Originally Posted by
Elagabalus
//Total Hijack//
I follow a YouTube channel of a guy who "reviews" exotic reptiles and explains why they, in most cases, do NOT make good pets.
His review of the King Cobra is hilarious for when, after explaining all the other many, many, many valid reasons a King Cobra would not make a good pet, he gets down to the cost breakdown of what it would take to properly house and care for it, including the several thousands dollars worth of anti-venom you need to keep on hand at all times.
"Yeah I said anti-venom. You're going to need to keep your own supply of Anti-Venom. Why am I telling you to keep your own anti-venom? Well do an experiment. Go down to your local hospital holding your arm and tell them that you've been bit by a King Cobra and you need some anti-venom and just watch the look on their face. They will look at you like 'What? How? How did you get bit by a King Cobra? You weren't bitten by a King Cobra you moron. You were bitten by some local snake.' and when you tell them 'Yeah I have a pet Cobra' they are going to go 'Oh... okay... well *Stammers* Well... we have morphine. I can give you that. We'll make some calls. So just sit tight.'
A King Cobra bite can kill you in under an hour. So yea anti-venom. It's not cheap. It's not easy to get. It doesn't last long so you'll have to replace it often. And you're going to need a lot of it because it can take up 20-30 doses of antivenom to counteract the bite of a large King Cobra."