Catch / Keep / Release?

[dashnu]

Whats your take on releasing a WC that you have keep for a year or so? Will it remember its old ways? Is it more likely to become prey?

TIA

[jeanette]

i think they keep their wild instincts even when they have been in captivity for a while, Gaters and other snakes dont ever become completely tame there is always a part of them that remains wild, but that is just my opinion though, others may feel differently.
I dont think its more likely to become prey as the instincts of hiding when birds fly over stay with it, but im not sure if it will be less frightened of human contact, and we all know that some humans out there are very cruel.

[adamanteus]

If the snake has been kept in isolation from all other captive snakes, it should be safe enough, from an environmental point of view...... you never know what they can pick up from each other.
I doubt that a reriod of captivity would much effect it's ability to cope in the wild, except perhaps that it might not fear man enough.

[Stefan-A]

I probably shouldn't give my two cents on this issue, but I don't recommend taking WC or releasing it or its offspring. The main reason is that it may spread diseases to the wild population. But now that you mention it, it probably would be more likely to become prey, once it has gotten used to the safety of the terrarium. Foreign diseases are a bigger concern though, since it affects more than just that one snake.

There are also other potential risks, including the snake "getting lost", which I understand is something that has been documented in relocated snakes here in this country. Apparently they follow a particular circular route every year, from the den to where they spend the summer and they eventually end up back at the same den in the autumn. I actually read through an article on the subject a couple of weeks ago, although I didn't have the chance to copy it. I understand garters behave in much the same way. Anyway, relocated snakes appear to have problems figuring out where the hell they are. Of course it's a bigger problem here, since good dens are further apart.

[adamanteus]

Originally Posted by Stefan-A

There are also other potential risks, including the snake "getting lost", which I understand is something that has been documented in relocated snakes here in this country. Apparently they follow a particular circular route every year, from the den to where they spend the summer and they eventually end up back at the same den in the autumn. I actually read through an article on the subject a couple of weeks ago, although I didn't have the chance to copy it. I understand garters behave in much the same way. Anyway, relocated snakes appear to have problems figuring out where the hell they are. Of course it's a bigger problem here, since good dens are further apart.

That's fascinating, Stefan. Do you think you could find that article again, and post it for us?

[dashnu]

Very interesting, I have not decided what I wanted to do yet so I figured I would come here for thoughts.... I do not in anyway want to cause problems in the wild.. My first thoughts were actually the total flip.. I figured taking them in as babies (or young) chunk them up a bit then free them would give them a better chance of survival and my hope was to populate my area a bit more

[Stefan-A]

Originally Posted by adamanteus

That's fascinating, Stefan. Do you think you could find that article again, and post it for us?

I think I definitely gave the wrong impression, the article was on the migration patterns, not on the snakes getting lost. I found it in a zoological station's library during our field course a couple of weeks ago. No, the thing about snakes getting lost was "just" something that I've heard from a biologist that is critical of the relocation of adders that are encountered near human habitation. To paraphrase him, it's as good as killing them.

They had a few very interesting articles on reptiles there, but unfortunately my school doesn't have access to the online versions and I couldn't copy them while I was there. I managed to memorize a few details, though: In one population of grass snakes, rodents made up 25%(!) of their diet.

[dashnu]

And btw, I was thinking about releasing them to take in two other babies me and the girls found... They of course like the small cute little babies better now and I dont have the money to invest in any more enclosures atm.. lol

[Zephyr]

Originally Posted by dashnu

And btw, I was thinking about releasing them to take in two other babies me and the girls found... They of course like the small cute little babies better now and I dont have the money to invest in any more enclosures atm.. lol

Try sterilite bins. Sturdy and affordable.

[drache]

Originally Posted by Stefan-A

No, the thing about snakes getting lost was "just" something that I've heard from a biologist that is critical of the relocation of adders that are encountered near human habitation. To paraphrase him, it's as good as killing them.

in a documentary I saw where they were relocating gila monsters away from human habitations, the rescue people were saying that the gila monster's ability to survive decreases drastically the further they're removed from their original location, even if it is identical territory
they were saying that as much as a half a mile could be a death sentence