[cobras are fat old pussy cats compared to Browns and Taipans]
I'm with Baxtor. I grew up in the western suburbs of Melbourne in the 1960's and all we had were Tigers and Little Whip Snakes. If you were very lucky you'd get to the country and maybe catch a Copperhead or White-lipped snake.
There were about 5 pet shops in Melbourne then that sold reptiles as far as I can remember - The Pink Door Pet Shop n(with the monkey in the window) in Footscray, Tropic Aquariums in Preston, Brian Barnett's in Preston, Silver Shark Aquarium and Beattie for Birds in Heidelberg. They'd advertise when they got "a shipment in from Queensland". Carpets $1 per foot, Green and Brown Tree Snakes $5-6, Bearded Dragons $1.50 and Eastern Water Dragons $6.
Once I went into Tropic Aquariums where they had a "Little Whip Snake for sale for $4...even I could identify it as a juvenile Brown Snake so I told the owner who immediatley removed it from sale.
So the reason I got into elapids was a combination of the cost of the pet shop snakes (those prices were a lot of money then) combined with the thrill of the expeditions. Eleven O'clock on Sunday mornings was Australia's best natural history program - Nature Walkabout with Vincent Serventy. I'd watch the show (perhaps be lucky enough to see Harry Butler catch a Mulga Snake)...then I'd go out and emulate my hero by tailing a tiger snake (got my first one in grade 3, put it in a milk bottle and brought it home). I've had a fascination for elapids ever since......
I must admit that I think your all crazy. I just don't get the attraction. It just seems like unnecessary risk.
QUOTE]
most elapids have enough brains not to bite instinctively like pythons do, thus are often easier to maintain.
i started keeping elapids purely because they were easier to find where i grew up, in the good old days you kept what you caught, not what you found on the internet
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