A future DEAD snake- my first rant

[JeffT]

Well today I had to undergo the brutal reign of a kid who is the son of my moms friend. Well he was telling me about how he just got back from the Shuswap BC and brought home a foot and a quarter lon garter snake in a margarine container and how hes going to keep it as a pet. Basicly the second i heard that I felt bad for the little guy, 8 hours in a margarine container...He went on to tell me what he plans on keeping it in and my jaw dropped.

Well last year he had a leopard gecko that lived for maby a month and died because it was impacted, he was laughing his butt off when he told me this because in his words it died from constapation. Well then he told me after it died he never cleaned out his 10 gallon tank and it is filled with gravel..yes, gravel and poop that is completely hardenend and he is not even going to bother cleaning it because he says it will take too long. So therefore he will just put the snake in it. Then he started to tell me that he hears they eat pinkey mice and thinks they cost too much, so he will have his snake consist on a diet of daddy long leg spiders and worms. I was like, a daddy long leg spider? their entire body is like a quarter of a centimetre long that has no nutrition, and he was like yeah but I will give the snake a few. So i basicly said if you dont feed it mice its gonna die, worms and spiders have no nutrition and he need more then that. So I guess this little snake is gonna have a delicious treat of about 3 spiders a day.

Well after all that he had to go so im pretty upset that he blew off all my advice like that. Well my mom is makin me hang out with him again tomorrow ( I think its coz he has no friends, im 15..hes 13) so what should I say to him?

Thanks, Jeff Terborg

[enso]

Try and explain to him and his mom that he's not prepared to keep or feed this snake. If that doesn't work take the snake and let it go. =P

[NewLineReptile]

Say nothing just take the snake and let it go it sound's like it would be better for it

Brandon

[Zoe]

Take the snake away. Tell him not to be a ****** and get a clue or you'll take the snake because thats cruel/neglectful treatment.

[JeffT]

Yeah id totally take it and let it go, only thing is that he lives somewhere down in the South East, im in the Northwest, and ive never even been to his house.

[marisa]

Yeah why not "conviently" set it free. LOL That would be effective and funny.

But in reality his dumb parents will just keep buying him more animals to abuse. So keep trying. Keep giving advice, and maybe even print some off to give to his mom. Maybe with printed caresheets they will start reading and caring.

That's too bad though

Marisa

[Jeff_Favelle]

Call the Wildlife authorities. Its ILLEGAL to keep native wildlife.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Jeff_Favelle
Call the Wildlife authorities. Its ILLEGAL to keep native wildlife.

It may be illegal in BC, but other provinces have different rules (ie here in ontario we can keep certain garters). I don't know what the laws are for alberta.

you might consider pointing him at a proper caresheet such as the one at this url. http://mcwetboy.com/gartercare/gartercare.pdf It's probably the most exhaustive caresheet i've found on garters. If he doesn't smarten up another tactic you could try is letting his mom know that the snake was illegaly collected from the wild and there could be charges/fines involved.

[Colonel SB]

I'd beat some sence into the little looser! If that doesn't work talk to his mom hopefully she has some sence and doesn't wanna see the snake die.

[BWSmith]

Send the caresheet to his mom ;)

[BoidKeeper]

No I'm pretty sure that it's illegal to keep any native species in captivity. Tell his mom that she is breaking the law and setting a bad example for her kid.
Trevor

[drewlowe]

Boid keeper and Jeff, It all depends on where you live and what the laws are for that particullar place. Here in the states it all depends on which state you live in. For ex... I live in missouri and i can keep up to 5 (total) native reptiles and amphibians if i go over that amount then i have to get a permit ($50) and have my house inspected each year. But i have heard other states only allow 2 each of different speices.

As far as that kid try to educate him if he still doesnt' want to listen try his mother.

[SCReptiles]

I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to release a reptile that has been housed in captivity for any length of time. This thing could pick up a pathogen from that dirty cage and greatly affect the native populations. I would suggest kicking his ***. That is how I would have handled it when I was 15. =)

[Ed_r]

As Brian said Give a caresheet to the mom. And also possibly SHOW him proper care for it. Many people learn from example. For garters, nightcrawlers are not really a bad thing, the spiders is pretty much a joke. Goldfish are good for them too. Mice are on the diet too. If the intent is to just keep the snake to see how long it will live without proper care. If thats the case I would tell him the snake likes to be outside sometimes, and have it escape.

[drewlowe]

Kicking his a$$ seems like a good idea at the time. But it isn't going to help him. How is he going to learn if he's not educated. Violance is not always the answer think with your head instead of your fist.

[Alicewave]

I agree with SCReptiles. Plus, I didn't think the chance of survival was that good especially if he travelled 8 hours away from where it was found. Would probably get eaten by a hawk or something. I'd rather see him get shown proper care than releasing it. Think about this: if it "escapes" he's just gonna find something else and take poor care of it.

[SCReptiles]

Why Alice, I never expected you to condone violence. =)

[Alicewave]

You don't know me very well do you. ;)

[SCReptiles]

Ha Ha, guess not! =) Although that lizard in the pic looks like he would kick a little a$$.

[The_Omen]

Question..
What is Shuswap BC?
Typo or what as I see it as Shu-swap, as in a show?

Anyways, releasing animals back to the wild, especially reptiles, is best left to the pros, the people that are doing specific rehab or breeding, under contract etc... One or two nasties released with the animal can have detrimental effects on many things, like Chuck stated.

As for the kid.. violence is sometimes the only thing respected and will work, but maybe not in this case.

See if he will do a trade, something he wants, like a certain comic book, toy, pack of smokes etc.. (j/k with the smokes )

I highly recommend the hard to find, but easy to care for 'Pet Rock' with its' own traveling kennel and straw nest.

