Posted by:
MsTT
at Sun Aug 17 23:30:20 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by MsTT ]
I'm sure your local relocator means well, but he might not be doing the snakes any favors. For starters, an already skinny animal has pretty much zero chance of surviving the adjustment period of high stress and erratic behavior that occurs in transplanted snakes. Even healthy animals often don't survive it. For another thing, there is a nasty little bug called Porocephalus crotali that you don't want to transmit around the local rattlesnake populations. A skinny, poorly looking snake is certainly a suspect. Fecal exams can easily detect this parasite (the adult parasites and their ova are highly distinctive under the microscope) and a checkup should have been mandatory.
Instead of saving one snake, an action like that could unfortunately be condeming a larger number of them to death. PLEASE do not relocate wildlife irresponsibly. A veterinarian really should have been involved in this process.
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Uh oh. - MsTT, Sun Aug 17 23:30:20 2003