment to its rattle each time it sheds its skin,
normally two to four times a year. Several species of birds use shed snake skins in nest-building.
It's What's Inside That Counts
The vertebrate body has evolved differently in snakes than
in other reptiles or in mammals, fish, or birds. In snakes the left lung is either very small or is absent altogether. The kidneys are aligned vertically rather than side by side as they are in mammals.
Snakes can swim, climb trees, and burrow underground, and they do all of this without the assistance of arms or legs. A snake can have as many as 400 vertebrae in its spine; humans have 32 to 34. That's one
reason why a snake can tightly coil its body and a human can't!
If you get into a staring contest with a snake you are bound to lose, because snakes don't have eyelids and therefore can't blink. A
transparent cover protects the eye. Snakes lack ears and don't "hear" sounds but they can sense vibrations on the ground (or tree or water). Snakes also have other ways of making sense of their
environment. One way is by flicking the forked tongue in and out. They don't exactly smell with their tongues but they pick up chemicals in the environment with them. An organ inside the mouth interprets the
information brought in on the chemicals, alerting the snake to potential prey, a mate, or even just the way home.
Most of North America's venomous (or poisonous) snakes, including rattlesnakes,
copperheads, and cottonmouths, are pit vipers. They are named for small craters in the face that detect temperature changes and help the snake detect prey -- or predator. These pits are so sensitive they can
register a temperature change of a tiny fraction of a degree.
The Snake in the Garden
Snakes are meat eaters. Among the foods they eat are birds, mammals, lizards, frogs, eggs, insects, spiders, centipedes, and scorpions. Most are useful residents of
the backyard, as they eat rodents, slugs, snails, and other creatures that can be garden pests. Blind snakes live in burrows and consume termites. Some snakes even eat other snakes; the Black Snake, for example,
preys on Copperheads, and kingsnakes will eat those and rattlers and coral snakes, too.
All snakes swallow their prey whole. A snake's lower jaw unhinges in the front, enabling the snake to fit a prey
item, even a large egg, into its mouth. Some snakes kill their prey first, while others eat it alive. Constrictors kill by coiling their body around the victim and squeezing tighter each time the animal draws in a
breath. Before long the prey's heart can no longer fill with blood or its lungs with air.
A snake can adjust the position of its respiration tube so that it can still breathe while its mouth and throat
are stuffed with food. It takes days to weeks for a snake to digest a meal, depending on the prey's size. Once fed, a snake may not eat again for months. A large Anaconda may eat only once or twice a year.
Myths and Realities
The folklore about snakes is rich and fanciful. Milk Snakes were once thought to suckle vast quantities of milk from
cows. Rainbow Snakes (also called Hoop Snakes), it is said, chase people by forming a hoop shape (holding the tail in the mouth) and rolling after them. Coachwhips have been rumored to speed after adversaries and
then whip them to death with their tails. Despite the persistence of such myths, snakes do not chase people; most snakes flee people, some stand their ground in an encounter, but none are known to give chase.
Many people are repelled by the idea of numerous snakes writhing around together, and it's true that snakes gather communally. In much of the United States and Canada, snakes hibernate for the winter. Many
gather in communal dens often consisting of several different species. A den may contain several hundred snakes; there are reports of 1,000 snakes denning together. In another snake-gathering ritual, some species of
snakes form a "breeding ball," in which numerous males coil around a single female and try to mate with her. While these images frighten some people, the truth is that very few people have ever actually
witnessed a hibernation den or a breeding ball. These mainly occur off the beaten path of most of us.
Although it may sound like a creature out of the trials of Hercules, the two-headed snake is a rare but
real phenomenon. Two-headed snakes form in the same way as human conjoined twins. If the two heads also have separate necks, they may compete with each other for food and fight over which direction to move in. They
sometimes even try to eat each other. The San Diego Zoo had a resident two-headed snake named Thelma & Louise who bore 15 offspring -- all one-headed.
