'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

[54bogger]

Here's a few pics of Otis, I picked him up at a local Repticon show earlier this month. He's a wild caught adult male between 4 1/2 and 5ft long.
He's calmed down a lot in the past couple of weeks.

BTW- Notice I'm not freehandling him in any pic? Me or Otis aint ready for that yet! lol





Here's Otis in shed.


And the old skin beginning to come off.

[jOHNNY t]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

He is a beautiful creature. Be careful with him. I don't need to see you freehanding him at all. Thanks

[Noelle7206]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

He's gorgeous but I'm sorry that it's legal to buy & sell native wild-caught snakes. There's plenty of captive-bred & unwanted "surplus" around, you just have to make some connections.

Putting a price on wild snakes (or other herps) helps them disappear from the wild....too many people are greedy & just don't care. BTW, some of those being sold were taken illegally and
crossed state lines to get away with it...when you buy them, it shows the traffickers that there's a market, so they continue.

[bebowebb]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Otis is a good looking feller!

[54bogger]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Well bebowebb it seems no matter what I post I'm WRONG AGAIN! If I post pics of me freehandling my snakes some people complain, if I post pics of 'legally'bought snakes from Repticon people complain! So since either way people complain I'm just gonna do it my way.

[Pandorasdad]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

He's a beauty!

Sent from my HTC One via Tapatalk

[54bogger]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Thank you....

[Noelle7206]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Well bebowebb it seems no matter what I post I'm WRONG AGAIN! If I post pics of me freehandling my snakes some people complain, if I post pics of 'legally'bought snakes from Repticon people complain! So since either way people complain I'm just gonna do it my way.

Free-handling snakes has nothing to do with conservation of wild species, and I meant no personal offense to you. But I hope those reading (& possibly wanting to follow your lead) will consider the big picture when buying
"legal" wild-caught snakes, and I'm sorry to say that my main concern is the disappearance of our native wildlife. Being a free spirit yourself, I'd have thought that you might also think twice before supporting the taking of
wild snakes. Perhaps any debate belongs in a separate thread, but in my mind it's a relevant issue...& such things just naturally come up when you post in a public forum. I don't mean to detract one iota from your beautiful
new pet though, sorry.

[zamora]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

He's absolutely stunning and I look forward to seeing more pictures of him! LOVE that beginning to shed shot, that's awesome.

[54bogger]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Thank you also. He's settling in really well.

[bebowebb]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Noelle - your first response did come off a little harsh toward the OP, but I do not believe it was meant to be so.

I agree with the part of your second post where you state that "perhaps any debate belongs in a separate thread, but in my mind it's a relevant issue...". I would say you are correct in that the topic of collecting and sales of wild caught specimens is best addressed in a thread of its own, as the collection and sale of wild caught specimens is not limited to Rattlesnakes. The sale of wild caught animals can be found across the board throughout all species of snakes.

I understand your concerns and I'm sure that Barry does as well, but it was his choice to add a wild caught specimen to his collection.

In my personal opinion, there are enough captive bred species available that a wild caught specimen is really only needed from time-to-time to add new blood throughout breeding projects. Who knows? Maybe adding new blood was his intention, maybe Canebrake Rattlesnakes are not that popular amongst breeders yet, so perhaps options are limited and obtaining a w/c is one of those limited additions, or perhaps he saw something special in this specific new addition.

I think some of the venomous snake species are some of the most gorgeous snake species on Earth, but I do not own any and I have very minimal knowledge of them, their availability, and/or their standings amongst captive collections.

I really don't believe your post was of ill intention toward Barry ( aka [MENTION=20894]54bogger[/MENTION] ), but it did kind of come across that way.

I think Barry is very passionate about his venomous collection and being on the receiving end of previous bash sessions in various venues has Barry on defense with each post.

I do enjoy seeing pictures of his various species. I admit that the free-handling makes me a little nervous and I am sitting on the other side of a computer screen. LOL! I wish nothing but the best for Barry and continue to wish nothing but the best and utmost safety in his free-handling practices.

Personally, I am happy to see the "Some like it HOT!" sub-forum having an increase in activity level and I think both Noelle and Barry have displayed a love and passion for venomous species that is not common amongst a very large percentage of handlers or keepers in this great industry/hobby.

[cmont9595]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

The man wanted to show off his snake where he felt he would be accepted and it's now a debate and discussion.

Otis looks scary and beautiful at the same time. He's got a great look to him.

CMEdge

[Noelle7206]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Well you caught me, bebowebb...I am both passionate and opinionated, and you are correct, I did not mean to sound harsh toward Barry (aka 54bogger), though I can also see how he might feel that way.

All snakes face habitat loss, both natural and unnatural predators (roaming cats & dogs), climate change, and so on, but rattlesnakes, more than most, are singled out for death at the hands of humans, with or
without legal protections in place. That's where I'm coming from, and I too wish Barry all the best in working with them; in fact, since this snake is now captive, I don't think he could have fallen into any better
hands* than Barry's. (*no pun intended, lol) So no hard feelings Barry....I do enjoy your posts as well as your success. I apologize for taking your thread in a negative direction.

[54bogger]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Noelle I understand your passion TRUST ME! There's no hard feeling's on my part. Thank you for your commitment to these animals.

[54bogger]

Re: 'Otis' Canebrake Rattlesnake

Here's Otis just hanging out In his cage.