release captive bred corn snake into natural habitat?

[FunkyPertwee]

I have had a black corn snake that was bred in captivity for about 14 years, way beyond normal life expectancy from what I can tell.

Someone wants me to set him free, thinking that it would be kinder to the snake to die outside than to die of old age in the aquarium he is in, which is unfortunately left in a somewhat dark upstairs room since my move about a year ago.

I'm worried that even though I'm in the corn snakes regular habitat in southern coastal SC, that he is so old that letting him go would just be an instant death sentence, with me even possibly seeing my own cats drag him out the woods and eat him. I'm also worried about diseases among captive bred snakes that may harm the environment.

BTW its a woman who wants me to set it free because she says its cruel to keep him. I'm not supposed to come back until I set him free, but I've had him since I was 12 and I hate to think I'm just sending him out to die. Also I just fed him three mice.

What to do, what to do... :confused:

[Kadmos]

I wouldn't.

If you really want to get rid of him, just call a local pet shop that deals with snakes and donate him.

[mriddick]

How would you want to die, dying peacefully in the home you've lived in all your life, or being ate by some bigger animal while you're alive for much of it?

[stinker]

BTW its a woman who wants me to set it free because she says its cruel to keep him
I'm assuming there's a good reason you have'nt looked deeply and lovingly straight into her eyes and said
"F:censored:K YOU, animal rights whacko".

If you really must get rid of it donate it to your local elementary school, zoo or pet shop. That snake has no idea how to hunt or hide at this point.

Edit: I got a sawbuck that says the snake lasted longer than the woman will :coffee:

[El Laton Caliente]

Ask her if she thinks you should dump puppies in the desert...

[sniper_n_training]

If you really want to get rid of him, just call a local pet shop that deals with snakes and donate him.

Or see if there is a reptile rescue place in your area and donate him there. Thats what I did when I had to get rid of my California King snake 6 months ago. The lack of time I had after starting a new job was the main factor in getting rid of him. I did decide to keep my Python though, but hes a fat lazy bastard who requires little of me except for large mice (or the occasional rat as a treat) every 2 weeks.

[FunkyPertwee]

The snake stays.

Letting him go would be a death sentence.

[Nautilus]

Ask her if she thinks you should dump puppies in the desert...

Priceless... & one he'll of an argument. :biggrin::biggrin:

[stinker]

The snake stays.

Letting him go would be a death sentence.
You gotta hit her with the puppies in the desert argument(priceless indeed) and snap a pic of the look on her face right after you ask it though...
Glossies man, we want glossies.

[FunkyPertwee]

You gotta hit her with the puppies in the desert argument(priceless indeed) and snap a pic of the look on her face right after you ask it though...
Glossies man, we want glossies.

While funny, that wouldn't exactly be appropriate.

[alismith]

Contrary to what most people have said, letting him go in the right place wouldn't harm him one bit. Snakes aren't like "normal" pets. They operate off instinct all the time. You really can't tame one like you can tame a dog or cat. The best you can hope for is that he tolerates your presence, which most captive snakes do.

They don't build a "bond" with you like your dog or cat does. If you let a dog or cat go, they would be hard-pressed to survive on their own.

Snakes are different. They never "forget" how to fend for themselves because they can't forget what instinct has programmed into their brains. They are natural-born predators and hunting is what they do.

Now, if it were me, I would choose the best place to let him go and that would be some farmer's barn area IF the farmer doesn't mind snakes and wants to get rid of mice and rats. (When I was in high school, a friend of mine lived on a farm and his father refused to kill any black snake or king snake. He said they killed more mice than his cats did and they were welcome to stay. All other snakes were killed on sight.) If you can find a farmer like that, then your snake would be in snake heaven. Just explain to the farmer how beneficial a corn snake is to rodent control.

Other than that, like was said above, find someone else who wants him or donate him to an animal shelter, pet store, or rescue center.

Your snake can take care of himself in the wild (even if he's spent his whole life in captivity), just as any other snake can. When they are born, Nature has already equipped them to survive without having to learn any special techniques from anyone else and they never loose this ability.

If you release him in a good area, you can do so without a guilty conscience.

[FunkyPertwee]

Alismith, that is what I thought at first. However, it must be considered that this snake was bred from captive parents. Another is that he is about 14 or 15 and moves pretty darn slow. He pretty much just sits and waits for mice to appear from the drop hole.

A year or so ago, a local snake man that we used to buy pinkies from, said it would kill him, so we never did. Plus we've been expecting him to die naturally for the past 5 plus years.

[alismith]

Alismith, that is what I thought at first. However, it must be considered that this snake was bred from captive parents. Another is that he is about 14 or 15 and moves pretty darn slow. He pretty much just sits and waits for mice to appear from the drop hole.

A year or so ago, a local snake man that we used to buy pinkies from, said it would kill him, so we never did. Plus we've been expecting him to die naturally for the past 5 plus years.

It's ok to keep him and let him live out his life as he's always done. Snakes don't really care either way. Like I said, you can let him go and he'll survive, or you can keep him as you've always done, and he'll survive, too.

A lot of people treat snakes just as they would would their dog or cat and give snakes much more intellectual credit than they deserve. They operate almost totally off instinct and "new" snake owners feel let-down when their snake doesn't respond like they think it should respond. The happiest reptile keepers are those who just expect their reptile to act like a reptile. They are incapable of "love" or emotion. The best one can hope for is that they tolerate your presence and ignore your attentions. Those are the ones that don't make a habit of biting when they're picked up.

My rock python is, usually, very docile and the only time I hesitate picking her up is when she smells the chickens I feed her. Then she gets very aggressive and will bite anything that comes near her. A few days after she eats, she shows no interest in my hands when I go to handle her. I don't get disappointed when she gets aggressive as I expect her to when she's getting fed. Even if she were to bite me, I wouldn't be disappointed as it's very hard to read what's on her mind and she might have mistaken my intentions as being aggressive. She is of the size now that she will command attention no matter what she does (over 6 feet now). If she wanted to, her head's big enough she could swallow my hand without too much trouble.

Glad you like snakes.:thumbsup:

[FunkyPertwee]

That is all very true, Ali.

I've just had mine for so long I hate to send him away now, even if he is like a robot programmed to kill mammals.