Seven Reasons You Need A LICENSED Snake Professional

There are very few careers where making a split-second mistake can end everything. Well known examples include law enforcement, heavy machine operators and various manufacturing trades. Lesser known dangerous professions involve working with wildlife, specifically venomous animals. When it comes to snakes, certain species lack any antivenom, so if you get bit, it can be considered a death sentence. If you should find yourself in a situation where you see a snake, stay calm, slowly back away, and call a LICENSED professional. 

When it comes to choosing who to call when you need help, it’s imperative to work with a person or company that’s specifically LICENSED to work with venomous snakes. Here are seven important reasons why making the wrong choice could cost you in more ways than one!

Reason 1: Money, Money, Money 

In most cases, if you are requesting the services of another entity, you want things to go smoothly, without any problems. If hiring the services of an UNLICENSED (usually equals uninsured) person/company, you can find yourself in a situation where you’re responsible to pay for damages if something goes wrong. This is the last thing you want when it comes to a venomous snakebite.

The average cost to treat a venomous snakebite is well over $100,000! Geoffrey Smelski, the director of the Arizona Poison & Drug Information Center, made this point when interviewed by Channel 12 news in 2023. In other cases, the costs can well exceed twice that amount. 

Regardless of circumstance, this is one of the cases where it really doesn’t pay to be cheap. Few other professions can nearly guarantee an immediate 1000% return on every dollar spent. Not only do you see an immediate return on your money, you also avoid the long-term health consequences many venomous snakebites cause.

Photo: Thank you to Justin Schwartz for sharing a photo of his hand after a rattlesnake bite.

Reason 2: Permanent or Long-Lasting Health Effects

In most cases, snake venom has evolved over thousands of generations to do one simple thing, quickly incapacitate prey. When humans are on the receiving end of a snakebite, the proteins in the venom still have the same function.  As a result, major swelling, tissue damage, loss of consciousness, amputation and even death are common consequences. Compared to snakes, few other animals can cause as much damage to the body when the amount of time spent interacting can be mere fractions of a second!

Back in 2002, when Justin Schwartz was just 13 years old, he was unexpectedly bit by a rattlesnake while attending summer camp. Luckily, Justin survived the snakebite receiving after 30 vials of antivenin. Approximately one year after being bitten, Justin had racked up over $700,000 in medical bills and undergone 13 surgeries. Justin’s been fortunate to continue pursuing his previous passions, such as rock climbing, after regaining nearly full mobility of his hand. Learn more about Justin’s story!

Unfortunately, it’s far too common that people neglect asking for help and resort to grabbing a shovel to dispatch the ‘threat’. Let’s be clear, if a person is close enough to touch a snake with a shovel, they are close enough to get bit. Even worse, there are documented reports of a decapitated snake head being able to envenomate someone after approximately 24 hours. Ask for help, don’t be the person who embarrassingly has to tell this story at the local emergency department.

Reason 3: OSHA (Occupational Health & Safety Administration) Penalties

Want to instantly strike fear into the heart of any business owner. Lean in and whisper, ‘OSHA inspectors are here’. 

In nearly any circumstance, providing a service to work with wildlife is highly regulated on a federal, state, county, and sometimes, at a more local municipality level. Not every profession requires a license, but if someone is legally working with wildlife in the United States, they should have one, if not multiple licenses/permits.

If you ask an employee to help with a wildlife issue, you’d better hope they are one of the handful of people in your state that are also licensed to work with wildlife. More than likely, the employee doesn’t have “working with wildlife” in their job description. If an accident occurs, don’t be surprised if someone official comes asking lots of questions. Accidents with venomous snakes in particular, are routinely investigated by one, if not multiple agencies depending on circumstance.

Don’t put the overall business in jeopardy because you didn’t call a LICENSED professional. Who knows what other shortcomings may be discovered during an official investigation?!

 Reason 4: Consequences of Federal And/or State Laws

Our professional recommendation, always reach out to a properly trained, licensed and insured party to help. It’s become increasingly more common for wildlife across the globe to suffer due to human actions, whether intentional or not. LICENSED professionals are held to a high degree of responsibility and accountability. On a broader scale, their collective efforts aid in wildlife management plans, ensuring these creatures are going to be around long into the future.

One of the most lucrative illegal enterprises deals with illegally collected animals and plants. In total, illegal trafficking of plants and animals ranges from $11.6-$26.5 billion dollars annually across the globe, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Don’t contribute to the next viral news story, or worse yet, aid in the poaching of wildlife.

