Serpent Tips
Thinking about getting your first snake? Read this before making your decision
By Sally Broomfield
CTW Features
Fuzzy and cuddly leaving you cold? Scaly and serpentine more your style?
If you’re thinking of joining the growing numbers of people getting a snake, there are many things to consider ahead of time. One of the first is what kind of snake to buy says Dr. Eric Klaphake, a Bozeman, Mont., veterinarian who is a long-time snake owner, and president of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians. Many prospective snake owners are drawn to larger snakes like boas and pythons, not realizing that they tend to be more aggressive and more likely to cause injuries. In addition, they have substantial space and warmth requirements.
Don’t want to put floor heating in half your house, or keep the place at 90 degrees all winter? Think about a smaller snake, such as:
- Ball pythons. These tend to be somewhat slow moving and more docile, and have less onerous space and heating requirements. Plus, maximum length is about 4 feet. Disadvantage: Although proper techniques can overcome this, they can be picky eaters.
- Colubrids. These are members of a group of generally non-venomous snakes including king, corn, bull, garter and milk snakes that remain a manageable size. Disadvantage: They move faster, making quick darting movements that make some people nervous.
Should you get a wild caught snake or a captive-bred snake? “It’s never a good idea to take an animal out of the wild,” Klaphake says. So the snake found in the yard or the wild shouldn’t be brought into your home. Besides the impact of removing an animal from the environment, there may be laws in your area about harvesting wildlife -- permits may be required.
Moreover, some garter snakes are on the endangered species list, and some poisonous snakes may be hard to distinguish when they’re very young. Baby rattlesnakes, for example, don’t have rattles.
Diet can be another problem. Some wild snakes will only eat live or specific animals, neither of which may be available.
Other selection recommendations from Klaphake:
-- Do your homework before buying. Will the snake be in its proper environment? For instance, if it being kept on carpet and should live in sand, it may be stressed, making it more susceptible to disease.
-- Appearance. Unless a snake is about to shed, its skin should have a certain shininess. If you’re unsure, re-check in a week and if it is still dull, walk away. Sticky skin is a sign of skin disease (healthy skin is smooth.) There should be no patches of retained skin after shedding is complete.
-- Fecal matter. Although there are some variations among species, there should be two parts to the fecal material -- one brown and one white, gelatinous (when fresh) portion. If the white part is hard or yellow, kidney issues are likely.
-- Avoid unusual color variations if you’re a first-time buyer. Snakes with unusual or non-standard colors “tend to be in-bred, pricey and susceptible to disease,” Klaphake says.
-- Carefully assess your home environment. Do you have the space and heating requirements necessary for your choice? Do you have adequate snake housing? Homemade environments often don’t prevent escape; snakes have been known to pop wire-topped lids and wander off. Solid locks are a good idea for any snake and necessary for venomous ones.
If there are children in your home there are many special considerations:
-- Children under five should have no direct contact with a snake or its environment.
-- Older kids must wash hands every time after handling a snake since up to 97 percent of snakes carry salmonella.
-- Kids with immuno-compromised systems should stay clear of snakes.
-- Aggressive kids and snakes shouldn’t mix.
-- Don’t allow snakes around infants’ heads; always control the snake’s head around children; and never let kids wrap snakes around themselves, especially necks.
And here are some final tips before you take the snake plunge:
-- Learn about regulations: Some snakes have federal or state protection, and possession without a permit can result in a stiff fine. Some state and local regulations prohibit possession of poisonous snakes. You might be required to have an adequate supply of anti-venom on hand, which requires special storage and could run you big bucks.
There may be multiple regulations, and they can change without much warning. “It’s pretty dynamic,” says Kathy Konishi, manager of special licensing at the Colorado Department of Wildlife, adding that when conflicting rules exist, the most stringent applies.
-- Buy juvenile or adult snakes. First-time snake buyers should avoid baby snakes as finding appropriate food is problematic.
-- Be certain your prospective snake will eat pre-killed food. Have the seller demonstrate this. Although some snake owners enjoy watching their snake kill their own prey, a fighting rodent can cause serious damage to a snake.
-- Recognize having a snake is a long-term commitment, as some live 20 or 30 years.
If you get a snake and decide you don’t want it, don’t release it into the wild. Even if you return it to the exact spot you captured it, some other creature will have claimed that territory and your snake may lose the battle.
Other issues with releasing a snake: yours can be unaffected by a disease it carries but could spread it to other species, causing mass extinctions; a non-native snake may not adapt to the environment and will die or be killed; or, conversely, a non-native snake may out-compete native populations, multiply and disrupt the entire ecosystem, as happened on Guam, when non-native snakes were introduced.
If you want to be rid of your snake, you can try your local humane shelter (but many aren’t equipped to handle snakes); your local herpetological society or herpetological rescue group; a zoo; or even your pet store, which may resell your snake or find an adopter.
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