Snake Bites
Many people who are afraid of
snakes are more specifically afraid of snake bite. Snakes rarely bite people, but when they do it is often in response to being picked up, poked at, or otherwise disturbed. Americans are more likely to die of a bee
sting, the flu, bubonic plague, salmonella poisoning, measles, a lightning strike, a heat wave, fire, choking, or slipping in the bathtub than of a snake bite.
The best way to avoid snakebite is to leave
snakes alone. Even nonvenomous snakes will bite if harassed. Some will issue a warning rattle by vibrating the tail in dead leaves, others will flatten and expand the neck in imitation of a hooded cobra, and many
species will hiss. Rattling, hissing, and other displays are pretty obvious warnings. If you don't back off, a snake behaving in this way may bite in self-defense.
Only about 20 of North America's
snake species are venomous. These include rattlesnakes, Copperheads, Cottonmouths, and coral snakes. Different species have different types of venom, some more dangerous than others. These snakes rarely bite people,
and even when they do, the vast majority of venomous snake bites are not fatal. Indeed, North America's venomous snakes are estimated to release venom in only about 50 percent of bites on humans. Still, they are
not to be messed with, and snakebites are no joke. Medical professionals have reported that 40 to 100 percent of venomous snakebite victims they have treated have been drunk, and the majority of them have been young
males. Poor judgment seems to be one of the biggest risk factors for snake bite.
WHAT YOU GET------Dream a little dream !
Albino Het x Albino Het
= 25% albinos 25% regulars 50% albino hets
Albino x Normal = 100% het for albinos
Albino Het x Normal = 50% het for albinos 50% normals
Albino x [Kahl-line]Striped Albino
= 100% albinos het for stripe
Albino Het for [Kahl-line]Stripe x Stripe Albino = 50% striped albino, 50% albino hets for stripe
Albino x Normal Double Het for [Kahl-line]Stripe and Albino
= 25% het for albinos, 25% double hets for stripe and albino, 25% albino and 25% albino het for stripe
Albino Het x Normal Double Het for [Kahl-line]Stripe and Albino
= (Out of every 16 babies): 2 Normal, 4 Het albino, 2 Het Striped, 2 double het for stripe albino, 2 albino, 2 albino het for stripe
Albino x Regular Double Het Snow
= 25% het albino, 25% double het snow, 25% albino and 25% albino het snow
Albino Het Snow x Snow = 50% snow and 50% albino het snow
Albino x Snow = 100% albino het for anery
Anery x Anery = 100% anerys
Anery x Regular = 100% normals het anery
Anery x Albino = 100% normals Double Hets for anery and albino (or double het "snow".
Albino Het x Regular Double Het Snow = (Out of every 16 babies): 2 Normals, 4 Het Albinos, 2 Het Anerys, 4 double het snows, 2 albinos and 2 albino het snows.
Arabesque x Normal
= 50% arabesques; 50% normals
Arabesque x Arabesque = 25% Normals; 25% Super-Arabesques; 50% Arabesques
Arabesque x Albino = 50% arabesque het albinos; 50% normal het albinos
Arabesque Albino x Sunglow = 25% arabesque sunglows; 25% sunglows; 25% arabesque albinos; 25% albinos
Hypo x Hypo = 100% hypos : 50% are possible supers (dominant)
Hypo x Normal
= 50% hypos, 50% normals
Hypo x Albino = 100% het albino: 50% are hypo hets for sunglow (or hypo het for albino).
Hypo Het Albino x Hypo Het Albino
= 25% sunglows (hypo albinos), 50% hypo het albinos (het sunglows), 25% hypos
Hypo x Anery = 50% hypos het for anery (or double het "ghost" and 50% regulars het for anery
Motley x Regular = 50% motleys; 50% regulars
Motley x Motley = 50% supermotleys; 50% motleys
Motley x Hypo = 25% motley hypos; 25% motleys; 25% hypos, 25% normals
Motley x Albino = 50% motley het albinos; 50% regular het albinos
Regular Double Het Snow x Regular Double Het Snow
= (from every sixteen offspring): three albino boas (66% chance hetero for snow), three anerythristic boas (66% chance hetero for snow boa) one snow boa, four double heterozygous boas, two heterozygous for albino boas, two heterozygous for anerythristic boas, and one normal boa.
