I felt that large snakes shouldn't be sold to an average joe that knows nothing about snakes or can't able to house a large snake properly. I have seen some large snakes are gentle....but there are some mean ones that should be put down.
OVERTURN THE PYTHON BAN!!!
- Thread starter FishFreak95
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I don't agree with the government taking away rights. Give those corrupt idiots an inch and the whole pet trade will be banned. I however do feel this ban should remain. These are large animals and really shouldn't be kept. You are never going to match their natural habitat in food, space and interaction. Sure they will live and be fine but you can never be sure of their quality of life. I feel this way about all large pets, including fish. I am a little more lenient with captive bred but not with these huge animals. With the state of the world and declining numbers i do feel that wild animals should never be harvested at this point.
I agree in part. No average joe should be able to purchase them. There were better ways this could have been dealt with. How do you know whether a little neon tetra is happy? Or a Red Tailed catfish?
To one person 5 feet might be too large, to another there is no too large.
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To one person 5 feet might be too large, to another there is no too large.
Sent from my SPH-D600 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Most captive large snakes have it way better than wild ones. They're able to get food on a regular basis, don't really have to work too hard for that food, have proper temperatures 99% of the time, and don't have to worry about predators while they're growing up. Let's not forget that these snakes will sit for days along game trails waiting for food, and they might not catch and eat a single decent-sized prey item for weeks, if not longer; they're very opportunistic and are more than happy to eat an easy meal that fills them up pretty good.
I don't agree with cutting off imports rather I think that they should be severely limited that way the wild population is still protected and the captive gene pool receives new genes to keep the snakes from becoming too inbred; I would think that allowing the big breeders to bring in a few, e.g. maybe 100 total, each year would more good than harm for both the wild population and the captive population. Specifically, imports should be limited to morphs for the most part because these they are very unlikely to survive for long in the wild anyway.
As for temperament, a lot of that comes down to how the snake is raised. Most snakes will settle down at least a little bit after a little bit of handling; these large snakes are no exception. Many of the aggressive large snakes you might come across were either raised incorrectly or just happen to be one of the few that will not tame down despite all efforts. I believe that overly aggressive snakes should not be bred even if they look great; there's no sense in chancing passing on that aggressive behavior when there are far more passive individuals that could be used for breeding. Personally, I never had any aggression issues with my burms despite them receiving little handling prior to me acquiring them; they were puppy dog tame by the time that I sold them.
I don't agree with cutting off imports rather I think that they should be severely limited that way the wild population is still protected and the captive gene pool receives new genes to keep the snakes from becoming too inbred; I would think that allowing the big breeders to bring in a few, e.g. maybe 100 total, each year would more good than harm for both the wild population and the captive population. Specifically, imports should be limited to morphs for the most part because these they are very unlikely to survive for long in the wild anyway.
As for temperament, a lot of that comes down to how the snake is raised. Most snakes will settle down at least a little bit after a little bit of handling; these large snakes are no exception. Many of the aggressive large snakes you might come across were either raised incorrectly or just happen to be one of the few that will not tame down despite all efforts. I believe that overly aggressive snakes should not be bred even if they look great; there's no sense in chancing passing on that aggressive behavior when there are far more passive individuals that could be used for breeding. Personally, I never had any aggression issues with my burms despite them receiving little handling prior to me acquiring them; they were puppy dog tame by the time that I sold them.
Indeed. No average joe should have access, especially not popularity crazed teens. To be honest, you can't be too sure what a snake really wants, and currently established captivity conditions, are sparse yet adequate at best.
I can never tell if a neon tetra or red tail cat is happy but as a human with higher brain function, I can decide if thier enclosure closely replicated their natural behavior and environment or not and use common sense to determine if I am being fair to that animal. People who aren't selfish self richeous people who care about the environment can make this distinction too. People just have to big of an ego to realize that animal is a living creature with natural instincts and should be treated fairly. I'm sure there are people that take fine care of them but at 20' they should never be in captivity. Many people buy these snakes and jam them in a 55 gallon tank. Everyone should realize that this is for the benefit of the animals and not look at it so selfishly and cry about it.
Snakes have very few goals in life: growing, eating on a regular basis, being safe, having a comfortable environment, having some mental stimulation, and making babies. If someone can provide all of those things, then they're exceeding what theses snakes would experience in the wild. Let's not forget that the end goal of any life form is to survive long enough to perpetuate their species.
Let's face it: Very few people replicate a fish's natural behavior and environment even if they can do so for relatively little money. These fish could be happy or maybe they're dreadfully unhappy, but we'll never really know for sure. At least the snake will make some sort of indication that its happy or not; with the fish, you're lucky if you are able to determine if its happy or not.
Many more people buy these snakes and provide them with more than adequate housing. I would be greatly surprised if someone managed to get a burm to be 20' long and still have it live a natural life span; these snakes don't typically exceed 12' long in the wild let alone in captivity. They live a sedentary life style and prefer to lie in the same place for days at a time, so keeping them in a somewhat small cage (although a 55 gallon is grossly too small) is fine for them provided that they are allowed out for exercise often.
Ego also plays into whether or not you feel that a fish is given ample room or not, so do not be so quick to judge.
Ego does play into keeping fish in inadequate space. That point is very much agreed. I pride myself in keeping smaller fish in my reef tanks and did away with fresh water monsters for this very reason. They should be able to roam their natural waters. Ive contemplated getting out of fish keeping for this very reason. I appreciate that not everyone feels the way that I do, but it should be noted that many of the points that I brought up are very valid.
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