Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I see alot of people on here catch alot of snakes. Is there any hints on where to find them? I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL and i go lookin for snakes alot on my ATV and i never find any. Is there a certain time of the day i have to go???

the best and most humane way to "catch" a snake would be to go to a reptile show, and purchase one. if you really want to they'll let them run and you can run to catch them, lol.

there was a long discussion on the ethics of snake keeping earlier, and it was near unanimously decided that keeping wild caught snakes is not good for many reasons.

1) they are used to having a much wider space to roam, and don't do well under small captive cages.
2) they haven't been handled by humans their entire life and are wild animals...they will bite you. you are much bigger and therefore a threat. if you get captive bred babies who have had human interaction throughout their lifespan, they will be much easier to handle and take care of.
3) if you get a wild caught snake it is very very wise to take immedately to a vet to get checked for parasites. if not checked, they can (and most likely will) A) transfer the parasites to any other reptiles you have, B) die from them, along from your others.

Basically all this boils down to is that there are so many captive bred snakes out there at such reasonable prices, that it is highly reccomended NOT to capture them yourself. All you will find are the basic types of snakes...red rat, black rat, grey rat, etc....you won't find any specialized mutation (and those are the ones that cost some money!) Check your local pet shop (LPS) and look at the type you want, you can get a red rat for all of $15-$20. Also check out the classifieds section on this website.

Yes, this is my 2 cents, but I hope it helped you in your decision.
-Chris
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Im sorta opposed to what the first reply said in some ways. I do think that taking snakes out of their original enviroment is wrong, but in other ways if you take them out of the enviroment at a young age or when they are in a dangerous situation (like in Australia when they came into Darwin City) then I beleive that they will do fine and get accoustomed. Then again, My whole basement and back yard is for my snakes and lizards and turtles, and even though I leave the gate open sometimes... none ever leave.

1) If you have a sufficient large habitat for them, then it would be okay to keep a large snake, and in large, I DO NOT mean 100 Gallon Fish tank, I mean a huge enclosure so they have space. I made most of mine to be atleast 2-3 feet longer than the animal, and atleast 2 feet shorter than me (4.5 feet).

2) If you find a hatchling or baby snake, then I beleive ist okay because they adjust to their new surroundings.

-Just my thoughts

>>the best and most humane way to "catch" a snake would be to go to a reptile show, and purchase one. if you really want to they'll let them run and you can run to catch them, lol.
>>
>>there was a long discussion on the ethics of snake keeping earlier, and it was near unanimously decided that keeping wild caught snakes is not good for many reasons.
>>
>>1) they are used to having a much wider space to roam, and don't do well under small captive cages.
>>2) they haven't been handled by humans their entire life and are wild animals...they will bite you. you are much bigger and therefore a threat. if you get captive bred babies who have had human interaction throughout their lifespan, they will be much easier to handle and take care of.
>>3) if you get a wild caught snake it is very very wise to take immedately to a vet to get checked for parasites. if not checked, they can (and most likely will) A) transfer the parasites to any other reptiles you have, B) die from them, along from your others.
>>
>>Basically all this boils down to is that there are so many captive bred snakes out there at such reasonable prices, that it is highly reccomended NOT to capture them yourself. All you will find are the basic types of snakes...red rat, black rat, grey rat, etc....you won't find any specialized mutation (and those are the ones that cost some money!) Check your local pet shop (LPS) and look at the type you want, you can get a red rat for all of $15-$20. Also check out the classifieds section on this website.
>>
>>Yes, this is my 2 cents, but I hope it helped you in your decision.
>>-Chris
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>>The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

I'm not sure you can make a blanket statement about this. I think there are times it is perfectly OK to take snakes from the wild. For one thing, it is necessary to bring in new bloodlines from time to time. If you don't then the captive bloodlines will eventually become too inbred. All of the animals that are bred in captivity today originated with wild-caught animals. I think that when, where, and how many should be strictly controlled, but I don't think that taking animals from the wild is necessarily always bad.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

So if the captives would become inbread does that mean that
they would have been better of in the wild in the first place?

Is it good that the snakes don't get inbread for their own benefit
or so we get can benefit from a good species?

Why is it that after millions of years of evolution we feel that it is our need to meddle in these awesome creatures development?

Again please, not a knock on anyone, just putting forward an idea.

