did a venomous snake handeling course today

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

No skin to scale? Have fun with that..
Every situation is different, every snake is different and can potentially react differently.
I might be wrong but I think the best teacher is experience,
These licences should come with L plates and P plates.
Then again, what would i know, Ive been called a dinosour, lol.

 

[jairusthevirus21]

Well naturally situations differ... L and P plate? lol. perhaps Masters and Apprentices? ha ha ha

 

[imported_Varanus]

Try this without skin to scale!....a latex glove would have been good....but I know what you mean.

 

[Egernia]

There is no course that can teach you all you need to know about handling venomous snakes so those courses should only be considered as introductory no matter what the content. The question is whether the holders of the courses make this clear to participants or whether paricipants are led to believe that completing the course qualifies them.

I think the ability to complete a course is a great introductory to the animals and the information around them but perhaps certificates handed out after the courses should be controlled a bit more. In the courses run by wildlife groups they did used to 'fail' participants that clearly did not have an ability to handle venomous snakes safely but I assume that the commercial courses are under pressure from paying participants not to be failed.

The suggestion that there is only one way to handle a venomous snake is nonsense when it comes to catching and relocating wild snakes. Catching a full sized brown snake in the middle of someones driveway requires completely different techniques than pulling that same snake out of the engine of a car. And you wont learn all of that in a course - it is all on the job training. A person who has shown and aptitude for handling snakes well at a course will likely be able to learn on the job safely, while those that havent are a disaster waiting to happen and should not have been given a certificate to suggest otherwise.

 

[Stuart]

No skin to scale? Fine on a nice quiet and pretending to be a rock death adder that can be put into a bag with very little effort. No skin to scale contact on a carpet python hiding in a roof crawlspace under a child's bedroom, good luck. Oh and you earn master status if you are able to get a Colubrid into a bag without touching it.

As those who have been doing this for a while have said, experience is a great teacher but so is common sense.

My course was two days with 1 being whole theory and the second filled with practical experience starting with carpet pythons and ending with an EB and Coastal Taipan. I learnt more in my first 2 relocations than I did on that course if I was to be honest because being in a vacant hall is heaven compared to waiting out and grabbing a peeved off EB hiding in a wall space.

 

[Sleazy.P.Martini]

Just wondering, seriously no sarcasm, how do you get experience? Don't you do a course like this to be certified then learn and gain experience? Or are you meant to illegally catch animals and gain experience and then have it made official by doing a course?

 

[aspidito]

NOBODY that has no experience with the capture of wild snakes should be taught 'Tailing' ...absolutely irresponsible & this was taught to people that had never even touched a snake!!!!
One gains experience capturing using the safest methods possible, ie: the least amount of danger you need to expose yourself to the better. Over time with many captures under your belt you will gain knowledge of different species & how they react when approached & then you will have the confidence & correct attitude for more 'hands on' methods.
Learn the basics & gain experience to become a master....

 

[JasonL]

Just wondering, seriously no sarcasm, how do you get experience? Don't you do a course like this to be certified then learn and gain experience? Or are you meant to illegally catch animals and gain experience and then have it made official by doing a course?

When your laying in a hospital bed recovering from the bite of a snake you largely underestimated and it dawns on you that the paper certificate hanging proudly on your wall at home means squat..... then you just became more experienced.

If a person has kept a range of angry pythons for a number of years, then they are at least on their way, Water Pythons especially will teach you a lot, there strike speed is as good as most elapids (i.e. you cant see it), Joining a herp society going on field trip and watching how others do thing, generally being around other elapid handlers ect ect .... becoming a decent elapid handler takes years not hours.

 

[rvcasa]

Does anyone know where I can do similar course in Brisbane (or surroundings)?

Are they pricey? Cheers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[-Peter]

I'm going to have to do one of these no touching courses. Anyone run them here in Sydney?

 

[Egernia]

Just wondering, seriously no sarcasm, how do you get experience? Don't you do a course like this to be certified then learn and gain experience? Or are you meant to illegally catch animals and gain experience and then have it made official by doing a course?

Absolute beginners should be encouraged to take these types of courses if they want to develop their skills. The suggestion from experienced snake catchers is that a certificate given at the end of the course should not be seen as being anything more than what it is i.e. completion of a course not a professional snake catchers licence!

If people who take these courses are given the impression that the certificate at the end of the course qualifies them to go out and start catching any snake in any situation then that is a problem.

People should know their own limitations and work to improve upon them. I think that those running the courses should address this by way of the courses by failing participants until they reach a certain standard. I dont know if they do this but perhaps they should if they want to ensure that only the best qualified individuals have one of that companies certificates hanging on the wall!

So how do you gain experience after a course safely? Well that is where you recognise your own limitations and work to improve on those. Wherever possible concentrate on perfecting your skills with non-venomous species and species that are not normally particularly aggressive such as red bellies. Once you are fully confident and have learned from the mistakes you are inevitably going to make then allow yourself to tackle some of the more challenging snakes. Have the common sense to call in more experienced catchers or even walk away from the more dangerous jobs until you are up to it as you are not going to be helping the situation if you get bitten!

 

[Sleazy.P.Martini]

Thanks Jason. Can anyone expand on that it still didn't answer my question. I mean its all good having a water python and watching other people but its not really the experience I was talking about.

Cheers egernia I must've posted at the same time as you and not seen yours. Your answer was very helpful

 

[-Peter]

Absolute beginners should be encouraged to take these types of courses if they want to develop their skills. The suggestion from experienced snake catchers is that a certificate given at the end of the course should not be seen as being anything more than what it is i.e. completion of a course not a professional snake catchers licence!

If people who take these courses are given the impression that the certificate at the end of the course qualifies them to go out and start catching any snake in any situation then that is a problem.

