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Feeding rattlesnakes to kingsnakes..

Brewster320 said:
I wouldn't really call it a abuse but more along the lines of stupid considering most rattle snakes species are on the decline or already endangered in the wild.
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I'm curious on what you base this statement. Can you share your sources please?
 
wilomn said:
I'm curious on what you base this statement. Can you share your sources please?
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If your referring to the "endangered" aspect of his post, he's just misinformed. Rattlesnakes are a thriving species, as a woodsman, hunter, and ex-trapper rattlesnakes are the most common snake I run across, next to black racers and cotton mouths. As far as rare poisonous snakes go, the coral snake is one that I've never ran across in all my years in the woods.

On the other side of his comment, it is abuse. You are taking a wild animal that has cause no harm and feeding it to another animal that would be perfectly content eating its normal feeder mouse. Yes these snakes can and have defeated rattlesnakes many times, I actually ran across a Eastern King finishing his meal once with just a few rattles sticking out of his troat, a thing of beauty.
 
I dont believe that snakes are better or more important than rodents, or vice versa, which is why I dont think there would be a problem with feeding a captive bred f/t rodent, or snake, to a king snake. But I wouldnt take an animal out of the wild, rodent or reptile, for the purpose of feeding another, just because the animal can carry parasites and also the animal belongs in the ecosystem so it can eat and feed others that are in the wild.

I think if this were say, a pet mouse forum, the conversation would be much different!! lol. For some destroying a rattlesnake is better than destroying a "fuzzy and cute" mouse. For a king snake, be it a snake, or a rodent, it will need to be fed, and what species its fed I think is up to the keeper of the snake, as long as the "food" will not harm the pet and will not harm the environment, I dont see the problem.
 
tyflier said:
You'd be surprised how grateful a herp department will be for freshly dead and frozen, but fully in tact, rattlesnakes. It is a blessing for their DNA studies, examining stomach contents, and dissections and such...
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Hmm...next time I find one that's in good shape, I'll call UNLV and see if they want it. Thanks for the tip!
 
The only snake I would advocate feeding other snakes to as feeders is the King Cobra... as this is their primary diet. Kings are Cannibalistic, yes, but most captive Kings are fed feeders like almost all other pet snakes. Besides, why would you want to take the risk of feeding a lethally poisonous snake to a mostly harmless one? What if you got bit? Even if the rattler is dead if by som efreak accident you get stuck with a fang and compress those venom glands...

Is that something you really wanna worry about? :D
 
SnakeLuv said:
Even if the rattler is dead if by some freak accident you get stuck with a fang and compress those venom glands...

Is that something you really wanna worry about? :D
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You bring up a good point, reptilian nervous systems are active even hours after an animal has been killed.

While frog gigging one night a friend accidentally struck a cotton mouth in the head mortally wounding it, we put the snake out of its misery and placed in a bucket at the back of the boat. Three hours later while cleaning frogs, Jay got the bucket out of the boat and went to bury the snake, as he dumped the carcass in the hole to be buried the snake struck at him violently and nearly got him.

When harvesting gators we have to severe the brain stem and slid a thin wire rod along the backbone of the gator to induce paralysis for the safety of everyone.
 
tyflier said:
Unfortunately, most rattlesnake species aren't heavily protected.

In California, it is perfectly legal to capture and/or kill any rattlesnakes by any method, without constraints such as season or time of day, and without even requiring a license. Most other reptiles are protected by season and license requirements at the very least, and many are protected entirely from harrassment. But no such luck for rattlers...
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lol and the DNR will fine you for picking up a Black and White piece of Rope they have laid down to look like a Kingsnake in the Middle of the Road.
What craziness.
 
Actually, I am not being rude but rattlesnakes are in decline at least here in GA. We know some of the individuals who monitor the snake species and have mentioned this to us. One way you can tell in GA ; they are in decline is because the idiots who do rattlesnakes roundup have spread their search beyond their county's because of the decline. They even stated on one website I read that they are getting harder to find. OK, I will get off my soap box now...LOL. Of course I guarantee someone will disagree :)
 
tricksterpup said:
lol and the DNR will fine you for picking up a Black and White piece of Rope they have laid down to look like a Kingsnake in the Middle of the Road.
What craziness.
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Not so if you have a fishing license that is current. If you're under 16 you don't even need that.

And yes, I've stopped for Kyle's rope once or twice and never had a problem.
 
snakegrl said:
Actually, I am not being rude but rattlesnakes are in decline at least here in GA. We know some of the individuals who monitor the snake species and have mentioned this to us. One way you can tell in GA ; they are in decline is because the idiots who do rattlesnakes roundup have spread their search beyond their county's because of the decline. They even stated on one website I read that they are getting harder to find. OK, I will get off my soap box now...LOL. Of course I guarantee someone will disagree :)
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sarah, im not disagreeing with u but there are also additional reasons why they are harder to find
i watched some show on reptiles once where they showed an old man that would roundup the rattlers and kill them
one of the primary techniques he used to locate them was by listening for the rattle when he would get close to them
in his area he was having a more difficult time locating them in more recent years than in the decades previous
part of the reason was due to the evolution of many of the rattlers in his area to not be as prone to shake that rattle at the end of their tails
 
gelshark said:
sarah, im not disagreeing with u but there are also additional reasons why they are harder to find
i watched some show on reptiles once where they showed an old man that would roundup the rattlers and kill them
one of the primary techniques he used to locate them was by listening for the rattle when he would get close to them
in his area he was having a more difficult time locating them in more recent years than in the decades previous
part of the reason was due to the evolution of many of the rattlers in his area to not be as prone to shake that rattle at the end of their tails
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That has started to happen around here, as well. It's simple survival of the fittest...the snakes that buzz get killed, so only those that slink off without sounding survive to reproduce, leading to more and more rattlers that are reluctant to buzz.
 
I wonder if after time those snakes will start to loose their rattles? I know it would take a really long time, but then we would be seeing new species emerge right? rattleless rattle snakes?
 
Outcast said:
I wonder if after time those snakes will start to loose their rattles? I know it would take a really long time, but then we would be seeing new species emerge right? rattleless rattle snakes?
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I imagine that's how evolution works. Of course I can't be certqain, but it seems logical. Now...if only nature were logical...;)
 
tyflier said:
I imagine that's how evolution works. Of course I can't be certqain, but it seems logical. Now...if only nature were logical...;)
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But wouldn't it be interesting to see evolution happening in such a way, right in front of our eyes... I personally believe that adaptation is a form of evolution, and that over time adaptations build up and somewhere in there something old becomes something new....

If only others in my religion would think the same way... :nope:
 
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