|
1-10 of 10 messages
|
Page 1 of 1
|
|
advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by ianb on September 15, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Hey guys,
A friend of mine in the city has had a number of copperheads show up at his house over the years. He has kids, but still doesn't want to kill them so he gave one to me a few weeks ago he found on the sidewalk to relocate. I was pressed for time and happened to have some less than full size mice in the freezer from a while back. I was surprised at how well she ate as a wild caught and decided I would keep her for a while as educational. Copperheads are the only venomous in the area and throughout the years I have run into many who still don't know the diffence between a brown decay snake, water snake, copperhead etc. Sometimes they kill any of them. The snake just went into shed and I just fed her again. She is not much bigger than a foot and I would estimate 1.5 to two years of age. I just went to check to see if she ate and have counted at least three beautiful babies. Wow. I would have thought she need another year for breeding and she wasn't that big. I've messed with a neonate copperhead before and it was not fun. I had to give it away to be force fed with a tube.
I'm going to my cousin's farm in VA. in a couple weeks. Should the babies be fine released in a remote area? Should I attempt to feed them before that? Don't they eat insects at such a young age. I have no small lizards, or frogs, and I'm not doing the cut up pinky parts thing. Please advise.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by Peter84Jenkins on September 15, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
How far is this farm from the location where the female was captured? If it is regionally the same, there should be no issues with releasing those babies. Provided that the land owner is fine with it. Distal relocation is controversial. There are studies in some species that suggest it would mean only death to the animal, such as those that have set migrational routes that they rely on for their life cycle i.e. Horridus. To my knowledge copperheads are not migratory, so you really wouldn't be messing up any sort of homing activity. I could be wrong, and if I am, please let me know (anyone).
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by agkistrodude on September 15, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
I agree. Release them in the same general area to where the mother was found. I've never seen a baby copperhead that couldn't eat a whole pinky though. No need to cut them up. Even the smallest I've seen could eat day old pinks. Take care, Marty
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by Peter84Jenkins on September 15, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
Oh yes, Marty is spot on. I meant to talk about that too. I also have not had problems with neo coppers eating pinks.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by ianb on September 16, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
I'm going to release one today at a park out of town when I go to play disc golf which is heavily wooded with some spots away from foot travel. I'm not going to release them in VA I guess. It will get cold there a little quicker and it is further from it's natural habitat where I found him. Besides, I think there are more frogs and lizards here for little copperheads to eat. I am not going to release then back in town where the mother came from.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by Atheris333 on September 18, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
That is irresponsible and ignorant..
Why did you ask a question seeking advice you do not take?
The snakes should not be released period anyhow. It is illegal to release native wildlife without a permit. Even wildlife rehabilitators require special permits and licenses to operate. In addition the captives may be carrying pathogens that the wild population is not accustomed to or vice versa, which can of course cause big problems.
And before you bring it up, it does not matter how long they have been in your possession, the same risks still exist.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by ianb on September 18, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Atheris333,
First of all, I agree and understood that it's probably best not to release them 3.5 hours away in VA. I'm not going to do that. That was a big reason why I asked for advise and I'm going to follow it. In addition, I'm aware that relocating horridus is a bad idea for the individual snake because of the den mentality asociated with the species. I haven't heard about that with copperheads. I am not going to release them back in town at my friends house in a packed neighborhood with kids. That's why I removed the mother. I am not going to kill the mother, I am not going to kill the babies. I don't have time to work with five neonate copperheads. The most logical decision and one supported by a local vet that specializes in snakes, is to get those guys in some local woods, away from people, and do it soon so they can get a couple meals in them before they have to hibernate.
If you can show me some research that supports that it is illegal for me to remove a snake and relocate it in NC then show it to me. I more interested in the relocating part as I have already removed the snake for safety issues. I would imagine that a copperhead that has been in a cage for a matter of weeks and babies born Saturday would have very little chance of causing harm to other local populations living 10 miles away in a more rural setting. However I am not an expert on the matter and would certainly take into account any quality research you can find on the subject. Thanks.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by Atheris333 on September 18, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
Releasing long term captives outside their normal range, even if it is in similar habitat, may prove fatal as many of them fail to learn to feed, hide and generally survive.
In addition, please refer to page 7 in this document under wild populations:
http://naturalsciences.org/sites/default/files/files/documents/research-collections/Venomous_Snakes_of_NC.pdf
Regardless of whether or not it is illegal in NC, it is in most states, and for good reason. It's just common sense. Why risk endangering a native population of animals, no matter how miniscule that risk may be?
Im not policing you, if you want to be an irresponsible individual go for it.
Otherwise, give them to a herp society or a nature center. Hell throw them up here or faunaclassifieds and give them away. Or heres an idea, sell them, make some money, list them as captive born. I mean thats a lot less irresponsible then what you are trying to do.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by ianb on September 19, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
|
If you think 1 week for the babies and 3 for the mom is long term and that the snakes may have adapted to captivity and forgotten how to survive in the wild I really question your judgement. If you think putting them up for sale rather than moving them down the road to a more wooded area away from houses to start a new life before the weather gets cold is a better idea then I question your judgement. I just think the risk are extremely minimal that they will harm other copperheads just a matter of miles down the road. I've also worked for weeks with a neonate transpecos-southern mix trying everything in the book from tease feeding to frogs, fish, cicadas etc and eventually had to give it away to be force fed. I just don't have the time right now. Thanks for your input.
|
| |
|
RE: advise on baby copperheads
|
Reply
|
|
by Atheris333 on September 19, 2012
|
Mail this to a friend!
|
The issue isn't if they have "forgotten to survive in the wild"
And as I said before, Im not here to tell you what to do. Just trying to inform you..
|
| |
|
Email Subscription
You are not subscribed to this topic.
Subscribe!
My Subscriptions
Subscriptions Help
Check our help page for help using
, or send questions, comments, or suggestions to the
Manager.
|