Snow x Regular Double Het Snow = 25% snow, 25% double het for snow, 25% anery het for snow and 25% albino het for snow
Snow x Normal
= 100% normal double hets for anery and albino (het snows)
Snow x Hypo = 50% hypos {50% chance het albino;50% chance het anery), 50% regulars {50% chance het albino;50% chance het anery)
Snow x Snow = 100% Snows
Sunglow x Sunglow = 100% sunglows; 50% are possible dominant (hypo)
Sunglows x Regular = 50% hypo het albinos, 50% regular het albinos
Sunglow x Hypo = 100% hypos het for sunglow (Hypo hets for albino) : 50% are possible supers (dominant).
Sunglow x Albino = 50% albinos, 50% sunglows
Sunglow x Anery
= 50% hypo het anery (het ghost) het albino (het sunglow), 50% regular double hets for albino/anery (het snows)
Sunglow x Snow = 50% albino het anery (het snows), 50% sunglow het anery (het snows)
Sunglow x Ghost = 100% hypo double hets for anery (het ghost) and albino (het sunglow), 50% are super-hypos (dominant)
Ghost x Ghost = 100% ghosts; 50% are possible dominant (hypo)
Why Boa Constrictors(Article Passed On to You)
I believe boa constrictors the most incredible and special of the Boids. Boa constrictors are in the same family as pythons and other Giant snakes. Though
they are in the same family, the differences are amazing and boas are definitely different from their cousins.
I remember when I saw my first the first boa constrictor! It was in a pet store and was close to a
meter long. When I finally convinced my parents to let me have it and could save the money, I bought one. Since then, I have been enamored by Boa Constrictors.
Over the past 15 years boa constrictors have become very popular as pets. Why? There are actually several good reasons.
Firstly, they grow to a nice size, but are small enough for the average person to keep and safely manage. A boa constrictor will typically not exceed 7 feet
(females) and males will remain smaller.
Secondly, boa constrictors are docile, non-aggressive snakes. They are easy to care for and easy to breed.
Thirdly, boa constrictors do not suffer from the eating disorders, shyness problems and temperamental issues people often encounter with Ball Pythons. Moreover,
they are well adjusted to living in captivity, and do not require much space like other domestic animals. Additionally, they are comfortable with human contact and enjoy being held.
Finally, the variety ofboa constrictor morphs, both color and pattern morphs, provide an ever increasing number of beautiful specimens for collection as pets and the opportunity for investment as well.
Posted by: boaphile at Fri Feb 9 07:25:01 2007 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]
Oh contraire, they do hit the scale counts perfectly well and fit exactly into one of the already defined subspecies. For some strange reason many folks have a mental block and unwillingness to accept them for what
they are. They do not fit into imperator scale count wise but are perfectly content to slide right in comfortably exactly where they belong. That is all Colombian Boas are, were, have been and always will be, where
they fit perfectly as Boa Constrictor constrictor. Count the scales. That is what they are. The original descriptions do not define where BCC comes from specifically but what they are. Someone misguidedly decided
long ago that because the Colombian Boas, whose urine would run someplace other than into the Amazon River, must be BCI and not BCC. That is not described anywhere in the original descriptions so it is irrelevant.
Sure non-Amazon Basin Colombians are different from Surinams or Brazilians, but Peruvians are different from Surinams, yet they are still BCC. So unless you use some other measure to determine BCC from BCI, the
original descriptions are clear and point to the fact that all Colombian Boas are BCC. That is unless someone defines them differently, scientifically, and it is accepted by the scientific community after exhaustive
review. Until then, Colombians scale count wise, are BCC.
