In St. Cloud, Florida resides this small roadside reptile zoo named, Reptile World Serpentarium. I do not like snakes, I am actually terrified of snakes and wondered why in the world my husband would even want to consider stopping at this place. One of the big draws of this place is not only the snakes you can view, but it is the venomous snake milking that is the draw that makes this place a stop to remember.
Before the snake milking occurs, the tour host comes out and discusses why milking of the venom is important and how it is used in creating antivenoms that is used if someone is bitten by a poisonous snake. He also discussed the political and eco challenges that come along with ensuring snakes are respected and treated.
And so the milking begins! There is a glass wall and you can get right up to it to observe as he milks the snakes. The day we were there, they milked three varieties of poisonous snakes (Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Coral Snake, and the Monocled Cobra). The milking lab has tons of trays with holes in them. Yep, you guessed it! Each of those trays that slide into the wall contain a snake. He will select the snake he wants to milk and bring it to the milking section of the lab. Each snake has a card associated with it. The card details the snake ID, date/time of when it was milked. He fills out the card and puts it to the side and then he carefully extracts the snake from the container.
Once he has the snake in a good position, he grabs the head and and takes it to a lined cup where the snake will then sink its teeth into it. At that point the venom comes out of the snake and slides into the cup. The venom is a yellowish type of color.
The coral snake has an extra step. Once they milk the coral snake, they inject Gerber’s chicken baby food into the snake via its mouth. This snake eats other snakes and since it won’t be getting a snake to eat, this is how they supplement its food.
Again, I do not like snakes, but it was a great educational experience. At the end of the milking, they bring out a black snake for people to hold and touch. Yeah, I passed on that particular experience. We then walked around the tiny zoo to check out the alligator, turtles, snakes and lizards that they display on their property.
What are you most afraid of, spiders or snakes?
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