[snakehunter]

there was a kid down the street from me who had caught two baby water turtles, one was dying and could dive, and i kept tell ing him to let them go. about two days later the sick one died, and at ten at night i snuk into his yard, stole the little guy, and released him to a great pond. i felt so good.

[JeffT]

Nope, the Shuswap is a massive lake there and it is a very popular summer spot. Well I did send him a care sheet telling himhe cant house it on gravel and everything and he says he payed a lot of money for the gravel and does not want to toss it out. So hes gonna see if the snake is "likes it or not" and if it doesnt he will vhange it...is the snake supposed to tell him? Well his mom is comin over today I think so I will tell her to pass my advice on.

[Invictus]

JeffT, I see you live in Calgary as well. I can tell you for certain that IS illegal to keep ANY native species in Alberta. No garters, no hoggies, no black racers, none of them. Call Fish & Wildlife and report him. He'll get a nasty fine, and the snake will be released as soon as it is safe to do so.

Failing that, slap the care sheet on him.

Failing that, just slap him. Repeatedly.

[The_Omen]

Failing that, just slap him. Repeatedly.

With the pet rock of course! ;)
Just be careful to not injure the rock on his noggin......

[Lisa]

Is the law no native species to canada or just no native species to alberta, cause if the snake came from BC it may not be native to alberta. here in ontario we can keep certain garters but not others, just like we can keep western hognose but not eastern.

[snake_goth]

(in satanic voice) kill him, kiiiiilllllll hhhhiiiiiimmmm, and then take the snake home 4 ur-self.

[snake_goth]

or give him a eastern dimond back rattle snake to look after and tell the snake to (in satanic voice) kill him, kiiiiilllllll hhhhiiiiiimmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SerpentLust]

About the breaking the law thing, just for example, in Ontario anyways...

Snakes:
Protected: Blue Racers, Eastern Fox Snakes, Black Rat Snakes, Eastern Hognose Snakes, Eastern Milk Snakes, Lake Erie Water Snakes, Northern Water Snakes, Smooth Green Snakes, Queen Snakes, Butler’s Garter Snakes, Eastern Massasaugas.

Not protected: Northern Ring-necked Snakes, Brown Snakes, Northern Red-bellied Snakes, Northern Ribbon Snakes and Common Garter Snakes.

Jenn

[SCReptiles]

or give him a eastern dimond back rattle snake to look after and tell the snake to (in satanic voice)

I can loan you mine to take to him. =)

http://secw.bravepages.com/Chuck/scr/chuck_tailing_edb_050803.JPG

[JeffT]

haha sure

[Oliverian]

Yea.. I would agree and say get him to learn about how to care for it. Just to let you know though, I hear that goldfish are not a great food to feed garters, as they supposedly don't have a whole lot of nutrients. I feed mine guppies and tadpoles, and I let her crawl around the garden amd she eats slugs, spiders, and worms on her own. They are great eaters! If that kid wont take care of it the proper way, just let it go and tell him it escaped... then mabye his mom won't be so eager to let him have reptiles. :rolleyes:

[Oliverian]

Chuck.. How do you keep him from biting you? Must pick him up really gently or something... Does he rattle at you? (or she...)

[reptiledude21]

hey, Chuck Hurd, in that one picture u posted where your holding a ratller, is that a cobra to the bottom left of the pic?

[SCReptiles]

Chuck.. How do you keep him from biting you? Must pick him up really gently or something... Does he rattle at you? (or she...)

Oliverian, I keep her from biting my by not giving her the opportunity. In that picture, what I am doing it called tailing. You hold the snake by its tail and use some type of tool to keep the head at bay. You could not “pick up” this snake with your hands, she is to nervous and unpredictable. The term for picking them up without tools is called freehanding and we do not recommend that for anyone. We do not recommend tailing for new keepers, only those who have worked with venomous snakes for quite sometime. Yes, she still rattles. In fact she starts as soon as she sees you and usually doesn’t stop till be leave the building.

[SCReptiles]

hey, Chuck Hurd, in that one picture u posted where your holding a ratller, is that a cobra to the bottom left of the pic?

reptiledude21, no that is not a cobra. That is a lizard cage and what you see it a piece of wood. This picture was taken at the Scenic City Reptiles building in GA. GA law required special permits and very expensive insurance to keep exotic venomous, so we only keep indigenous there. If you like cobras, below are a couple of pics I took while in VA where the law allows exotics without the special insurance.

http://secw.bravepages.com/Chuck/scr/tailing_cobra_051903a.JPG

http://secw.bravepages.com/Chuck/scr/tailing_cobra_051903b.JPG

[Lizzy001]

this BOY doesnt no 1 thing about caring for a snake....or anything else by the sounds of it...!
why dont u ask to LEND it or look at it...release it when hes not there, or ACCIDENTILY drop it in some long grass and keep him from seeing where it went!...THEN beat the **** outta him. and say u cant be bothered to stop. THEN tell his mother what the problem is and tell her to never allow another pet EVER, until he grows up and takes responsability!

[SCReptiles]

...release it when hes not there, or ACCIDENTILY drop it in some long grass and keep him from seeing where it went!...

Again, it’s not a good idea to release snakes back into the wild after they have been transported from their range or held in captivity with other reptiles.

[Lizzy001]

well i would take that chance if it had any chance of suffering!!

[SCReptiles]

well i would take that chance if it had any chance of suffering!!

The danger isn’t to the released snake. It can carry pathogens into the native species, thus killing many wild snakes. It is theoretically possible to expatriate a species from an area.

[snakehunter]