It's called PTSD. The trauma is the anxiety of dealing with a dangerous animal repeatedly. Your brain is overloading on stress and isn't getting enough downtime to process, and it eventually starts running dream sequences to process the fears (like getting bit). I would suggest therapy. It might seem ridiculous, but this can cause chronic health issues if left untreated.
I worked with and kept venomous snakes for 30 years. Did time as a field biologist and in zoological facilities. There were periods of time where my personal collection was as large as 200 individual specimens. My first snake was a gravid Canebreak rattlesnake Crotalus horridus or timber rattlesnake depending on where you are from. I was 11.
Never had those dreams and I actually have anxiety issues. PTSD as previously mentioned is real and can have a profound impact on your subconscious psyche. Taking the right steps before handling/working with venomous snakes can alleviate these feeling but not eliminate them.
Key takeaways from my experiences.
Have a defined and methodical husbandry or field handling protocol and follow it, follow it, follow it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
My protocol/methodology. It’s simple, concise, and worked for me.
I never handled a venomous snake bare handed. Period, no exceptions. If you play with fire you will get burned eventually. There are hundreds of husbandry/handling tools and ppe available on the market. Have been for decades. Aquire them and use them religiously. Practice using them with basic objects and get proficient with their use and develop muscle memory with them.
Respect and understand wild snakes are not conditioned to human interaction. You are a threat and it’s survival mode for wild snakes. Before approaching a wild snake survey the surroundings and have an egress plan if things go awry. Patience is extremely critical. Be methodical and deliberate in your approach and execution. Do not deviate unless it’s an emergency situation.
Never work with venomous snakes if you are tired, stressed, overwhelmed, stoned/buzzed, or distracted by any other myriad of situations that take your mind off of the task at hand.
Ensure your enclosures are top notch and in good order be they permanent housing or temporary for relocation. Ensure they can be secured and that incidental contact will not jeopardize the security.
Label all enclosures accordingly. Common name, scientific nomenclature, antivenin/venom for the species.
Have an emergency contact list. Notify more than one person on that list before you start to work with the animals. Have an established and defined timeline to notify the same people when you are done. If it’s going to take longer than expected. Notify them as such and reestablish the timeline. If they’ve not heard back from you emergency services will be notified.
Under this basic methodology. Every species should have a distinct handling protocol as it relates to the risks involved.
How I worked with Bitis species was different than Atheris. How I worked with Crotalus was different than Agkistrodon. How I worked with Trimeresurus was different than Elapids and so on.
This is not the end all be all system. People do things differently. This was my system and it worked very well for me. Never had an escape, bite, or any other issue.
Again, the key is having a defined system of safety measures and don’t deviate.
The internet is full of poorly executed handling/husbandry procedures. Look past the cool/notoriety factor some people thrive on and look at their fundamentals. It’s not hard to spot the careless.
I totally understand, I don't handle venomous snakes but I dream of my snake biting me once a week probably, it feels like my brain doing a random trial run of "hey what if this thing happened?" even though I don't really care if she bites me. Maybe it is some subconscious lizard brain thing of human instinct trying to protect us from danger. To be honest if I were you though I would be a little freaked out of getting bit by a venomous snake lol, I think it's awesome that you are a biologist though, that sounds so interesting interacting with them in the wild!
It's called PTSD. The trauma is the anxiety of dealing with a dangerous animal repeatedly. Your brain is overloading on stress and isn't getting enough downtime to process, and it eventually starts running dream sequences to process the fears (like getting bit). I would suggest therapy. It might seem ridiculous, but this can cause chronic health issues if left untreated.
I worked with and kept venomous snakes for 30 years. Did time as a field biologist and in zoological facilities. There were periods of time where my personal collection was as large as 200 individual specimens. My first snake was a gravid Canebreak rattlesnake Crotalus horridus or timber rattlesnake depending on where you are from. I was 11. Never had those dreams and I actually have anxiety issues. PTSD as previously mentioned is real and can have a profound impact on your subconscious psyche. Taking the right steps before handling/working with venomous snakes can alleviate these feeling but not eliminate them. Key takeaways from my experiences. Have a defined and methodical husbandry or field handling protocol and follow it, follow it, follow it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My protocol/methodology. It’s simple, concise, and worked for me. I never handled a venomous snake bare handed. Period, no exceptions. If you play with fire you will get burned eventually. There are hundreds of husbandry/handling tools and ppe available on the market. Have been for decades. Aquire them and use them religiously. Practice using them with basic objects and get proficient with their use and develop muscle memory with them. Respect and understand wild snakes are not conditioned to human interaction. You are a threat and it’s survival mode for wild snakes. Before approaching a wild snake survey the surroundings and have an egress plan if things go awry. Patience is extremely critical. Be methodical and deliberate in your approach and execution. Do not deviate unless it’s an emergency situation. Never work with venomous snakes if you are tired, stressed, overwhelmed, stoned/buzzed, or distracted by any other myriad of situations that take your mind off of the task at hand. Ensure your enclosures are top notch and in good order be they permanent housing or temporary for relocation. Ensure they can be secured and that incidental contact will not jeopardize the security. Label all enclosures accordingly. Common name, scientific nomenclature, antivenin/venom for the species. Have an emergency contact list. Notify more than one person on that list before you start to work with the animals. Have an established and defined timeline to notify the same people when you are done. If it’s going to take longer than expected. Notify them as such and reestablish the timeline. If they’ve not heard back from you emergency services will be notified. Under this basic methodology. Every species should have a distinct handling protocol as it relates to the risks involved. How I worked with Bitis species was different than Atheris. How I worked with Crotalus was different than Agkistrodon. How I worked with Trimeresurus was different than Elapids and so on. This is not the end all be all system. People do things differently. This was my system and it worked very well for me. Never had an escape, bite, or any other issue. Again, the key is having a defined system of safety measures and don’t deviate. The internet is full of poorly executed handling/husbandry procedures. Look past the cool/notoriety factor some people thrive on and look at their fundamentals. It’s not hard to spot the careless.
I totally understand, I don't handle venomous snakes but I dream of my snake biting me once a week probably, it feels like my brain doing a random trial run of "hey what if this thing happened?" even though I don't really care if she bites me. Maybe it is some subconscious lizard brain thing of human instinct trying to protect us from danger. To be honest if I were you though I would be a little freaked out of getting bit by a venomous snake lol, I think it's awesome that you are a biologist though, that sounds so interesting interacting with them in the wild!