... anyone seen my white cobra?

[PigFish]

Ever wonder where that guy you knew in high school is now? Well, I just found one!

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-alligators-snakes-thousand-oaks-20170706-story.html

-the Pig

 

[Ken Gargett]

nuts! ray, assume the you are speaking of the guy with the reptiles, not the neighbour or officials?

he probably sees himself as some sort of animal lover but jamming them into small crates like that - deserves the cruelty changes.

from an academic perspective, interesting had the cobra (how the hell does one let a cobra escape, not once but twice?) bitten the neighbour. manslaughter charges?

[PigFish]

6 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

nuts! ray, assume the you are speaking of the guy with the reptiles, not the neighbour or officials?

he probably sees himself as some sort of animal lover but jamming them into small crates like that - deserves the cruelty changes.

from an academic perspective, interesting had the cobra (how the hell does one let a cobra escape, not once but twice?) bitten the neighbour. manslaughter charges?

Know (knew) the guy...

Snake bit a dog mate, not a guy, but if it were my dog I would be plenty pissed off anyway! Two different cobras... The white one is at the zoo now, I think I read in another source, San Diego.

I guess he just like reptiles... -LOL

I wonder if he is in the exotic boot business....! Lord knows why people do what they do.

Cheers! Ray

[soutso]

Nuts! Completely nuts.

[Ken Gargett]

26 minutes ago, PigFish said:

Know (knew) the guy...

Snake bit a dog mate, not a guy, but if it were my dog I would be plenty pissed off anyway! Two different cobras... The white one is at the zoo now, I think I read in another source, San Diego.

I guess he just like reptiles... -LOL

I wonder if he is in the exotic boot business....! Lord knows why people do what they do.

Cheers! Ray

ray, understood re the dog - as i said, an academic perspective. and yes, would have been beyond irate if it had been my dog. yes, understood, two different snakes. what i meant to convey was how the hell do you not tighten things up if you have already lost one snake.

as a kid, i kept snakes and lizards and anything else i could catch but i tried to give them the best possible surroundings and as soon as i felt any animal i had was not doing well, it was immediately released.

but i suppose in retrospect, i also had one snake escape. but it was only a little bit poisonous. lord knows where it went. never found it.

[99call]

This reminds me of 'Ming of Harlem' the Siberian Tiger kept in one bed apartment in the projects. Imagine seeing this in your hallway

 

[PigFish]

8 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

ray, understood re the dog - as i said, an academic perspective. and yes, would have been beyond irate if it had been my dog. yes, understood, two different snakes. what i meant to convey was how the hell do you not tighten things up if you have already lost one snake.

as a kid, i kept snakes and lizards and anything else i could catch but i tried to give them the best possible surroundings and as soon as i felt any animal i had was not doing well, it was immediately released.

but i suppose in retrospect, i also had one snake escape. but it was only a little bit poisonous. lord knows where it went. never found it.

Ahhh, I get it!

... I dunno Ken, sounds like you guys might'a had some things in common here!!! -LOL (I don't mean abuse animals). As a kid I kept snakes now and again myself, but King snakes not Cobra snakes. The Kings eat Rattle snakes so it used to annoy me when someone thought that every 'snake' was poisonous and killed the Kings.

I have to wonder if 'Todd' here had any Mojave Greens. They are extremely poisonous. Cobras are sensational (news worthy) but Mojave Greens are every bit, if not more dangerous.

On a better note, I did read a story not long ago regarding 'animal abuse' that turned rather touching.

http://www.boredpanda.com/lion-tiger-bear-unusual-friendship-animal-shelter-georgia/

Piggy

 

[PigFish]

2 hours ago, 99call said:

This reminds me of 'Ming of Harlem' the Siberian Tiger kept in one bed apartment in the projects. Imagine seeing this in your hallway

 

... holy crap!

[shlomo]

10 hours ago, soutso said:

Nuts! Completely nuts.

That's right. A white cobra is often accompanied by two nuts.

[JamesKPolkEsq]

2 hours ago, PigFish said:

Ahhh, I get it!

... I dunno Ken, sounds like you guys might'a had some things in common here!!! -LOL (I don't mean abuse animals). As a kid I kept snakes now and again myself, but King snakes not Cobra snakes. The Kings eat Rattle snakes so it used to annoy me when someone thought that every 'snake' was poisonous and killed the Kings.

