Can A Scarlet Snake Survive In Captivity? And What Does It Like To Eat? I Caught One And Keeping It As A Pet.

I actually caught an albino scarlet snake here in central FL on March 25, 2009. I decided to release the snake into the nearby woods. 2 weeks later the same or identical snake appeared 50 yards from where the 1st was caught in my neighbors driveway. I've now had the snake ~3 weeks.

I took it to the local reptile pet store and they were very surprised I found an albino (apparently full grown) in the wild. They informed me they rarely survive in captivity because they won't eat. I looked around on the net and found an article indicating the Houston Zoo had one in captivity that would not eat lizards etc but did eat some of a domestic hen egg. I tried one (stirred up a bit in a dish) and the snake appears to love it.

Yeah, they can survive in captivity, if that's what you choose to do. As you probably know, they're non-venomous (assuming you've not confused it with a coral snake...), they feed on small lizards, rodents and *ahem* snakes...

I'd imagine you can probably find one in a pet store somewhere, as people do breed them. This is, in my opinion, a much better idea than keeping a wild one that you've caught. At least if it's been bred in captivity, there's no chance of it being distressed at no longer being free.