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Miscellaneous Corn Snake Discussions This is a "none of the above" forum. All posts should still be related to cornsnakes in one form or another, but some slight off topic posting is fine.

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Old 03-01-2003, 11:19 AM   #1
Bish
Unhappy HELP!

The only way my mom will let me have a snake is if I catch one !
I need some idea's one how to go about catching one!!! So please help me by telling me what is a good way to catch a snake !
 
Old 03-01-2003, 02:14 PM   #2
13mur 6
Ack, umm... not too sure if you want to catch a wild snake. They can be testy and carry lots of parasites. If you catch a wild snake, the vet bills to clean him up will cost more than buying a healthy one from a breeder. Also, catching certain wild snakes is illegal, due to their low population, or the state protecting them for some other reason.

Also, ohio has a number of venomous snakes: Copperheads, Massasaugas, timber rattlesnakes, and to certain people hognoses are snakes you do not want to come across in the wild, nor do you want to catch them unless you're an experienced venomous herper. Copperheads are extremely aggressive when cornered, and their bite is rarely fatal but extremely painful, they're also pretty common from what I've heard (they cause the largest number of snake bite incidents in the USA). Some people are alergic to hognose bites. They have a mild toxic saliva, and wild ones will not hold their tongue when it comes to biting you, and they will do it with fervor and will not only bite but chew. If you are allergic to hognose bites, it could mean death (just as a bee sting could mean death to allergic people).

Also, you wil not find a cornsnake in ohio, unless one got set loose by someone, and that snake will usually have died before you found it.

Maybe you can ask your mom to buy you the cornsnake manual by Kathy Love, read up on cornsnakes and tell her how much you know about them, and put an emphasis on why wild caught snakes are bad (it's all in the book).

If you absolutely MUST go hunting for snakes, stay away from swamps, and take a good long stick with you. The most common good pet snake ohio has is the eastern milk. It looks very similar to a cornsnake, it has reddish blotches on a grey/silver background and has a small head (make sure you look at some pictures and are absolutely sure of what they look like). Look under old boards in fields, along brick walls, under logs and such during the early morning when the sun starts to get warm in wooded areas and near farms (ask for permission from the land owner). Look along asphalt roads in less populated areas. I recommend going with an adult experienced with snake hunting and identification. If you come across a snake that you cannot ID, do not attempt to catch it, let it run. Do not flip over rocks and boards with your hands, use the stick, you want to eliminate the possibility of a poisonous snake beingin striking distance when you least expect it. Wear thick boots as well, and loose fitting jeans to cover legs. Also, make sure the person with you has a cell phone, or something to call 911 if something goes wrong (doesn't have to be from a venomous snake, you could fall and break a leg, no joke). I seriously hope you do not have to take this route. If you do catch a snake, I recommend not keeping him for more than a day or two, let him go where you found him. Wild snakes in captivity can magnify their parasite load many times and will eventually die if you don't take them to the vet to be cleaned.

-13mur 6
 
Old 03-01-2003, 07:10 PM   #3
Bish
Thanks alot!!! But I totally disagree because my cousin who also lives in Ohio caught a Black Rat snake many years ago , in the wild, and still has it to this day and they are best friends!!!! I either want to catch a Black Rat or a Garter Snake. If anyone else has any more suggestions I would really appreciate it!!!!
 
Old 03-01-2003, 07:44 PM   #4
kxv
From experience, I can tell you that a hognose is a very picky eater. They specifically like toads, toads, and more toads.

I have never heard of a hognose biting (but i've not been around a lot of folks that have met up with one). They will usually strike, but with mouth closed. They also spread their neck out something like a cobra and hiss. If picked up they will sometimes play dead.

Sorry for the non-corn talk....
 
Old 03-01-2003, 10:08 PM   #5
13mur 6
Black rats and garters

A small warning on both those species.

Black rats can grow up to 6 ft long. Unless you can house a snake like that properly, do not attempt to catch one. Though they typically do not bite, they will musk and coil when picked up. A fairly big warning here, since black rats also share their habitat with Copperheds and Rattlers, so be extra careful when looking for these snakes, because there is always a chance you will run across a venomous snake. These snakes can be found in forested woody areas and are easy to catch because they freeze when approached.

Garters are decent beginner pet snakes. I think Ohio considers to Butler's garter a protected species. Butler's garters are hard to identifiy, the only big difference being that they're much smaller then the easterns found in Ohio. Garters are usually found near water, along with the venomous but rare Massasauga. I would not keep a garter in captivity too long, because they are semi-aquatic and tend to shed their Salmonella more readily (so though it MIGHT stay healthy under your care, YOU or your family members may get sick). Garters are in the mid-aggressive range, they will bite, musk, hiss and rattle tails, and when they bite they will chew. So if you don't want to get sick, or have to pay a big fat fine, or even go to jail for capturing a protected species, leave garters alone unless you're POSITIVE that it's an eastern.

A special note on black rats, do not confuse the black/blue racer with a black rat. Black/blue racers are extremely fast extremely aggressive snakes (non-venomous), and their bite hurts quite a bit due to their many large teeth. They make horrible pets as they are extremely nervous and never tamed. These also get quite big, up to 5 ft.

If I were you, I'd go to the nearest park/recreation area and check out leafy vegetated areas and look for green snakes. They're easy to catch, very docile and eat crickets (cheap food). They stay small too, but they're hard to spot, because their camo is so good. That would be the safest route since there are very few climbers in ohio other than the green snake and the black rat (though the black rat you will not find as easily as greens).

