Hello I am brand new here and just looking for some advice.
I am a huge fan of King Snakes but know only what I have learned the hard way. I live on 12 acres North of Atlanta and Kings are the most common snake in my area. I frequently catch one that is in a place where I think it may not be safe, show it to the kids and neighbors in an effort to reduce the number of snakes that get killed by silly people who think all snakes are dangerous. So far I have put everything i have found back, in a location that I thought was safe. We also rescue Turtles, including a 40 lb pregnant female snapper we recently found on a very busy road.
I have some plans to do tutoring with kids with learning disabilities. I have dogs cats and chickens and would also like to have at least one snake to show these kids. I have some hope of entertaining and providing some conservation education as well. We also do professional dog training. I would like to have an interesting interactive environment for my kids and for adults and children who are clients. We provide a sort of park environment that people can have dogs off leash in.
I am considering keeping this snake as a pet, although I have reservations about it. I do not know how to sex a snake so I do not know if it is male or female. It is about 52" long and appears to be in excellent health. He was shedding his skin when I found him. I let him crawl through some straw etc. in the garden which removed his old itchy hide. I see no injuries or signs of damage at all. I may have caught this same snake in years past. I named one Harry because he seemed to hang in the same area for several years. Although this snake is larger, he was within a couple hundred feet of where Harry use to live, and with the abundance of frogs, rats, mice, lizards and other food in the area, Harry should be bigger. Harry's brush pile got moved last time I saw him so he did have to relocate.
Our 40-50 hens lay more eggs than we can use. The dogs love them. I was wondering if I could feed eggs to a pet King? We have Bantams and larger breeds so I can get ones about the size of his girth. I am also considering just turning, oh well lets just call him Harry, loose next to my chicken pens in a brushy area. Or in the tractor barn just below it. We have a bad rat problem there. The rats find the 24/7 supply of chicken food very much to their taste. I am a little worried that the Rooster and or hens might try to kill him if he gets in the pen. Its a big flippin rooster.
So I am wondering if this snake has been trying to get me to house him for a few years now anyway. I was thinking I would get some opinions here on the advisability of trying to domesticate this snake. I was also hoping to find some links to instructions on building a suitable enclosure. I have made some very nice Chicken pens and have all the tools.
Thanks for the help.