All the cats and dogs are origin from some wild species in the first place. If we didn't capture and breeding these animals long long time ago, we wouldn't have this wonderful pets to enjoy with today. It is our human nature to share our passion with other animals, I believe as long as we do not disturb the wild snake population adversely, it is acceptable to capture some and become their friend.

Hey nice reply.
Thanks.

Hadn't thought about it that way...sharing as apposed to controlling,
so I should think as long as the animal is comfortable and it's needs are met....."hey bring my snake back!"

hey i appreciate all the info but i wasnt gonna catch a bunch of snakes and keep them..I was more curious than anything...But you guys still didnt answer my question..

>>I see alot of people on here catch alot of snakes. Is there any hints on where to find them? I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL and i go lookin for snakes alot on my ATV and i never find any. Is there a certain time of the day i have to go???

It depends on what you are looking for. You may find a Corn Snake or Rat snake or a racer crossing a dirt road (or ATV trail) in the middle of the day, but that's a matter of being there when he crosses it. You're probably going to have to get off the ATV and walk some. Find old delapidated houses or dump sites and look under old pieces of tin, plywood, etc. If you are looking for Eastern Diamondbacks, find Gopher Tortoise burrows and look around them (but DO NOT disturb the burrows or the tortoises). Diamondbacks are most active late in the evening in the summertime. And, I wouldn't recommend disturbing the rattlesnakes either, unless you really know what you are doing. A bite from a big Diamondback in a remote area could quickly render you unable to ride your ATV out for help. Also, if you find an Eastern Indigo in the process, it is illegal to disturb him. You can find Pygmy Rattlesnakes under pieces of litter, big pieces of tree bark, etc. Pygmy Rattlesnakes are ill-tempered little rascals and are much quicker to bite than many other snakes. Coral Snakes can be found in rotting logs, especially in the spring. They are not real inclined to bite MOST of the time, but if they do..you could be in real trouble.
If you want to find Cottonmouths and Water Snakes, look around culverts where there is water continuously, or walk the banks of canals. Road cruising is most productive early in the morning and late in the evening and at night.

However, snakes are wherever they are when you find them. They can't read field guides or my field notes, so they don't know where they are supposed to be so you can find them, or when they are supposed to be there.

One other hint. Don't hunt alone. If something happens (even an ATV accident) you may need someone to help you get out or to go for help.
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We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I would like to add that Rattle Snakes, when they bite 9from what I have seen... and felt) They do it fast, if you get bit DO NOT HESITATE, DO NOT PANIC and keep your heart rate down, get on the ATV and drive as fast as you can without getting the blood jumping, bring a cellphone and call the police, tell them where you are.

-I was bit by a RattleSnake when I first came to the USA, It was unlike any snake in Australia, and me being cocky got myself hurt.

I guess I made my point seem lots stronger than it actually was meant to be. What I was trying to say is that I don't think every jacko should go out and get one full grown and throw him or her in a 10 gallon tank, lol. I mean I agree with the whole bringing new blood into the babies, and that is important. but heck if you believe in the whole adam and eve story, we are all cousins of some sort...wait yeah that's PROOF we need to bring fresh blood into the captive bred snakes, lol.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -Unknown

Hey what about the idea that you would never truly be able to domesticate and animal like a snake like you would a dog or
a cat.
The fact that you need to keep it away in a cage should say something?
Are we truly sharing our space with them or forcing them to live
in our space?
Again, Just a thought

>>Hey what about the idea that you would never truly be able to domesticate an animal like a snake like you would a dog or
a cat.

It is unlikely we can tame the snake as successful as the cats
and dogs because of their difference in intelligence and also the fear factor involved. All you have to do is to look at their size, the cats and dogs are much bigger than the snake. The human size is always an intimidation to the smaller animals. Also the brain size will determine how well these critters can be tamed. The smaller the critter, the more panicky it is.

>>The fact that you need to keep it away in a cage should say something?
Are we truly sharing our space with them or forcing them to live
in our space?

Well, will you ever forcing someone you don't love to live with you, may be this will answer your second question.

I think it is perfectly fine personally, unless you have twenty guys out there mass collecting everything you can find. If you take a couple once a year or so that is fine.(If you were worried you could take eggs to hatch in suitable areas in the wild). Once again just a point of view.

Justin
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0.2 Pacific Gopher Snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 Western Banded Geckos
9.8 Pacific Tree-Frogs
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