I have said this for years.
Of course the original Sharp
Albino came from Colombia and the 3.1 Albinos that made up the original Kahl Albino bloodline came from Colombia. I had never heard anything to the contrary. Boaphile
--
Wow, it is 2009 already. Well, actually February 2nd. How time flies. Looks to be an exciting year. Already have albino babies, anerytheristic babies, het babies, and most exciting, Boawoman Caramels. I
am so excited to be able to offer these this year. These are part of the magic potion for the new paradigm boas, as well as new yet to be produced morphs. I will post some pics soon.
October 30, 2008: There has been talk recently about pets and diseases like salmonella. As far as snakes are concerned I think they are one of the cleanest "glass enclosure" pets. Snakes rarely get in
their own feces unlike many of the animals that walk around the enclosure, and then is handled by someone. Therefore, boas are among the least likely of all pets to transfer salmonella or other bacterium to people.
September 26, 2008; Sometimes you will see your snake stretched out slowly moving his or her head from side to side like a twig in the breeze. This is usually a signal that he is hungry, and I think he
is mimicking a branch so as not to scare away prey. The prey would just see the movement as a natural movement on a windy day, and approach and be surprised to be eaten.
September 9, 2008: Why is a boa constrictor a great pet? First of all, they are satiny-smooth and feel great to the touch. They are also hypoallergenic because they create no pet dander to upset
allergies. They do not have to be fed everyday and only soil their cage on occasion. They do not have to be walked and do not require daily attention. If you are busy sometimes and do not get to exercise them by
handling, they are very forgiving and are still glad the next time they are taken to be handled. They are quiet, peaceful, and great companion animals to spend time with you whether you are sitting at your computer,
watching TV, or going for a walk. They can eat frozen/thawed meals that can be kept readily available in your freezer. They are beautiful! BOA=Best of All
Sept 1, 2008: When purchasing a boa from the Boastore you are encouraged to immediately handle your new pet as much as possible. Who wants a new pet to just look at? I feel that the snake in its new home needs to
acclimate to you as well as his or her cage. Your interaction with your new pet is an important part of their adjustment. I have been working with boas since 1976, and have seen this adjustment period work so well
for the owner and the snake. I even encourage new owners to take their new pets with them to friends homes to allow the boa to become more socialized. Captive bred snakes will enjoy human interaction and the chance
to move around on different surfaces. On a warm day, you may want to take your snake outside and let it crawl in the grass (but make sure it is not in an area where pesticides and herbicides are used). Be careful
when letting your snake crawl around outdoors, however. Don't take your eyes off of your snake as they can cover more ground than you might expect in just a few short seconds. This outside exercise will not only
provide your snake with scent stimulation, it will provide an opportunity for much needed exercise. Some of my customers who take their snakes to the park every weekend for an outing say that the snake learns to use
this time to use the bathroom, resulting in a housebroken snake. Isn't that cool.
By Zuzana Kukol and Scott Shoemaker
www.REXANO.org
Rexano1@yahoo.com
Every time there is a tragic unusual accident, the media gets into heated hysteria to milk the story, often not researching the subject and creating damage
in the process by not presenting the whole picture.
Reporters especially love the fatal exotic animal mauling accidents, with reptile attacks being some of their favorite, turning them into sensationalized
pieces resembling Hollywood horror movie scripts. Who needs to go to see Samuel Jackson's "Snakes on the Plane" and deal with noisy popcorn eaters (and dangerous car drivers on cell phones to get there)
when you get better entertainment reading morning paper in the safety and privacy of your home.
Private owners of captive reptiles, pet snakes especially, have been coming under ever increasing attacks from
the media bandwagon, mostly fueled by the agenda of the AR (animal rights) activists groups. These organizations, under the guise of pretending to care for public safety, hide their real agenda: to end the captive
keeping of animals.
The best way to discredit the claim that captive reptiles are a public safety issue and to show no need for more exotic animal over-regulation is to look at the real numbers. Facts don't
lie.
