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Wild baby corn snake question

Myca said:
That snake does not look like the photo of the milk snake at all. Especially the face.
Click to expand...

There tons of milksnake species out there. The one on the caresheet is not an eastern milk snake.

The head pattern screams "not a corn snake" I agree with the others it an eastern milksnake.

From Google
images
 
Tennessee won't know if you keep it a couple of weeks to get some size on it. I think it is a stunning beauty and I really appreciate the education all of you are giving.
 
Myca said:
Tennessee won't know if you keep it a couple of weeks to get some size on it. I think it is a stunning beauty and I really appreciate the education all of you are giving.
Click to expand...

But the snake will ! Yes, the odds of that little guy making it in the wild is low but by keeping it for a few weeks and imprinting a food item like pinkies on it then releasing it will drop the odds to about zero IMO.
Also, States have these laws to protect the native wild life just for this reason.

Myca, I'm glad you are open minded and take this all as educational ! :)
 
Thanks Daddio! I hope that little beauty grows up well. You are right about the imprinting.
 
That is an eastern milk, if there was any doubt. I've kept them, and babies are tiny and notoriously tough to get on unscented f/t pinks. I do not think the snake will "imprint" on pinks and have any tougher time if released after some meals -I just think odds are low it will take pinks in the first place. I've never heard of a lizard eater who wouldn't gladly switch back to lizards. As for legality, that is your decision. I would not feel right about taking a rare species such as that out of the wild permanently, that's akin to killing it from an ecological perspective. If you choose to give it a couple of meals then release, I see no harm in that. But if it doesn't take pink mice, and most don't, you are only keeping it away from food by keeping it captive. Good luck with whatever you choose, and keep us updated.
 
I agree if it eats no problem keeping it. Do you know how many wild caught corns are sold at repticon? We've taken in 3 wild corns over the years and fed them and given them as pets. One we released because he was sooo aggressive would literally chew on my finger but the others were more docile than some of my captives. I kept one for a year before giving I away.
 
Eastern milks are native to Maine also and are protected from being taken from the wild and cannot be imported as CB either. I have seen adults and babies in the wild but it's a rarity to do so. It's like the "holy grail" of native snakes in Maine.
The last Eastern Milk I released was from a pet store. A person in their area found it crossing a parking lot and thought it was someone's pet corn snake that escaped and brought it in to save it.
Why mess with nature and let it go before hand no matter how minuscule the chance is of "imprinting" a pinkie is.
 
This isn't a corn. It's a much rarer and more challenging species.
 
That doesn't make them easy to keep or mouse eaters.
 
I personally would release it, I don't think I would want to risk anything while it was in captivity interfering with its ability to be released and survive later. It may seem harmless to feed it a couple of times first, but you never know. If it's a state law I think it needs to be followed, not broken or even "bent". Gorgeous baby, though!
 
I agree with releasing it back into the wild.
I think that legal collecting with a permit, with intent to produce captive bred animals of that line helps take the pressure off the capturing of native animals, but illegally keeping animals hurts us in the hobby, and could contribute to leading towards losing our ability to keep snakes/reptiles at all.
 
Take some good photos of it for after its releases. It might be good to report it to a local herp society. Might be a natural occurring intergrade. (Hybrids that pop up in many species) something about those patterns and head shape seems off. But I agree best place for the itty bitty is in nature. Might want to take him somewhere heavy in little geckos for him to eat. If your garden is a safe insecticide free place you might catch a peek of him later when he gets bigger. If not out in the woods away from ppl and noise is good. Enjoy him while he's with you hun. Baby animals of any kind are a true treasure.
 
Wanted to give a quick update for those interested. Being concerned and getting grief from both my husband and kids about the snake being so little and unable to survive in the wild got in touch with wildlife reps from the TWRA, the local herp society and Walden's Puddle (a local animal rehabilitation facility). After speaking with several people I felt better about letting him go even at such a small size. So today after school the kids and I went back to the church where he was found, picked a good wooded area, said out goodbyes and let him go. After about 5 second he was buried in the grass and out of sight. Took a few pictures before we let him go. He was a feisty little fella but don't worry my Daughter survived the bite. :) The kids were not too happy so now I get to find a snake that all the kids can agree on, this time however it will be something legal for us to keep. Any ideas??? Where are reputable places online to purchase? We already have 2 corns, a ball python and a leopard gecko so I know they will want something different but it needs to have a good temperament. Thanks to everyone for the advice, I feel really good about having put it back in it's natural home.
 
Forgot the photos . . . Don't mind the blue dots on my daughter, she came home covered in them and said that she is turning into a smurf. :)





 
I'm glad you released it.

As for other species, if you're looking to keep something that will still stay fairly small, you might look into African house snakes or hognose snakes.
 
:dancer: Thank you for releasing it !!!

You did the right thing for the snake and herpetology as a whole. :)

Yes, check out Hognose snakes. Pretty darn cool ! Also trinket snakes for something unusual. A fat little smooth scale sand boa is neat too.
 
African House snakes, Rosy boas, Western Hognose and Sand boas are all good snakes that stay on the smaller side and most have good temperaments. Not sure if all of those are legal in TN though.

If you want a bigger species, BCI and BCC or Brazilian Rainbow boas can be very good pets too.
 
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