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Originally Posted by kingpinreptiles
^ Yeah I didn't want to state the facts that you stated because I didn't want to make it seem like I was bashing the seller. I'd be able to keep Tantilla through the spring/summer as I live near the woods and centipedes are easy enough to find under rocks. In captivity though they usually either don't eat, they dry up because it's not moist enough in their enclosure, or they get skin blisters because it's too moist in their enclosure. Regardless of if the snake is doing good or not you're not going to see it very often as it's a snake that likes to spend most of it's life underground.
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LOL...maybe I'm just in a mood, or maybe its the fact that I'm just seeing this happen more and more; People selling herps that hardly feasible to keep in captivity, especially for new hobbyists.
Advertising these as "Very cool...loves to eat termites" doesn't fool folks like you or me but to some Joe Smith who has never heard of them might fall for it, but a couple, get them home, and then its like, "Gee, where am I going to get termites or centipedes reliably every few days to keep this snake alive?" I can guarantee you Jonathan Benson doesn't care.
Its nothing personal; I suppose its one thing if it was a species that would acclimate well like a kingsnake or a pond-slider or something. But stuff like tiny little salamanders and crowned snakes make poor captives, unless you're a dedicated diehard enthusiast of those species.
Mike, I know you're into the ringnecks, which is a pretty specialized niche community itself, so I know you can relate. The market for crowned snakes is pretty darn small, wouldn't you say?