Also, mind telling us why you mom will not let you keep a snake unless you caught it?

-13mur 6
 
Old 03-02-2003, 07:36 PM   #6
Bish
Thanks alot although I do not know what Kmx was saying about Hognose snakes?!? I'm sorry to add that I was looking for Green Snakes along w/t black rats and garters. My mom won't let me have a snake because she thinks they are too much work but if I can catch one and keep one outside in a heated/cooled building and prove to her that I can keep one she said she would let me keep one that is why I have to catch a snake before I buy one.

P.S. If I grow attached to the snake I keep I may keep it. Also I have looked about catching snakes in Ohio and all Garter snakes you are allowed to catch!!!

Thanks again

Please keep writing if you have more ideas!!!!!
 
Old 03-02-2003, 09:52 PM   #7
13mur 6
What KVX was trying to emphasize was that Hognoses like to eat toads, and only toads. Toads may be very difficult to find and obtain as a food source if you happen to own a hognose, or catch one.

Snakes can be alot of work, depending on how much you know. I suggest you read up on the care of Black rats, Garters, and Greens BEFORE you go out and catch one. Make sure you have everything set up and ready to go, do not catch the snake and then go to the petstore to buy all the supplies. Just get the basic setup: a 15-20 gal tank w/ an escape proof lid (I recommend 30-40 gal tank for a black rat, those are very expensive tanks), under tank heater, water bow (can use a crock pot), a couple hides (can use cardboard boxes), something to climb, and use paper towel as bedding, and get a good digital thermometer from radioshack. You will probably end up spending about $50 on the supplies.

Also, when you say "outside in a heated/cooled building" I take it you're meaning the garage. Though some people keep their snakes there due to family matters, I suggest you keep it in the house where the temps are more controllable. If you can't get your mom to keep a snake in the house, then think of what that might mean if you were to get that cornsnake you wanted. If your mom is THAT unwilling for you to have a snake in the first place, going out and proving that you can care for a snake won't change her attitude toward them. You have to educate her.

Also, the vet visit is mandatory if you plan to keep a wild snake, or even captive bred for that matter. Some people might get lucky and have a seemingly healthy snake that lives for years, but sometimes you won't be as lucky as those few individuals and end up with a dead snake, or you yourself get sick. This bit of advice should be heeded at all costs, almost all snakes in the wild carry some sort of parasite or another, see this page: http://www.exoticpetvet.net/reptile/zoonoses.html
So if you get worms from your snake, you need surgery to get them removed (who knows, you can be the lucky, or unlucky kid to catch a snake with a rare pentastomid worm that's transmissible to humans, and they can litterally eat your liver out). Also, ask around where you live to find a good herp vet, try your best to find a good one, your snake, and all future snakes you may have may depend upon that vet.

And yes you are correct, there are no species of protected gartersnake in Ohio, HOWEVER, the lake erie water snake and the timber rattler ARE protected. The lake erie water snake can easily be confused with a black rat due to their size and colouration. Be absolutely certain of your identification of the snakes you catch.



Instead of catching a snake, why not save up to buy a garter or green at your local petstore? They're fairly cheap, usually no more than $20 and most often around $10. Though I'm against lying, you can tell your mom you caught it if you have to. It'll be safer (hopefully they're not WC), and easier to acquire.

Also, good luck catching anything in this weather, you'll be lucky to find anything that even remotely resembles a snake. Means you have alot of time to plan, try early April on warm days, the snakes should come out of hibernation by the masses. Stay away from wooded areas and black rats for the good part of spring, they hibernate with venomous species and are always found with them early spring when they come out of hibernation, that's why they're called "Pilot snakes". Get an old golf club (makes a good snake stick), and a good sturdy burlap bag, and don't forget the adult, they're really important tools (like when you need some money to get an icecream from the icecream truck) Look along open fields and grassy areas, I really think you'd do much better with an eastern milk than any of the snakes you stated. Easy to catch as well. Good priming snake for a future cornsnake keeper. Did I mention, they're much prettier than black rats or garters?

-13mur 6
 
Old 03-03-2003, 06:10 AM   #8
bmm
O.k.

It's nice that your friend has had one so long but that is not normally the case.

Wild caught snakes have to be "de-wormed" as they all have internal parasites. This can be costly. Its so much easier to buy a captive bred snake as well as cheaper in the long run.

Another issue is that most wild caughts won't fed. Again good for your friend that his/hers did but NOT EVERY SNAKE IS THE SAME. In fact, most won't eat once caught unless you fed their natural prey which in turn gives them parasites.

Responsible snake owners buy captive bred when they want a pet. NOT wild caught. And if you truely love snakes then you won't just take one from the wild.

bmm
 
Old 03-03-2003, 08:43 AM   #9
kxv
My guess is that your mother thinks that you can't catch one. Or, that you will loose interest by the time you are in a position to catch one.
 
Old 03-03-2003, 05:20 PM   #10
Bish
Talking

Thanks!!! I made a snake trap and I am going to try to catch a snake. If I can not do so I will buy one from the pet store and tell my mom that I caught it. I am not a bad person just desperate!!
Last year I almost caught one but my dog got in my way and tried to hurt it so I let it go. Sorry Rich but I am desperate. Keep writing anyone because I really like to hear your other suggestions!!
 

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