is it cruel to keep a snake in captivity?

[serpenttongue]

OK then imagine being captured and kept in a 10 foot cage all of your life? would you be happy in that environment, and being fed frozen food every few weeks???

Captured??? But you would be purchasing a captive bred specimen that has never seen the wild, it has gone straight into a tub after hatching, to be moved into a larger container/enclosure as it grows and doesnt know any other way.

That is life as it knows it!! So what part of it's life is cruel, when it has no idea of the wild life it could have led?

By the way Supertaipan, i'm not giving you a hard time over this, i'm trying to talk you into getting a snake!! :wink:

 

[Supertaipan]

most dogs are taken outside for a walk?

 

[Supertaipan]

Look im not having a go at you guys, im just interested genuinely, im not having a go at you guys, you obviously do a good job with your pets.

 

[Sdaji]

OK then imagine being captured and kept in a 10 foot cage all of your life? would you be happy in that environment, and being fed frozen food every few weeks???

Imagine being born with no arms or legs! Snakes are cruel, they have babies, none of which have a chance of having hands or feet, not even arms! Heartless monsters they are, but they can't help it... coming into the existence without limbs makes them angry and bitter, this is why they feel the need to have babies of their own, as a form of revenge on their parents... snakes never meet their parents you see, so the only way they can get their revenge is along the lines of "Mum, dad, you two are so cruel, I hate you... I can't get my revenge directly, but I'll make sure you have grandchildren who suffer... by living a life as a mute limbless creature... bwahahaha". This is probably the reason snakes are sad. Yes, all snakes. Have you ever seen a snake smile? No, you haven't, that's not because they can't, it's because none of them have ever wanted to, and that's because they don't have arms or legs... and maybe a little bit because they can't talk. How would you like it if you were suddenly unable to talk? You wouldn't be happy, would you, would you? Does anyone here feed their animals rats or mice? How would you like to eat raw rats and mice? You wouldn't, would you? You're being cruel to these poor creatures which have no will to smile, because they know they are unable to walk and they are mute. They're not even very smart, the can't use telephones, every one of them I've tried to enrol at the local primary school has failed the entrance test, and then to add insult to injury, we feed them raw rodents, while we happily tuck into our lamb chops in mint sauce. Shame shame shame. Since it is so horrible being a snake (you know, being unable to walk, talk, enrol in school, vote, become an Australian citizen, among other things), it is actually very cruel to allow snakes to live. The old saying "the only good snake is a dead snake" actually came from people who loved snakes and only wanted what is best for them; we are the true villains, trying to ensure their continued existence. Shame shame shame.

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[Snow1369]

OK then imagine being captured and kept in a 10 foot cage all of your life? would you be happy in that environment, and being fed frozen food every few weeks???

Captured??? But you would be purchasing a captive bred specimen that has never seen the wild, it has gone straight into a tub after hatching, to be moved into a larger container/enclosure as it grows and doesnt know any other way.

That is life as it knows it!! So what part of it's life is cruel, when it has no idea of the wild life it could have led?

Well said!

 

[Parko]

If you want to take your snake out for a slither you can mate, and by the way ''most'' dogs are not nearly walked near enough for what they would want if they were kept in prime physical condition.

 

[Magpie]

Smiling snake

 

[newtosnakes]

Happily sitting here eating popcorn watching this "discussion" go round and round in circles. Supertaipan, you have asked your questions and now have over 80 responses in this thread. Though you may have begun with a valid question your refusal to accept others opinions has relegated this thread to pointless now. I suggest you make up your own mind and act accordingly.

 

[Sdaji]

Magpie, stop feeding that snake hallucinogens, it thinks it has arms and legs. Sure, it's happy now, but wait until the drugs wear off, it will be more sad than ever

 

[Parko]

LMAO Sdaji :lol: I 've gotta go now, i'm taking my snake to the pub for a beer.

 

[JandC_Reptiles]

Well if all you want is a genuine answer, stop arguing & listen to reason.

In laymens terms:
It is cruel to an extent to take a wild snake & keep it in an enclosure. Captive bred animals have never experienced the wild so have no problems with captivity as they dont need to adjust. If all their needs are met, then there is no reason to assume it is cruel as it would have everything it needs.

 

[Dicco]

Supertaipan, as has been said numerous times, the snake doesn't have a point of view, and can't be unhappy, it's been explained quite clearly numerous times, if kept well, then there is nothing for them to be 'unhappy' about.

 

[Supertaipan]

Well if all you want is a genuine answer, stop arguing & listen to reason.

In laymens terms:
It is cruel to an extent to take a wild snake & keep it in an enclosure. Captive bred animals have never experienced the wild so have no problems with captivity as they dont need to adjust. If all their needs are met, then there is no reason to assume it is cruel as it would have everything it needs.

so in order for it to be accustomed to been kept in a cage, somewhere along the line it must have been taken from the wild?