I have to wonder if 'Todd' here had any Mojave Greens. They are extremely poisonous. Cobras are sensational (news worthy) but Mojave Greens are every bit, if not more dangerous.

On a better note, I did read a story not long ago regarding 'animal abuse' that turned rather touching.

http://www.boredpanda.com/lion-tiger-bear-unusual-friendship-animal-shelter-georgia/

Piggy

 

Just had an encounter with a King this weekend - magnificent creature, with a most welcome presence (even if I had to gently escort him outside 4 times).

 

 

[cigcars]

6 hours ago, 99call said:

This reminds me of 'Ming of Harlem' the Siberian Tiger kept in one bed apartment in the projects. Imagine seeing this in your hallway

 

 

        ** Hell of a good guard dog...

 

        

[shlomo]

1 hour ago, JamesKPolkEsq said:

Just had an encounter with a King this weekend - magnificent creature, with a most welcome presence (even if I had to gently escort him outside 4 times).

 

 

wtf?! where do you live? I'm going to guess Australia, where EVERYTHING is trying to kill you!

[avaldes]

I was hoping this was going to be about a Shelby Cobra...:)

[EndangeredSpecies]

Absolutely insane! Not what I was expecting. Having known people with similar permits who had compounds built to house their animals, I couldn't fathom having that many in a residence like that. I'd probably be afraid I'd wake up one day with a viper in my bed lol

[PigFish]

3 hours ago, JamesKPolkEsq said:

Just had an encounter with a King this weekend - magnificent creature, with a most welcome presence (even if I had to gently escort him outside 4 times).

 

 

...northern King, I am more accustomed to the brown/yellow. Beautiful snake.

Not poisonous @shlomo. Eats Rattle snakes and other reptiles as well.

[JamesKPolkEsq]

2 hours ago, shlomo said:

wtf?! where do you live? I'm going to guess Australia, where EVERYTHING is trying to kill you!

Southern California!

 

Only venomous snake in this area is the Rattlesnake - whose reputation is far more fearsome than the snake itself.

[archosaur]

@JamesKPolkEsq - nice find, that is the second mountain kingsnake that has been spotted by an FOHer in the last few months.  I recall Lotusguy posted a pic of one at his place not too long ago.

Regarding the original post...there are a lot of degenerates in the reptile business (yes, there is a business).  He was probably selling as much as he was collecting.  In any case, it takes a real scumbag to be that careless with deadly animals.  I hope whatever slap on the wrist he receives has some effect on him. 

Some of these animals fetch pretty high prices.  I saw another pic of the bust that shows a bucket labled '10 baby Gila Monsters'...which would be a very valuable bucket.  Heck Ray, your white cobra was probably worth $500, keep a closer eye on her next time!

 

 

 

[Ken Gargett]

26 minutes ago, archosaur said:

(yes, there is a business). 

Some of these animals fetch pretty high prices.  I saw another pic of the bust that shows a bucket labled '10 baby Gila Monsters'...which would be a very valuable bucket.  Heck Ray, your white cobra was probably worth $500, keep a closer eye on her next time!

there is a huge business. the illegal wildlife trade is not that far behind drugs and human trafficing, if one looks at the figures.

and $500! turn it up. and the rest.

an albino ball python, from a couple of quick internet searches and lord knows what one might turn up if one knew where to look, was $40K. a white/monocled cobra, i would suspect, would beat that easily.

[archosaur]

No doubt, the illegal wildlife trade is a global catastrophe.  Born of ignorance, fueled by greed.

As far as value in reptiles, it's all about rarity.  On occasion, tens of thousands have been paid for newly discovered/unobtainable color morphs.  Generally though, there is a lot of price exaggeration in the 'designer' reptile world.  The new morphs get captive bred quickly, become widely available, and those exorbitant sums evaporate.  A few breeders make some good coin.  At the end of the day, the target buyer is still an awkward 13 year old...which is inherently self limiting as far as price goes  I know a little bit about this, I bred and sold a few species of snakes to help pay my way through college.

If you're interested, this guy is one of the legends in the captive bred snake trade:  http://www.bobclark.com  I'm sure you could find some pricy animals on his site.

Hots (venomous) generally don't bring the really high prices as most people have enough common sense to not want to keep them, and/or the legal restrictions.  Check it out, I found you a deal on an albino monocled cobra: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=620509 

[Ken Gargett]

6 minutes ago, archosaur said:

No doubt, the illegal wildlife trade is a global catastrophe.  Born of ignorance, fueled by greed.

