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Posted by gila7150 on February 15, 2003 at 06:49:19:
In Reply to: black milksnake wild habits posted by ballyhoo1887 on February 14, 2003 at 21:23:17:
:I was recently doing some research on black milks, and I didn't pull up much about their wild habits. I guess there's not much info about that. While I was researching, an idea popped into my head, and I wanted to check in with some of the more experienced herpers to make sure it wasn't that preposterous of an idea. I was thinking that maybe a reason that captive black milks, (which are fed captive raised mice or rats) so easily become obese is because in the wild they may live on a diet consisting of mostly reptiles. I have seen pictures of king cobras that live on a rat-only diet compared to king cobras that live on a snake-only diet, and the muscle tone is significantly different. Seems like it might be a valid point, but I wanted to make sure.
:-Mack
Mack,
Your theory about the different diets of wild vs. captive definitely has validity.
Another more obvious reason would be the difference in activity levels. A 5' snake in a 4' cage is probably going to be much less active than a snake in the wild. A wild snake actually has to go out in search of prey where captives have a frozen/thawed rat placed in front of their hide box.
Also, a wild snake does not always have regular feeding patterns. They may eat two prey items in a week and then go 2 months without eating.
Interesting concept...good luck with your research.
Chris
