Quote:
Originally Posted by FWK
I agree with this completely, I have no issue with people keeping field collected animals as long as they are collected legally and responsibly. I have a number of field collected critters myself. That said, there is a legal issue in play here. It is illegal to release a captive animal under any circumstances. Once you take an animal home and introduce it to your collection, feed it, etc., you cannot release it (you have probably already passed this point with this animal really). There are reasons wildlife rehabbers have to be licensed. If you keep a wild animal it is your responsibility for the rest of its life. You can't even sell it without a permit (the permit is easy to get though, it's about 60 dollars). You can relocate wild snakes a short distance, again with a valid hunting license and on private property. But it is best not to move them more than a few hundred yards as they tend to have a small home range, and moving them outside of this home range is essentially a death sentence.
As for the specific ID of this animal, Redstripe Ribbon Snakes (Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus) are only found on the Edwards Plateau in central Texas. If you are anywhere else in Texas it is not a T. p. rubrilineatus, no matter what color the dorsal stripe is.
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Yeah....A few things....UMMMMN....Yeah, there are speed limits everywhere I go...am I they only one that ignores them occasionally?
And actually....It might stretch the "few hundred yards" at times , but I'm aware of that as well...but have to weigh the probably of it's survival based on habitat as well....but I always try to relocate as close as possible to the origin of capture.
That. is also...(if I'm not mistaken) a pretty general law...and reptiles seem to adapt back to the wild much better than mammals. Also...it really depends on whether you rehabilitate them , just grow them out a bit, or make pets out of them. But reptiles generally operate on a high level of natural instinct and seem IMO to adapt back to the wild pretty easily.
Now...if you take a wild mammal and raise it from a baby....whole different story. Not that I haven't....but they were baby possums...caught in my yard....released in my yard...and they get some "snacks" from me occasionally. Sooo....while I use the term "wild" loosely...those guys weren't exactly "in the wild"! BTW: I went through 3 or 4 baby possums....not that I didn't tame them down and get them to stop crapping or even defensively biting...(or threatening to)....the first 3 or so....grew testicles and started getting a little rowdy so I let them go. The fourth was finally a female....I grew her out to an adult...(fairly well litter trained) ...and well behaved on my lap....but frankly, my ratsnake enjoys that more than that possum did....so I let her go. I let the full grown Texas ratsnake go in my backyard.
In the case of baby snakes.....again....we're dealing with generalities.....a full grown (or half grown) snake has survived the high mortality rate of a baby...and established a hunting route and knowledge of it's area (be it suburban or natural) ...whereas a snake a few days old hasn't. Given a half grown snake can live for almost a year without food....I still believe that their chances are better with a little size on them...they're just going to elementary school a little later. But thanks for the heads up on the law.
As far as being restricted to the Edwards Plateau.....that is the home range of the red-sided ribbon...but they are not completely restricted there.
Which is why my curiosity about this little guy is peaked...they are not common in my area....however....10-15 years ago...neither were whitewing doves....and they are common as rats now. And there is precedence to them being spotted/captured in my area.
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