As far as value in reptiles, it's all about rarity.  On occasion, tens of thousands have been paid for newly discovered/unobtainable color morphs.  Generally though, there is a lot of price exaggeration in the 'designer' reptile world.  The new morphs get captive bred quickly, become widely available, and those exorbitant sums evaporate.  A few breeders make some good coin.  At the end of the day, the target buyer is still an awkward 13 year old...which is inherently self limiting as far as price goes  I know a little bit about this, I bred and sold a few species of snakes to help pay my way through college.

If you're interested, this guy is one of the legends in the captive bred snake trade:  http://www.bobclark.com  I'm sure you could find some pricy animals on his site.

Hots (venomous) generally don't bring the really high prices as most people have enough common sense to not want to keep them, and/or the legal restrictions.  Check it out, I found you a deal on an albino monocled cobra: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=620509 

i've never done the buying and selling and no real interest in doing so - enough living in the yard, roof, garage to buy more.

it is really weird watching people breed new designs. nature was doing alright on its own and rarely needs assistance, just to be left alone. but in one sense, it is really no different to people breeding new varieties of roses.

if i knew then what i know now, i doubt very much if i would have kept reptiles when young. but as a kid, all i wanted to be was gerald durrell.

[archosaur]

2 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

i've never done the buying and selling and no real interest in doing so - enough living in the yard, roof, garage to buy more.

it is really weird watching people breed new designs. nature was doing alright on its own and rarely needs assistance, just to be left alone. but in one sense, it is really no different to people breeding new varieties of roses.

if i knew then what i know now, i doubt very much if i would have kept reptiles when young. but as a kid, all i wanted to be was gerald durrell.

All in jest Ken, I didn't really see you as the reptile purchasing type  

Very true regarding designer breeding...though the folks at the reptile expositions look very different from those at the flower shows! 

Some good has come from captive bred reptiles though...it has reduced pressure on wild populations, at least here in the US.  The red, white and black snake that @JamesKPolkEsqposted above was hunted extensively here in California before captive bred specimens became widely available.

[PigFish]

I was wondering some there is some interest in these species for 'other than' western medicine and even religious reasons. Don't know, just thinking out loud. I remember reading about gorilla paws and bear gall bladders and such having value in different cultures... There has got to be money in it, because these critters cannot be cheap to acquire and keep.

Not like my perfectly normal miniature horses... -LOL

-the Pig

[Ken Gargett]

1 hour ago, archosaur said:

All in jest Ken, I didn't really see you as the reptile purchasing type  

Very true regarding designer breeding...though the folks at the reptile expositions look very different from those at the flower shows! 

Some good has come from captive bred reptiles though...it has reduced pressure on wild populations, at least here in the US.  The red, white and black snake that @JamesKPolkEsqposted above was hunted extensively here in California before captive bred specimens became widely available.

this is spot on. we bred endangered finches/parrots. not that we ever released them but it does provide a source that is maintained aside from those left in the wild.

gorilla paws, ray? lord spare me. be quite happy for you to pull out one of those guns of yours (not wanting a gun thread, of course) and use it on anyone wanting to separate a gorilla from its paws (rhino from its horn etc etc).

[Lotusguy]

@JamesKPolkEsq - nice find, that is the second mountain kingsnake that has been spotted by an FOHer in the last few months.  I recall Lotusguy posted a pic of one at his place not too long ago.

Regarding the original post...there are a lot of degenerates in the reptile business (yes, there is a business).  He was probably selling as much as he was collecting.  In any case, it takes a real scumbag to be that careless with deadly animals.  I hope whatever slap on the wrist he receives has some effect on him. 

Some of these animals fetch pretty high prices.  I saw another pic of the bust that shows a bucket labled '10 baby Gila Monsters'...which would be a very valuable bucket.  Heck Ray, your white cobra was probably worth $500, keep a closer eye on her next time!

 

 

 

Yeah - had one living in my garage for a while but it since moved on. Probably ran out of mice

It didn't seem to be eating all the lizards I have around the house, though.

[LeafLover]

Can u imagine if your neighbor knocked on your door and asked, "Umm, can I look in your backyard?  I think I lost my white monocled cobra ."