According to the Animal Protection Institute (API) website and various news sources, 17 people were killed by captive reptiles in the USA between 1995 and 2006, which is a one and a half death per year.
(API is an animal rights group opposed to captive keeping of exotic and wild animals).
No fatalities were attributed to turtles or tortoises; two were supposedly caused by lizards. One fatality was blamed on salmonella infection supposedly contracted from a
pet Iguana, second death was blamed on monitor lizards that were found in the house with their deceased owner. Out of the remaining 15 fatalities, 8 were caused by venomous snake bite and 7 by large constrictors.
None of these deaths were caused by reptiles at large. Instead, all victims were either individuals voluntarily on the property where the animals were kept, or were the
owners themselves at their own homes. No members of the public have been killed by captive reptiles in USA since 1995.
Two deaths resulting from the venomous snake bites occurred during voluntary serpent
handling religious services in the church, while the remaining 6 involved the owners at their own home at their own risk and discretion.
Two of the deaths caused by large constrictors occurred to the children
of the snake owners, at their own home, resulting in the parents being rightfully charged with child endangerment, some also with reckless endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. The remaining five fatalities
were owners themselves, whom have accepted and know extremely well the potential risk of their hobby (occupational hazard?).
It doesn't matter if the child died as a result of an animal attack or by other
everyday activity, like drowning in the pool. The parents are responsible for their children and other responsible owners of exotics should not be punished with unfair bans because of parental mistakes of others who
just happened to be fellow exotic animal owners.
Now contrast the number of deaths to spinach in the last year (2006). According to the USDA, E. coli caused 199 infections, three deaths and 31 kidney failures
nationwide. Add to this that fresh raw vegetables like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and green onions were responsible for the illness or deaths of nearly 19,000 people nationwide over a five-year period.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food borne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known
pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year, more than 75% of
those caused by known pathogens, while unknown agents account for the remaining 62 million illnesses, 265,000 hospitalizations, and 3,200 deaths.
Furthermore, according to CDC study 1.4 million human
Salmonella infections and an estimated 600 associated deaths occur each year in the United States. However, only 1% of human Salmonella infections are caused by the reptiles.
The CDC study also reported that
in the wild, the colonization of Salmonella in iguanas and toads may be related to the eating of feces, which typically contaminates food and water; insects, soil, and pond water have all been shown to carry
Salmonella. In the home, reptiles and amphibians might acquire Salmonella from being fed undercooked chicken or meat or by contact with household dust, all of which have the potential to contain Salmonella.
News reported that 23-year-old pregnant woman in Missouri fell ill after purchasing live rats and mice to feed her pet python. No salmonella was isolated from the culture
of the snake feces, and the rodents and their cages weren't available for testing. The woman's prematurely born baby also had salmonella and was in intensive care for 56 days before going home.
What
this means is that many captive reptiles might not be the primary source of infection, they got infected by their food, raw chicken, eggs and vegetables, the same food their human owners ate.
No one is
advocating banning fresh vegetables or eggs, even thought they are a greater threat to public health and safety than reptiles. Considering animal rights groups advocate vegan and vegetarian diets, it seems a little
hypocritical to advocate banning captive reptiles in the name of public safety when advocating a diet that causes far more risk to health and life for the general public than any captive reptile.
The odd of
being killed by a captive reptile is therefore extremely low. With the current US population being 297,618,284, with one death occurring every 13-14 seconds, this translates to approximately 2,440,000 US deaths per
year. With this in mind, the alleged threat of captive reptiles being a public safety issue seems ridiculous with the yearly odds of dying by captive reptile being one in 198,412,189 equaling one and a half
fatalities per year.
