| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 13:35:23
Hello guys!
As some of you know I attended the wrigglies shop’s venomous handling training course yesterday. I’m going to share some photos kindly taken by my wonderful girlfriend. Unfortunately due to the nature of the training flash photography was not allowed and due to the speed of the snakes many of the photos are rather blurred.
We set off for the training at about 2:30pm to arrive at the shop for just shy of 5pm, naturally I was excited by the prospect of getting to see half of these animals (let alone handle them!)
When we arrived it was hard to miss the giant cage with two croc’s in it! Adie immediately fell in love and decided to use up half her camera’s memory taking pictures of them!
So after the croc’s we took a look around what would prove to be one of the best exotics shops I’ve ever been to, everything was perfectly clean, the store had a lot of space to walk around and everyone was very friendly and talkative.
We saw an awesome turtle of some sort!
And some ridiculously large lizards!
And finally the training was ready to roll as the last of the customers left the store, we went over some bite procedures and talked about safety as well as looked over all the gear we would soon be using.
From left to right;
Giant comedy tongs! Two pinning devices, a mini carbon hook, a gentle grabber and finally the good old trusty hook!
Then it was straight onto hook training! For this we got some false water cobra’s and a bull snake to have some fun with!
This was good fun but no more troublesome than what we had pretty much all done at home before.
But next up was Colin the 7ft Egyptian cobra! Not too proud to admit at this point I started to sweat. Below is one of our trainers, Julian.
After watching Julian make it look easy it was our turn!
Strangely enough this wasn’t as difficult as it looked and Colin was an absolute star with us handling him.
Although when he turns to face you, it does get a little scary!
Only at the end did Colin actually remember he was a cobra!
Julian pinned him and took the opportunity to show us the business end!
Everyone took a turn taking Colin for a walk and we moved onto the next snake!
This was a rhino viper, and it was in a completely different league to the Egyptian we had just happily walked around. This guy was hissing and puffing and meant business so with awkward giant hex armor gloves on I stepped up!
It was all going to plan, It was all going so well. And then, disaster!
I had somehow managed to get both my hooks tangled, the viper took the opportunity to wrap around them both and he was muscle, I couldn’t get them apart and he was crawling steadily up the hooks!
My second and third handlers came in to assist and I managed to untangle myself and get back in control
With my second handler ready to close the lid I managed to get him moved into his second box!
Phew! That was scary!
Next up was this little guy! There had been a few rattlesnakes before that the others had handled that were big and scary, my guy was a teenager and a bit moody but there were two rattlers in this box!
He was a wriggler alright but this wasn’t bad, I felt comfortable with this guy and he was as good as gold, the funny thing about a rattlesnake is how loud the rattle is, while the others were handling them I was amazed but when I had these guys on my hook I was concentrating so much I didn’t hear a thing!
Julian and Dave showed us some puff adders next, these guys were insane and WAY out of our league, they bounced around striking like madmen and Julian explained that although they’re short when they strike for you they are so powerful they actually leave the ground so can strike longer than their bodies!
Next up was what I had waited for! If I get a DWAL the snake it’ll be for was this! The monocle cobra!
But boy did they look a handful climbing up Julians hook!
Time to step up again!
Gently by the tail!
Let’s have a little walk!
And back in the box
Phew, that was a rush! Amazing how after you handle the snakes the temperature rises about 10c
Next Dave showed us a wagners viper that was gravid while Julian showed us the Gaboon we would soon be handling!
Julian and Dave showed us how to tube a hundred pacer / sharp nosed viper (apparently a snake with a thousand different common names, so let’s just call it a Deinagkistrodon: Good luck pronouncing it)
They explained this is a great way to both assist feed and administer medicine, it’s also a nice way to see these snakes close up without too much danger.
It was too dangerous to tube a lot of these venomous snakes so out came the bull again!
