I'd probably start with the snakes, if I were you. In the long run it will cost less money. The cat sanctuary sounds amazing, but to properly house, feed, and care for them would be much more costly than snakes.

You need to get your foot in the door, find a licensed venomous snake handler and milker to work with. There aren't a whole lot of them. There are a lot more people who are qualified to handle venomous snakes than there those who milk them. If I'm not mistaken there are only 3 people in the whole state of Florida who are licensed to milk snakes, and that's much more than most states have.

I'm "know" George Van Horn. He's a quiet, but wonderful man to talk to. He has a serpentarium south of Orlando. He's been there for many many years. http://www.theotherorlando.com/conte...5/reptile.html

There is also Carl (oh gosh, I hope I'm remembering his name correctly) http://www.reptilediscoverycenter.com/ George Van Horn was/is a mentor to Carl. Carl is much more outgoing and talkative. Carl has a serpentarium a bit north of Orlando. He just opened it a couple years ago.

If you decide to get into venomous snakes you should plan a trip to Central Florida. In addition to George and Carl's serpentariums you will find several venomous snake handlers (not milkers) at Gatorland. My husband worked there while he was in college. It's a great place and the people there are wonderful.