Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'd like to get an eastern for my classroom. They are native to our area (SE Mass) and seem to have been in decline for several years now. Are there any captive bred animals out there and if so what is a fair price? Are the easterns as difficult to keep as rumored? Are there captive bred specimens that are habituated to eat thawed mice? Captive bred is not only the responsible thing to do but the only chance I have of getting a permit.

Thank you,

Brian

I commend you for your efforts to be responsible, and to ask questions long before you get the animal. Because so many people learn only about exotic herps, there absolutely should be an emphasis on native animals. Hognoses are also great because it is one of the better ways to demonstrate the differences between venomous and nonvenomous features and behaviors.

Many Easterns can be habituated to eat mice without any problems. Most of the problems in captivity I believe are associated with the heavy parasite load, so I recommend getting fecal tests one to two times a year. There are plenty of captive bred ones out there, you might want to consider traveling to a reptile expo, or better yet, get in contact with many of the breeders that advertise here on Kingsnake.com.
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...the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Calvin and Hobbes (Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink', 1991)

There are a good many Easterns available. Keep a look on Kingsnakes classifieds forum. CB are normally all ready atleast taking scented pinks.... A fair price would be $35-$50 for hatchlings for normal phase. I wouldn't pay a dime over that if it was a normal phase hatchling. Just my opinion.
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1.1 00 Queretaro Mountain Kingsnake
2.1 01 Texas Glossy snakes
1.4 01 Western Hognose
1.1 03 100% Het Albino Western Hognose
1.1 00 Striped Het Albino Pacific Gophers
1.2 03 Tri-color hognose
1.1 00 Black Milks
0.1 01 Black Milk
1.2 03 Tarahumara Mountain Kings

Brian, I'm not sure if you are aware but a permit is required to keep easterns in Ma. and as a general rule are very difficult to obtain.

You may want to check out Regal Reptiles in Providence, RI. They may be able to help you out with getting a permit, too, being familiar with that......ask for Shawn.
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1.1 Ball Python 0.0.1 corn snake 1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish 1.2 cats 3.1 kids 1.0 husband and now...
0.0.1 Pink Zebra Beauty Tarantula
2.0 Solomon Island Boas

Thank you all for your inpit. I will need a permit for an eastern in MA. They are not listed but have been classified as some nebulus protected status. I wish they would just formally list them and provide more protection. They are deffinitely more rare than 15-20 years ago.

I think I have a good shot at a permit as I want to use this animal in a classroom setting for conservation education, I want a captive bred animal that is feeding on thawed rodents and that I have a lot of contact with Mass Wildlife and others that also work with them.

There is no way Regal can help me get a permit. They are in Rhode Island and even the joke RI DEM hassels Regal for bending if not breaking the rules. ...and RI let's you do almost anything you want!

Thanks again,

Brian