People should know their own limitations and work to improve upon them. I think that those running the courses should address this by way of the courses by failing participants until they reach a certain standard. I dont know if they do this but perhaps they should if they want to ensure that only the best qualified individuals have one of that companies certificates hanging on the wall!

So how do you gain experience after a course safely? Well that is where you recognise your own limitations and work to improve on those. Wherever possible concentrate on perfecting your skills with non-venomous species and species that are not normally particularly aggressive such as red bellies. Once you are fully confident and have learned from the mistakes you are inevitably going to make then allow yourself to tackle some of the more challenging snakes. Have the common sense to call in more experienced catchers or even walk away from the more dangerous jobs until you are up to it as you are not going to be helping the situation if you get bitten!

These courses are primarily industry based. Therefore the person attaining a certificate is deemed to be capable in the field of removing problem snakes. Personal limitations wouldn't come into those situations. Basically I see an inadequate product being sold to the mining industry that private individuals see as a fast ticket to being a reptile relocator. Am I wrong?

 

[Gus20]

hey is there anywhere on the sunny coast where u can do any venomous handling courses?

 

[MrFireStorm]

I have taught a number of people (P&W Officers, RSPCA, public) to catch and relocate vens around Tasmania using a variety of methods.

I have always used wild caught snakes as IMO using a"placid" snake is the same as using a garden hose. In saying this, the 1st contact with a snake is a rubber one to initially get the concept of the technique. By using wild snakes it presents the catcher with worse case scenario and therefore do not freak out when they are called to relocate an aggressive snake.

An elapid gripper was designed and manufactured in Tassie that gained animal ethics approval however I personally no longer use this method. I pin, hook or tail depending on the situation and have therefore developed my own pinner using surgical rubber tubing (this eliminates excessive pressure being applied). I have never rushed into a relocation without gaining as much info from the member of public and then assess the situation again when I arrive.

Thankfully, to this date, I have never been tagged by a ven (after 12 years) and those I have instructed have only ever suffered 1 bite from a whitelipped snake. That wa sonly due to the "handler" rushing in and grabbing the whippy by hand about mid body. Therefore irresponsibility was the major factor.

Oh, and in case your wondering, yes I have caught other than Tassie snakes and from some very hairy situations (e.g. after the Rockhampton floods).

Just thought I would through my thoughts in there.

Daz

PS. When possible, I try and make myself available to new catchers to attend their first few, until they build their own confidence.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

These courses are primarily industry based. Therefore the person attaining a certificate is deemed to be capable in the field of removing problem snakes. Personal limitations wouldn't come into those situations. Basically I see an inadequate product being sold to the mining industry that private individuals see as a fast ticket to being a reptile relocator. Am I wrong?

Bang on the money inregards to some of courses around here. I would add though that the no tailing part is a rule usually made clear by the mining companies and I am pretty sure also the DEC.

There are even 4 hours courses been ran sometimes locally. How the hell does that short time give the practical skill training one is going to need? Part of being a good snake catcher is that one that should be adverse with all methods and regonize that different situations sometimes require different methods and implements. So many people are set in their ways ( many of my friends) and rubbish alternative ideas.

 

[cement]

A major difference between courses and the field is the floor surface and the open space that you just don't get out on a catch job. Even if they are wild caught snakes at the course, the floor puts the odds highly in the catchers favour.
I won't tail adders, but I have had to on two occasions now because of the situation. This same situation applies to almost every catching scenario, if the snake is in a place that is very close to escape, then tailing or pinning is the way to go. And isn't this the case with most call outs? A black or brown in a messy house, needs a quick capture or you run the risk of losing it in the house. If the snakes head is going through a hole, good luck hooking that into a bag.

quote pp "Part of being a good snake catcher is that one that should be adverse with all methods and regonize that different situations sometimes require different methods and implements."

So true, an open mind and the ability to use stick or broom or what ever is available is key. Because a good snake handler knows the animals capabilities and therefore can work with it.

 

[Swampdonkey]

I did a catching course a few years ago in SA and the people who ran it did an awesome job. It was a 2 day course. the first thing we were taught was the correct first aid for a bite. then id's of snakes common to the area, then info on probable hiding spots in suburban bnack yards then demos of the various methods of capture and then hands on of the basic hook and loop method for those who wanted to and a further session of theory to reinforce everything we had learned. The last thing we were told was that just because we had done the course we were not snake catchers, if we wanted to become snake catchers we were given the details of some of the reputable catchers in the area and to contact them to gain some supervised experience. As I said it was an awesome course and most of it stuck with me

 

[DanLM]

check this site out
Snake Handler Official Website - Venomous Snake Handling

I did that course at the beginning of last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. 2 day course, 1 day of theory, risk assessment and identification, and 1 day of full on practical, covering as many techniques as possible, and the pros and cons of each. Never ended up getting the permits and becoming a snake catcher, but I might do a refresher course in future if I decide I want to.

 

[Hamalicious]

I did my Ven. handling course recently through Geckoes Wildlife at Closeburn. If anyone is in the SE Queensland area i can very highly recommend this course.

Absolutely no hand to scale contact, all training is done with a hoop bag and hook. Pinners and Grippers were explained and discussed but we were basically advised not to use them as they are dangerous for the snakes and simply unnecessary most of the time. We learned and practised all the techniques with pythons first and slowly moved up the rank of snakes until we got to the taipans and browns. Every thing was very professional and the theory and first aid was explained clearly and effectively.

The course done by the OP sounds very dangerous and i completely agree that there should be some sort of bench mark. Id trust the other 4 blokes in my course to work with snakes and other people should be able to trust their local snake person, but i wouldnt trust anyone who learnt in the OPs course.