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Posted by Weed Hopper on May 08, 2000 at 04:25:12:

In Reply to: Re: Wild caught Black Rat snake posted by Terry Cox on May 07, 2000 at 05:23:44:

: My question is this: Will it harm him to eat pre-killed, thawed prey a couple times?

: Hi, Weed Hopper. I don't have much experience with wild black rats, but based on my overall experience with snakes through the years, and captive raised obsoleta, I'll try to answer your questions. I doubt it would harm him to eat thawed mice in any way, if you can get him to eat them. He should go right back to eating wild mice when you release him, no problem.

: Also, my dad has about thirty acres or so, and I planned to release it in the woods far away from their house, is it probable that he will be able to find a food source and thrive that far from his capture site?

: Yes, he'll find food in this his natural habitat and probably land he's familiar with because they have quite a large range, especially males. He may show up again where you found him, however.

: On the off chance I decide to keep it, how do you get rid of internal parasites, providing it has them? For that matter how would I know if it had them?

: You can find out if it has internal parasites by examining a fresh stool. If you see things crawling around, you know he has something. But the best way is to put the sample in a petri dish and put it under a dissecting microscope. You should be able to see parasites clearly and identify some, such as worms, etc. If you still want to keep it, you'll have to give it some kind of drugs, and you have to be careful of the dosage. It would be best to let a vet do it. But why would you want to keep a wild ratsnake when so many are captive raised and parasite free? I say if you see parasites, let it go. Don't take a chance on infecting the rest of your collection.

: Good luck with this guy, Weed Hopper. Take a couple pics and maybe someday you can let us see what he/or she looks like. Terry.

Man, thanks Terry, I didn't think I was going to get a response. I fed him a frozen, thawed mouse and he ate it a few hours later. I have decided to release him. The only reason I thought I might keep him is that he had such a spunky personality. He was docile once I got him out of his cage, but when he was in the cage he went through the full range of defensive displays. A captive born most likely wouldn't do that. But your right, he needs to be let go. I was worried about exposing my other reptiles to parasites so I'm keeping him in the basement, and the rest are on the second floor in my snake room. I took a few pictures, have to get a scanner still.
thanks again,
Weed Hopper

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: : My question is this: Will it harm him to eat pre-killed, thawed prey a couple times? : : Hi, Weed Hopper. I don't have much experience with wild black rats, but based on my overall experience with snakes through the years, and captive raised obsoleta, I'll try to answer your questions. I doubt it would harm him to eat thawed mice in any way, if you can get him to eat them. He should go right back to eating wild mice when you release him, no problem. : : Also, my dad has about thirty acres or so, and I planned to release it in the woods far away from their house, is it probable that he will be able to find a food source and thrive that far from his capture site? : : Yes, he'll find food in this his natural habitat and probably land he's familiar with because they have quite a large range, especially males. He may show up again where you found him, however. : : On the off chance I decide to keep it, how do you get rid of internal parasites, providing it has them? For that matter how would I know if it had them? : : You can find out if it has internal parasites by examining a fresh stool. If you see things crawling around, you know he has something. But the best way is to put the sample in a petri dish and put it under a dissecting microscope. You should be able to see parasites clearly and identify some, such as worms, etc. If you still want to keep it, you'll have to give it some kind of drugs, and you have to be careful of the dosage. It would be best to let a vet do it. But why would you want to keep a wild ratsnake when so many are captive raised and parasite free? I say if you see parasites, let it go. Don't take a chance on infecting the rest of your collection. : : Good luck with this guy, Weed Hopper. Take a couple pics and maybe someday you can let us see what he/or she looks like. Terry. : Man, thanks Terry, I didn't think I was going to get a response. I fed him a frozen, thawed mouse and he ate it a few hours later. I have decided to release him. The only reason I thought I might keep him is that he had such a spunky personality. He was docile once I got him out of his cage, but when he was in the cage he went through the full range of defensive displays. A captive born most likely wouldn't do that. But your right, he needs to be let go. I was worried about exposing my other reptiles to parasites so I'm keeping him in the basement, and the rest are on the second floor in my snake room. I took a few pictures, have to get a scanner still. : thanks again, : Weed Hopper

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