I could see why this would be dangerous, there is a moment where you have to go down and drop your hook, grabbing the snake. If you misjudge the timing the snake can sometimes pull itself back out, my bull came in and out a few times and the last thing I would want is a venomous snake coming out the tube when I’ve dropped my hook!
Next up was for me the scariest snake, I don’t know if it was because I had done a bit of research into the bites from these animals or the general fear around them but the gaboon viper was the one I thought I’d back out of handling.
Fortunately he was a little one still, but little or not he was a dangerous snake!
The last snake of the day and I finally felt as if I was getting the hang of using the hook.
The day was brilliant and everyone at the shop was fantastic. At no point did I feel like they were taking over and I wasn’t learning but I also never felt afraid or as if they weren’t in control. The animals were simply amazing and I got my dream of handling a cobra by myself! I guess it’s time for a new dream: Owning one.
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| richard v |
Posted - 05/07/2013 : 18:44:20
where do you live essex ? this was dunstable probably about the same drive we had stephen from the south cost me from salisbury, really worth it. |
| Foremand |
Posted - 05/07/2013 : 11:49:16
I'd loved to do something like this. Any in the south east? |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 05/07/2013 : 10:41:14
quote:
Originally posted by Falice
Why have I only just seen this? Looks like you had an amazing day  I would absolutely love to handle a cobra. I'm definitely going to look into doing something like this!
When you're ready let me know I'll see if I can get you booked in :D |
| Falice |
Posted - 05/01/2013 : 19:34:22
Why have I only just seen this? Looks like you had an amazing day I would absolutely love to handle a cobra. I'm definitely going to look into doing something like this! |
| Foremand |
Posted - 23/12/2012 : 17:54:38
Looks like an awesome day |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 23/09/2012 : 11:13:29
Lol it's not a bad price for the evening you guys should do it :D |
| rockroyal |
Posted - 23/08/2012 : 13:26:40
quote:
Originally posted by SteGore
Good times.
Bit green with envy at the moment. :)
I second the above! What a awesome afternoon I'm very green with envy |
| boomslang |
Posted - 17/07/2012 : 01:41:12
quote:
Originally posted by jonnyc1988
Wow, this looks amazing!! Where do you do it and how much does it cost? That Gaboon is amazing, def one of my favs. I would never own a venomous snake, but I would definitely do this course.
The bull is probably a good choice for training, they can be damn fast when handling them!
Yeah same here,But still looks well worth it and a nice day out. |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 17/07/2012 : 00:00:16
Thanks Welly :) |
| Welly |
Posted - 16/07/2012 : 23:26:21
Awesome!! |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 10/07/2012 : 21:47:43
I did the course at Wrigglies in Dunstable and it cost me £150 :) well worth it |
| jonnyc1988 |
Posted - 10/07/2012 : 21:17:47
Wow, this looks amazing!! Where do you do it and how much does it cost? That Gaboon is amazing, def one of my favs. I would never own a venomous snake, but I would definitely do this course.
The bull is probably a good choice for training, they can be damn fast when handling them! |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 09/07/2012 : 09:37:03
lol possibly Fezz' xD |
| Fezza |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 21:04:10
quote:
Originally posted by Kelfezond
Was a brilliant day! :D
And yeah thats what the tube is for Fezza :D
What? You use them to fling the food over vast distances like the tennis ball lobbers for dogs, yeah?!?  |
| boomslang |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 20:19:18
awesome,glad you had fun to mate |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 19:57:32
Was a brilliant day! :D
And yeah thats what the tube is for Fezza :D |
| chrisc |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 17:42:29
looked like an awesome day |
| Fezza |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 15:00:21
Looked like you had an amazing day.
Did I read somewhere about assist feeding a venomous????!!!!! I'd be offering food via what I'd term the "live hand grenade" teqnique Lol |
| acd1984 |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 14:55:49
Great article, that's definitely something to tell the grandkids |
| SteGore |
Posted - 08/07/2012 : 14:41:11
Good times.
Bit green with envy at the moment. :) |
