The Snake Farm, established in 1923, is a source of venom used in the production of anti-venom serum for snake-bite victims. It is also an educational facility in that it has shows daily at 10:30 and 2:00 on weekdays and 10:30 on holidays. The shows include venom-milking and snake-handling. There is one handler at the show whose job it is to keep the snakes upset so they will "stand" up. Every handler has been bitten at least once so it is a good thing that there is a hospital next door with an ample supply of anti-venom sera. The audience is invited to hold a python at the end of the show. A demonstration of force feeding a cobra was considered "pretty gross" by some of the people watching.
The farm is run by the Thai Red Cross who also provide information about herpetology and toxicology. A small museum is very informative.
The venoms collected from the snakes every two weeks are used to immunize horses. The horse urine is used to manufacture the actual anti-venom used to save lives. In South East Asia more than 2,500 deaths from snakebite are reported annually. Cobra bites affect a person's nervous system, while viper bites affect the blood system.
The farm is open to the public from 8:30 to 4:00 weekdays and 8:30 to 12:00 on weekends and holidays. The cost is 70 baht ($1.65 USD).