You have a better chance of winning the lottery Jackpot (1 in 13,983,816, all six winning numbers selected) or even the elusive Mega Millions Lottery jackpot (1 in 175,711,536), than
being killed by a captive reptile (1 in 198,412,189). But you must visit someone with a captive reptile to get those odds. Now compare that to deaths by escaped captive reptiles….hmm, can't find those numbers
since nobody ever died as a result of captive reptile running loose. Animal Rights groups claim to want more regulation and/or banning ownership of reptiles in the name of public safety. The odds just don't add up.
Still, where are the escaped rampaging reptiles killing people and endangering the safety of the general public? More people have died from a runaway NASCAR vehicle than runaway (escaped) reptiles. Shouldn't
we ban racecars?
The best evidence of escaped reptiles not posing a threat to humans would be a situation currently happening in Florida's Everglades National Park.
It appears that some irresponsible
owners of Burmese pythons (non venomous constrictors native to Southeast Asia growing to 20 feet) have released their overgrown pets into the park. These pythons have a preference for rabbits, rodents or birds and
are not attacking Florida's burgeoning human population.
The Burmese python is an ambush predator that tends to wait in one place until prey walks by. The real threat is not to the human safety, but rather
to the ecosystem of the park being invaded by non native species. It is already against the law to release exotic animals into the wild, so more unfair regulations or bans will only punish the law abiding
responsible owners who are not the problem to begin with.
When in Florida, humans should be more concerned about native wild alligators, cougars and sharks when it comes to public safety.
If the AR
groups really care about saving human lives, they should concentrate on the table at the end of this paper.
Now, how scared should we be of captive privately owned reptiles, and how scared should we be of
everyday life?
Assuming responsible reptile owners with proper enclosures (with locked doors, secured roofing or in the case of large lizards
and crocodilians, double fence inverted toward the inside to prevent climbing over the top to prevent escape) to keep the animals in and the curious public out and to avoid easy trespassing, the best course of
action to avoid being killed by a captive reptile is to simply avoid the properties where they are being kept. Can you do that with the rest of your life activities like those outlined below?
Your lifetime Odds of Dying by a captive reptile in USA are 1-in-2,681,245.
The figures below are for US residents, and are based on 2001, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Other odds, indicated with an asterisk (*)
are based on long-term data.
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Cause of Death
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Lifetime Odds
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Heart Disease
|
1-in-5
|
|
Cancer
|
1-in-7
|
|
Stroke
|
1-in-23
|
|
Accidental Injury
|
1-in-36
|
|
Motor Vehicle Accident*
|
1-in-100
|
|
Intentional Self-harm (suicide)
|
1-in-121
|
|
Falling Down
|
1-in-246
|
|
Assault by Firearm
|
1-in-325
|
|
Fire or Smoke
|
1-in-1,116
|
|
Natural Forces (heat, cold, storms, quakes, etc.)
|
1-in-3,357
|
|
Electrocution*
|
1-in-5,000
|
|
Drowning
|
1-in-8,942
|
|
Air Travel Accident*
|
1-in-20,000
|
|
Flood* (included also in Natural Forces above)
|
1-in-30,000
|
|
Legal Execution
|
1-in-58,618
|
|
Tornado* (included also in Natural Forces above)
|
1-in-60,000
|
|
Lightning Strike (included also in Natural Forces above)
|
1-in-83,930
|
|
Snake, Bee or other Venomous Bite or Sting*
|
1-in-100,000
|
|
Earthquake (included also in Natural Forces above)
|
1-in-131,890
|
|
Dog Attack
|
1-in-147,717
|
|
Asteroid Impact*
|
1-in-200,000**
|
|
Tsunami*
|
1-in-500,000
|
|
Fireworks Discharge
|
1-in-615,488
|
|
Captive Reptile related fatalities in USA
|
1-in-2,681,245
|
|
Captive Exotic Cat related fatalities in USA
|
1-in-4,000,000
|
** Perhaps 1-in-500,000
SOURCES: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC; American Cancer Society; National Safety
Council; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; World Health Organization; USGS; Clark Chapman, SwRI; David Morrison, NASA; Michael Paine, Planetary Society Australian Volunteers
|
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