Consequence of cases that have been prosecuted in the last few years include expensive fines ranging up to $250,000 and up to twenty years in prison, according to the Department of Homeland Security!

Reason 5: Public Relations Nightmare

It’s been our anecdotal experience that if people are given the option, they would prefer to treat animals as humanely as possible. If a deer, raccoon, owl, etc. showed up in their home or place of business, we’d assume they’d try to help the animal if it needed assistance.  If your employee grabbed a shovel and went after it, you can almost guarantee there be a juicy news story with a video to follow considering the number of cameras in the world these days.

Snakes can understandably be a little scary. In some cases, certain species of snakes do pose very serious health threats, that’s when it’s time to call in the expert. The last thing you want is to be associated with a negative news story about mistreating wildlife.

Do yourself a favor, allow a LICENSED professional to determine the best course of action. This typically includes thinking about the wellbeing of humans, pets and the wild animal(s) currently in conflict with humans. Lastly, careful consideration is put into how the relocated animal(s) will best be able to thrive in a natural setting, ideally avoiding conflict with people again.

Reason 6: Zoonotic Diseases

Everyone is probably tired of hearing about emerging infectious diseases after COVID. Prior to the beginning of the COVID pandemic, many people across the globe didn’t realize the extent to which new pathogens can have dramatic negative impacts on their daily lives. In wildlife, there already been a few extreme cases of how new wildlife diseases have decimated different species of wildlife across the globe. The first example, white-nose syndrome in bats has caused entire colonies of bats to crash along the eastern United States. The second example, chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease has caused massive populations of amphibians to suffer across the globe.

While this might sound extreme, LICENSED individuals are typically up to date with the current risks facing wildlife. They are often the frontline for reporting irregularities to their state wildlife agency. Please don’t be the link to the beginning of the next wildlife pandemic!

Reason 7: Aberrant or Uniquely Patterned Individuals

Have you heard the rhyme about coralsnakes? Well, I’m not going to repeat it because it’s a bunch of malarkey. Aberrant means an individual looks slightly to very different than what one would typically think of. In certain portions of the United States, roughly 5% of individuals in coralsnake populations have coloration that’s aberrant or unusual. With any snake, even other wildlife species, it’s critically important to use multiple characteristics to identify a species.

For instance, in Arizona, there are three species of snakes that ‘follow’ the rhyme for identifying the venomous coralsnake. If you saw a Sonoran Coralsnake, a Sonoran Shovel-nosed snake and a Resplendent Shovel-nosed snake laying side by side, you might think all three were venomous.  When in fact, only one out of the three are dangerous.

Albinism is another great example of how one individual can look very different from others of the same species.  Take a look at this albino Sonoran Gophersnake, Pituophis catenifer.

Nonvenomous, hypomelanistic (albino) Sonoran Gophersnake, Pituophis catenifer.

If color rhymes about snakes and albinism weren’t enough, some snakes actually change colors throughout the course of their life. Around Phoenix, Arizona is a species of snake commonly referred to as the Western Groundsnake, Sonora semiannulata. When it first hatches the head is nearly all black while the rest of the body is a light tan color.  As the snake gets older something neat happens. Depending on the genes passed on by its parents, its color will change into a banded form with black bands and areas of red and yellow, or it will have an all red back with light tan colored flanks. The picture below is of a juvenile Western Groundsnake that’s beginning to transition into its more adult color phase.

Professionals often ask colleagues for a second opinion because this work can be very challenging. If professionals ask each other for help regarding venomous snakes, don’t send an untrained, unlicensed person to work with a deadly animal. If there’s a snake you need help with, don’t hesitate to call Snake Guru, LLC if you live in the greater Phoenix area. Otherwise, reach out to your state wildlife agency for more information or look here at the directory of the National Wildlife Control Operators Association.

Bonus Tip #8: Nonprofits and Nonnative Species

Reptiles and amphibians are notorious for escaping their enclosures. Similarly, many people don’t realize many reptiles and amphibians can live several decades, growing much larger than they ever anticipated. In either case, nonnative species are more commonly being found outside of their native range.

When nonnative species are discovered, in almost every case, they cannot and should not be released into the wild. This is where nonprofit organizations serve a vital role in our community. In Arizona, the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary has done a tremendous job supporting the entire state, and the southwestern region of the United States as a whole. They operate the regions largest antivenom bank, as well as provide care for hundreds of animals that need a proper home.

If you should find yourself wanting a reptile or amphibian companion, please consider supporting the fine work Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary has been providing since 2001!