Giving your snake a lil freedom???

I probably already know the answer to this (or could track it down in my son's cornsnake book) but....does anybody take their snake outside and just let it roam around? I'm talking about in your front yard or ??? I realize there is the potential for escape (how fast does a 20" cornsnake slither anyway?) and I assume another risk is parasites? or ????

Anyway, this is my son's snake. He's 12 and we've had the snake about 3-4 months. The snake is doing great and although I'm not a snake person, mostly due to their lack of activity, I just think how boring it must be in that aquarium. My son takes him out 4-5 times a week to handle him but he's yet to really roam "free".

I only give this sort of freedom to my biggest columbian boa... Shes slow moving, heafty and sooo gentle. I always sit with her and carefully supervise on a clean untreated lawn... But hell I wouldnt let her near a tree... try getting a VERY powerful boa off a branch if she doesn't want to come down!!!

I wouldnt do this with the corns... they are too fast and likley to escape.

It probably wont benefit the snake as many might think; being taken from a familier place with familier hands to being set down in a large open area which they wouldnt be in the wild unless they had no choice. The first thing going through the snakes mind is usually 'whats out here thats going to eat me', not 'what a nice place for a little excersize'. Adults usually handle it better but I definatly wouldnt let a young snake out like that.

IMO a 20" cornsnake is very fast, even the bigger ones can move pretty good. I may sound odd but I worry about birds of prey, we have a lot of hawks and eagles where I live. So even when I take them outside and hold them I always keep an eye out for birds.

I take mine out a few times a month for pictures, and they cruise around the tree checking everything out. I do shake it real good to remove bugs, and use a short tree, so I can bend it down to get them if they head out of reach...

just as for me personally i take my adult corn snake out and let her roam in the backyard but i walk right beside her at all times i also sit in the living room with her so she can stretch out i agree with the fact that they should be able to move around more than their cage allows but thats just my personal opinion

I take Maizey out all the time. She moves _so_ slowly that to keep up with her I take one step every ten seconds. Sometimes she "stands up" (what do you call that???) with her head about a quarter of her body length straight above the ground and pauses like that for several minutes before resuming her leisurely walk. She is never in a hurry, and when I pick her up, she crawls back into my hands. Sometimes I let her climb in a small oak tree we have; it's small enough so she could never get out of my reach. She winds around the different branches, and reaches straight out from the tree to come back to me. She's an exceptionally tame and relaxed snake, wild-caught about a year ago. I have a friend who says she was like a woman looking to marry rich- she saw me coming a mile away and knew she'd be in for an easy life.

Nanci

I had our snake out this weekend on the grass. He was gone so fast in the grass that it took quite awhile to find him. He was buried pretty deep in the thatch. So I probably wouldn't put him on the grass.
He loves the tree in our yard. He always keeps part of his body in my hand, but he enjoys climbing in the branches. I think they enjoy coming out of the cage as long as they feel safe.

Speaking of freedom, I just got my first corn snake. It's only 15 inches and I put it in a 20 gal long tank, would that be alright as an adult? I do take it out a couple times a day (except after I just fed it).

I let the corns have a climb on a weeping fig tree I've got, I've put it outside for the summer and as we've had decent weather for a change have let the older ones hang out for a little while a couple of times. I've also had them outside in their tubs with the lids off, just so they could bask a little, but I'd be too nervous of losing them to let them loose on the grass

I don't take mine outside. I'd be too afraid of losing one to the grass, the neighbor's dog, the local hawk, etc.

When it's bigger and less likely to hide under the furnature, I'll let her out under surveylance in my room. But I don't think I could let it outside here. Cats, dogs, foxes, Buzzards, Kingfishers...the list goes on, not to mention losing her in the grass etc.

Under very controlled conditions and constant observation, I can see allowing a tree or shrub excursion. I would never let any of my snakes roam on the floor of my apartment, or on the ground outside. Maybe I've just failed in too many attempts to catch wild snakes in my life to underestimate a snake that is determined to evade capture. It's a risk that I'm unwilling to take. I'd cohabitate four adults in a 20 gallon tank before I'd let one roam the yard. :shrugs:

i take my snakes outside all the time. drake my hog island boa has his own tree. not too high that we can't reach him but he looooves his tree. we put him up there on a sunny day for about 4 hours. of course we are outside with him the entire time!

my ball python loooves the outdoors as well. he slithers around on the lawn and i watch him very closely. he usually hunkers down in our rock garden and gets comfy.

our corns snakes... well only the largest of them get to go outside. my hubby and i do it together... allowing them to climb in the branches of a small lilac bush we have. when they go for the ground... we put them back into a branch.

being outdoors is no different than being in the house... you have to have your eyes on them 100% of the time... as they can disappear quickly if you let them.

so if you are thinking of taking them outside and sitting there, visiting with friends and not really paying attention... i would strongly suggest you don't.