Speckled Kingsnake Potential?

[DDW]

I have always loved speckled king snakes and wish there were more of the species in the trade. I know that it is usually looked down upon to wild-capture snakes for pets. HOWEVER, I have been having a hard time finding speckled kingsnakes in the trade period, let alone the beautiful variety that we have here in Louisiana.

I have looked up some laws and I can capture wild non-venomous and non-protected species of reptiles, amphibians, and fish if I get a fishing license. I want to capture a pair to breed later on after acclimating them to life in captivity. The reason I want to do this is to introduce more captive-bred individuals into the trade with that great peppered pattern.

To clarify my intentions, I seek to capture wild snakes and transition them into captivity, handling and socializing them, getting them healthy, and feeding BEFORE attempting to breed them. Breeding them would be a project to reduce the amount of wild-caught individuals being sold and support captive-bred projects in the community. This way there will be fewer animals being taken from the wild and less impact on the environment.

These animals would obviously be put in a long quarantine and treated for any ailments they may be suffering from upon capture.

If the individual is showing a failure to thrive in captivity, I will release the snake back into the wild within a few weeks of capture in a prime area with lots of prey (In my backyard that has lots of overgrown weeds and plenty of rodent dens.)

I have access to clean, live rodents from a breeder near me if the snakes refuse to eat F/Th.

Part of the reason I'm making this post is to test the waters or see if you guys know of more breeders than I do. I find it quite difficult to find these snakes other than in my back yard and near my sister's chicken coops.