Is keeping snakes cruel?

[Vaughan]

Thank you midnightserval i will keep that in kind

[midnightserval]

I will keep looking out for my beloved Jess.....I dont think i will ever heal from that one.

[Vaughan]

Sorry to hear that.....

[jessb]

Originally Posted by Pking

It would most likely be more that he is scared of them, I still love when my old man comes around and i walk down the hallway with a 8ft snake he nearly cries!!!

LOL I agree! when we have visitors it usually turns out that the big blokes are more scared of the snakes than the 3yo kids!

[Smellie]

I think of it like this when it comes to reptiles and what have you...if you have a few generations of reptile born, bred, living in captivity...they wouldn't really know any better. For something that's always been in an enclosure or tank or anything, what they live in is all they know.
I think there's a little voice in everyone's mind that's very very quite in saying "you know this is wrong, why do it?" but to me that's how I've always thought of it. If something (or someone) is born in a certain situation, and pretty much blocked off from something (like being in the wild) then how would it know?

That's just my 2 cents on it

[Ramsayi]

Think of it this way.A mac for instance would happily live out its life under a rock if all of its needs such as correct temps,food,water,mates etc we close by.

[MrKite]

Your dad just doesn't want you to have one, and he has came up with that as his reason. Simple as that.

When i got my first snake back when i was 15, i carefully mounted my case to my parents, covering all bases inc things like prices, housing, feeding (including keeping rats in our freezer which was the biggest hiccup) and general queries.

The best thing you can do is become as informed as you can, and be persistent! This will let him know that your aware of all that is required when you re-but his arguments. Read snake books in front of him, etc. He needs to know your love for reptiles isn't going away.

Also, he may be worried that this is just a phase, and you will lose interest. May be better if you didn't take up any other hobbies in the meantime, or this may confirm his fear.

Anyways, good luck.

[oddball]

If you keep them right, it's not cruel.
Cruel is allowing them to have mites, or scale rot untreated. Or keeping them in an unheated fish-tank with no substrate because you can't be screwed to do research on the animal you just bought, or stole from the wild.

Humans have domesticated animals since before recorded time, the only difference between your dog and a captive bred snake is that we are only just beginning to domesticate snakes, so the differences between pet snakes and wild snakes is not so defined.
Animals in captivity, as a whole have good lives. Constant supplies of food, shelter, warmth and medical treatment means that their life span will be considerably longer than in the wild, and in comfort too. We give animals the optimum conditions for them to survive in.
What your Dad needs to realise, is that snakes have a different set of priorities than humans. He is judging what a snake needs, based on what HE needs, he is projecting his own values onto them.

As far as I know, snakes don't care about roaming wild all day, having a massive territory or being able to own something.
Wild snakes roam because they need to find food, shelter, water and the right temperature, and these might be a fair way apart. If you give a wild snake it's optimum conditions and a fairly constant supply of food, it is not likely to stray from that spot, unless chased out.

If he is going to argue that keeping a snake is cruel because it SHOULD be wild or that it WANTS to be outside, then he has to apply the same logic to everything. Keeping cats and dogs is cruel for the same reason. keeping you from doing what you want to do, is cruel for the same reason.

[i_LoVe_AnImAlS]

i think it depends on your own opinion really i love snakes my opinion is i dont really think its cruel but as i said its your own opinion

[swaddo]

Originally Posted by Pking

It would most likely be more that he is scared of them, I still love when my old man comes around and i walk down the hallway with a 8ft snake he nearly cries!!!

LOL, my fathers like that too. Reckon it is even funnier when my kids are handling mine and he is still backing away

[wilwyn]

the biggest killer of snakes in the wild is starvation , my animals, will never starve , ?????

[ailerom]

Keeping any animal in captivity CAN be cruel if it's needs are not met. Eg, a cockatoo is an intelligent animal and suffers if kept in a small cage and deprived of mental stimulation. A snake, however, is much less intelligent than a cockatoo, does not require toys to play or even a mate, but does require correct housing, temperature control etc.

[mebebrian]

Originally Posted by oddball

Wild snakes roam because they need to find food, shelter, water and the right temperature, and these might be a fair way apart. If you give a wild snake it's optimum conditions and a fairly constant supply of food, it is not likely to stray from that spot, unless chased out.

Couldn't have said it better, give them what they need and they wont move, just check out the number of escaped snake threads with happy outcomes, they never seem to wanna leave.

Sounds like your old man needs to meet someone with a few friendly snakes....

[Reptile070]

Originally Posted by oddball

If you keep them right, it's not cruel.
Cruel is allowing them to have mites, or scale rot untreated. Or keeping them in an unheated fish-tank with no substrate because you can't be screwed to do research on the animal you just bought, or stole from the wild.

Humans have domesticated animals since before recorded time, the only difference between your dog and a captive bred snake is that we are only just beginning to domesticate snakes, so the differences between pet snakes and wild snakes is not so defined.
Animals in captivity, as a whole have good lives. Constant supplies of food, shelter, warmth and medical treatment means that their life span will be considerably longer than in the wild, and in comfort too. We give animals the optimum conditions for them to survive in.
What your Dad needs to realise, is that snakes have a different set of priorities than humans. He is judging what a snake needs, based on what HE needs, he is projecting his own values onto them.

As far as I know, snakes don't care about roaming wild all day, having a massive territory or being able to own something.
Wild snakes roam because they need to find food, shelter, water and the right temperature, and these might be a fair way apart. If you give a wild snake it's optimum conditions and a fairly constant supply of food, it is not likely to stray from that spot, unless chased out.

If he is going to argue that keeping a snake is cruel because it SHOULD be wild or that it WANTS to be outside, then he has to apply the same logic to everything. Keeping cats and dogs is cruel for the same reason. keeping you from doing what you want to do, is cruel for the same reason.

Great answer!

Cruel is property owners using bird net to control their snake populations
Cruel is killing a snake because it comes on to a persons property looking for food or shelter
Cruel is bringing in a killer like the Cane Toad
Cruel is destroying their habitats with land-clearing and housing developments

Do I need to go on??

As hobbyists we worship these animals and strive to understand their every requirement. To say we're being cruel to them isn't a very fair (or educated) opinion of keepers or the hobby in general. Let's us not forget, there are great keepers, and then there are poor keepers. I strive to be the best I can be when it comes to my animals.

[Jungletrans]

Wild snakes very often come into houes for warmth and shelter . If there is a good food supply , ie rodents , they will not leave . Even if moved outside they will come back . All we are doing is giving them a nice place to sleep . And dont forget the free booty call in breeding season .