 

[Sdaji]

If I was a snake, I know I'd much rather hatch in captivity than the wild. In the wild, I'd have (literally) about a 99% chance of dying in my first few months. Even if I beat the odds and made it to maturity, every day would be a challenge, and at any time I might be eaten by a predator. I'd have to endure painful climatic conditions, go through periods of starvation, probably become parasitised by internal parasites, which might kill me, be parasitised by ticks (depending on species), I'd have to eat live food at almost every meal (or scavenge rotting carrion) and consequently, I'd be covered in scars - each of which were obtained painfully, some of which might leave me in pain and unable to hunt or otherwise function normally for weeks or months and may result in life threatening infection... etc etc etc etc

In captivity, I'd have about a 90% chance of living to maturity, I'd never freeze, I'd never be exposed to a predator, I'd probably not get parasitised and if I did the problem would be taken care of, I'd never go hungry, I'd be nursed into old age and cared for until well after the age I could no longer survive in the wild. If I had an owner who wanted me to breed, I'd have far more babies than I would in the wild and instead of almost all of them dying, almost all would live.

 

[JandC_Reptiles]

No you purchase captive bred reptiles from parents that were kept & bred in captivity.

Don't bother going with the whole "oh but originally they came from the wild". Its an argument with no winning side.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

To me, this thread is stupid. Coming to a place that is totally dedicated to keeping reptiles in captivity, then asking the people who do so if they thinks it cruel is just stupid, I'm sorry but this is how I see it.

If you think keeping reptiles is cruel but do it anyway, well that says it all. But if you don't think it's cruel, go and buy another one, you probably don't have large enough collection anyway...

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Supertaipan]

If I was a snake, I know I'd much rather hatch in captivity than the wild. In the wild, I'd have (literally) about a 99% chance of dying in my first few months. Even if I beat the odds and made it to maturity, every day would be a challenge, and at any time I might be eaten by a predator. I'd have to endure painful climatic conditions, go through periods of starvation, probably become parasitised by internal parasites, which might kill me, be parasitised by ticks (depending on species), I'd have to eat live food at almost every meal (or scavenge rotting carrion) and consequently, I'd be covered in scars - each of which were obtained painfully, some of which might leave me in pain and unable to hunt or otherwise function normally for weeks or months and may result in life threatening infection... etc etc etc etc

In captivity, I'd have about a 90% chance of living to maturity, I'd never freeze, I'd never be exposed to a predator, I'd probably not get parasitised and if I did the problem would be taken care of, I'd never go hungry, I'd be nursed into old age and cared for until well after the age I could no longer survive in the wild. If I had an owner who wanted me to breed, I'd have far more babies than I would in the wild and instead of almost all of them dying, almost all would live.

So you are saying snakes are born to be kept in captivity? no my friend you are wrong, they have survived for thousands of years in the wild doing just fine thankyou.

 

[Nephrurus]

In captivity, I'd have about a 90% chance of living to maturity, I'd never freeze, I'd never be exposed to a predator, I'd probably not get parasitised and if I did the problem would be taken care of, I'd never go hungry, I'd be nursed into old age and cared for until well after the age I could no longer survive in the wild. If I had an owner who wanted me to breed, I'd have far more babies than I would in the wild and instead of almost all of them dying, almost all would live

Sounds awfully boring. I wonder how much stimulus you'd get living in a draw system. Even a python living in a log for 2/3 of a year has different smells and temperatures for it to react to. In most captive systems, snakes are little more than little scaly battery hens.

-H

 

[Sdaji]

"Supertaipan", they've survived in the wild for a great deal of time, yes, but they're doing even better in captivity, that's undeniable at least in terms of health, survival and reproduction. The concept of 'happiness' is elusive and we can't measure it in snakes, but I believe they're 'happier' in captivity.

Henry: If you're intelligent as a human, I agree, you'd be bored silly, but a snake is a very different animal from a human. Snakes are designed by evolution to sit around doing nothing for months on end, and a lot of their natural activities are only carried out by necessity; they certainly don't need recreation or social interaction in the same way people do. There is certainly a limit and in some cases, snakes are kept, as you say, as scaly battery hens, which is arguably cruel. I'm not so sure that snakes appreciate different smells etc. When people take their snakes outside, they often say they 'turn wild', this is often misinterpreted as the snake really enjoying itself, somehow realising it's outside, somehow 'closer to nature and as a response, 'comes alive', but what is actually usually going on, is the snake is terrified out of its mind, which is why it frantically smells everything, becomes hyper alert, rapidly moves around (looking for cover etc) and becomes prone to biting (being out in the open in an unfamiliar environment, it expects it's about to be eaten). As I said earlier, they can't talk and are very bitter creatures, so won't be willing or able to share their thoughts on the matter and we'll probably have to continue speculating, in discussions started by people like 'supertaipan' who are looking for fights

 

[cris]

Why do ppl assume snakes dont experience any type of happiness or pleasure?
Has it been proven through neurological studies?
I will admit i have no specific knoledge on this subject but i would suspect that a snakes behavior would be somehow motivated by sometype of fun, pleasure or satisfaction it gets from doing such an activity, otherwise it simply would sit still and die and never breed wouldnt it?

we have already seen conclusive evidence from magpie that snakes can be happy and do smile any evidence to prove they dont?