Posted on 08/02/2007 8:26:56 AM PDT by george76
It appears that the timber rattler is the only snake it is illegal to kill in TX.
http://www.texas-venomous.com/protected.html
susie
They are a small minority of snake owners. Of course most snake owners aren't very newsworthy, so you don't hear about them. You just hear about the nut that likes to raise rattle snakes in his bedroom for the fun of it.
The real problem in this case is that the Burmese Python is native to a climate and environment very similar to the everglades.
It doesn't take a large number of irresponsible snake owners for wild snake populations to become established and rise over decades.
This is a natural habitat for these snakes and the everglades covers a huge amount of land.
These snakes are far from common there. They face a variety of predators to keep their numbers in check, especially gators.
Snakes are inherently wild. They aren't domesticated pets that can't fend for themselves. They hunt mainly by instinct rather than by learned skill. When I got my snake it was maybe 8 to 10 inches long and no bigger around than a pencil. It had recently hatched, and had never fed. It didn't strike at my fingers, but as soon as I put a little (dead) newborn mouse in the cage with it using some forecepts, it knew it to be food. It struck, coiled around the mouse, and ate it head first despite never having seen a mouse before or having seen another snake feed.
Snakes are not smart creatures, but they are naturally inquisitive and seek out food. However, they only need to eat a fraction of what a warm blooded animal of their size would need and they can easily go a month or more between meals with no ill effects.
They are not going to be able to hunt these snakes to extinction. The snakes are good at hiding, and since they eat so irregularly and are disinterested in food once they have eaten, you can't really bait them into the open.
On the bright side, they also face predators that will feed on them, and they eat much less than other critters their size, so they are unlikely to unbalance the ecosystem.
If you see a big one in the wild, I suggest that you don't wave a dead rabbit at it from a few feet away just to see what happens. If you do, make sure someone else holds your beer first. It would be a shame to waste a good beer.
These snakes are generally going to be much less dangerous to people than gators in the Everglades. They also likely have similar diets and the gators eat a lot more.
I actually owned a pit bull in the 80s. I’m not very macho, nor anti-social, altho I get a bit testy sometimes....
;)
susie
I’ve been a dog lover/owner nearly all of my life. From beagles to terriers to hounds, I appreciate and love dogs. That being said I feel that owning a dog is a great responsibility. The overwhelming evidence against pitbulls leads me to the conclusion that they are a danger to society. They are as a breed, an unpredictable menace.
Mine wasn’t. The ones in my obedience classes were not. None of the ones who were patients at the vet clinic where I worked were.
That said, if a pit bull wants to do damage to you, they can. Then again, I’ve met far more scarey chows than pits. Of course, what do I know? I’ve simply been involved in training, showing and breeding dogs since the 80s.
susie
I’m sorry. You must know all there is to know about pitbulls. The thousands of attacks, maimings, killings, etc. that this breed has inflicted on children, old ladies, and other innocents must be a figment of society’s imagination then.
Very important distinction in that statement.
I used to 'keep' snakes. Spent the winter with two copperheads once.
After watching those snakes all winter I finalized that "keeping' them was exactly what I was doing.
You can take a dog to the park and play frisbee or to the duck blind to retrieve Mallards. He's a pet, a friend even. And most dogs will stand up for you if they think you're being attacked.
I ain't a cat person but I can see the relationship.
Cats and dogs aren't 'kept'. They're family and friends.
But snakes.....they're just on display.
I let those copperheads go in the spring and haven't 'kept' one since. I've caught several since then but I always put them back where they should be. In the wild.
I never said they were all good. You’re the one making rather blanket statements as if you have all the facts. I simply pointed out that you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about.
susie
I have never had the urge to own a snake but worked in a marine park for over 20 years. We had it all. Hell, I raise wolves.
No one has that right to judge, period.
‘Specially a person that would take someone elses animal and have it surgically altered.
Pure bs.
No amnesty for the illegals.
8-)
And you’re an obvious idiot. An eye for an eye. Do you always just jump into threads and call people names? Liberal tactics.....
Hey, I’m just having some fun here and trying to learn a few things. Thanks for the help, later.
Bob
Copperheads in particular and venomous(hots) in general are truly kept. However, if you choose to parse, let me add that ALL 5 are regular held, and my Yellow I even let out in the yard (supervised of course) to ‘prowl’ around. While their cages are display quality, they are not just display animals. Eekus (one of my 3 King snakes) has even made a trip to our church dinner and he was a hit with the kids after they saw that he was gentle and didn’t seem to want to bite.
Should anyone care to take a peek, here is a link:
http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Anacondas/messages/1277282.html
Thanks, I’ll pass. ;9)
Hi Miss Rika! You hang out on lively threads. ;)
The snakes aren't indigenous to Fl, the only predator for them is the alligators. They are decimating the bird population there, they need to be eradicated, and soon.
And people who adopt screen names based on dead and rotting gangsta rappers, don’t forget those moronic nutjobs!
Good post, ignorance abounds and it’s hilarious!
Calm down, take a deep breath. Now, good morning, how are you this fine day? Lovely outside isn’t it? Nice to meet you, hope that you have a nice one. Bye-Bye.
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