Terry, agreed...

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Posted by Kenny Wray on July 10, 2000 at 23:05:33:

In Reply to: Ok, let's look at it again........... posted by Terry on July 10, 2000 at 06:23:19:

: Kenny, it may seem ironic to you, and I have had all the same local snakes in captivity too, on and off for maybe 40 yrs. But, what seems to be the point to me, and most other breeder/hobbyists, is that animals without parasites do better in captivity than those with. Take Asian ratsnakes, for instance, which is what I am working with mainly. Imports, which suffer from all kinds of stresses, usually die within a short amount of time, and almost always have loads of parasites when examined. Captive born animals, that can be kept without parasites, normally thrive. The Mandarin rats, which have become very popular lately, are a great example. I think this is the main reason I added the parasite thing. We were talking about ratsnakes, which are mainly captive born in the trade. Most breeders want to be able to say that their product is parasite free also. If people get animals that have parasites, they're not likely to go back to that breeder again. If we were talking about wild caught animals, I would tend to agree with you more. Unless you wanted to deparasitize them for a breeding program, it would be ironic to avoid wild caught food. I should have clarified the fact that I meant I don't feed wild caught prey to captive born snakes. Thanks. TC.

I would just add that if a snake is healthy and stress free from the get-go, wild caught prey will not hurt (at least in my experiences). But, you are correct, the imported animals are usually stressed, dehydrated, and malnourished on their arrival and normal parasite loads become a complication. Once healthy though, I think the parasites would not harm the snake.
Regards, KW.

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: : Kenny, it may seem ironic to you, and I have had all the same local snakes in captivity too, on and off for maybe 40 yrs. But, what seems to be the point to me, and most other breeder/hobbyists, is that animals without parasites do better in captivity than those with. Take Asian ratsnakes, for instance, which is what I am working with mainly. Imports, which suffer from all kinds of stresses, usually die within a short amount of time, and almost always have loads of parasites when examined. Captive born animals, that can be kept without parasites, normally thrive. The Mandarin rats, which have become very popular lately, are a great example. I think this is the main reason I added the parasite thing. We were talking about ratsnakes, which are mainly captive born in the trade. Most breeders want to be able to say that their product is parasite free also. If people get animals that have parasites, they're not likely to go back to that breeder again. If we were talking about wild caught animals, I would tend to agree with you more. Unless you wanted to deparasitize them for a breeding program, it would be ironic to avoid wild caught food. I should have clarified the fact that I meant I don't feed wild caught prey to captive born snakes. Thanks. TC. : I would just add that if a snake is healthy and stress free from the get-go, wild caught prey will not hurt (at least in my experiences). But, you are correct, the imported animals are usually stressed, dehydrated, and malnourished on their arrival and normal parasite loads become a complication. Once healthy though, I think the parasites would not harm the snake. : Regards, KW.

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