Storeria occipitomaculata??

[EKS56]

That Red Belly the cat brought up today has the tiniest head on him:o80438044

[d_virginiana]

Storeria occipitomaculata, redbelly snakes, are very similar to Dekays in behavior and care (very closely related as well). I know it's okay to post about Dekay brownsnakes on here, but what about these? If not, feel free to move or delete this as necessary :)

I'm going to be picking up one of these fellows this coming saturday. My parents' cat caught and chewed it today, when it was 70 degrees outside. Starting tomorrow we're supposed to be getting some of the coldest weather we've had in years with a long string of days where the highs are below freezing. May just be keeping it till spring, but I figured being young and partially chewed this snake wouldn't stand much of a chance right now.

At any rate, haven't been able to find much about redbellies specifically, but from what I can gather their care is essentially the same as brownsnakes. Would a setup like what I have for my garters be fine? I also have the option of putting him in a room that stays between 60-70 all day, as opposed to 75-85 if that would be better.
Luckily I started a slug colony a few weeks ago :p

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Storeria occipitomaculata, redbelly snakes, are very similar to Dekays in behavior and care (very closely related as well). I know it's okay to post about Dekay brownsnakes on here, but what about these? If not, feel free to move or delete this as necessary :)

I'm going to be picking up one of these fellows this coming saturday. My parents' cat caught and chewed it today, when it was 70 degrees outside. Starting tomorrow we're supposed to be getting some of the coldest weather we've had in years with a long string of days where the highs are below freezing. May just be keeping it till spring, but I figured being young and partially chewed this snake wouldn't stand much of a chance right now.

At any rate, haven't been able to find much about redbellies specifically, but from what I can gather their care is essentially the same as brownsnakes. Would a setup like what I have for my garters be fine? I also have the option of putting him in a room that stays between 60-70 all day, as opposed to 75-85 if that would be better.
Luckily I started a slug colony a few weeks ago :p

I find these all of the time and have posted quite a few pictures of them. The main thing you'll ahv to worry about is the bite, did it affect any internal organs, and even if it didn't, cat bites are incredibly infectious so you'll have to really be thorough maintaining the bite although if infection is going to set in, it's already a bit late to stop it.

You can expect to set him up like you would a garter, on a small scale. I would also inlude flat hides, such as some flat pieces of bark... they really love to be squished tight under flat things. And you probably will not see as much of this snake as you would a garter. Good on the slugs... you might need them!

[infernalis]

I find these all of the time and have posted quite a few pictures of them. The main thing you'll ahv to worry about is the bite, did it affect any internal organs, and even if it didn't, cat bites are incredibly infectious so you'll have to really be thorough maintaining the bite although if infection is going to set in, it's already a bit late to stop it.

You can expect to set him up like you would a garter, on a small scale. I would also inlude flat hides, such as some flat pieces of bark... they really love to be squished tight under flat things. And you probably will not see as much of this snake as you would a garter. Good on the slugs... you might need them!


^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^

and....

Please take into consideration that this is a very shy, reclusive species. the more hides and cover the better.

I would keep it in the cooler location myself.

[d_virginiana]

Alright, I'm making a trip to the craft store for some fake plants for my turtle tomorrow, so I'll pick up some nice hidey materials for him. Unfortunately the only empty tank I've got at the moment is a 5 gallon, but apparently this snake is about the size of a six month old garter so that shouldn't be huge problem since it would just be a temporary enclosure.

I haven't seen the snake, but I was told that the bites were pretty minor, so hopefully they won't get infected. I told my parents to clean them with diluted hydrogen peroxide (they don't have betadine or hibiclens) twice a day until I pick him up. I'll put up pictures of the snake and the bite area once I get him.

[d_virginiana]

Okay, actually I just realized that my dad posted a picture of it on his other thread about the blackneck garters titled Retained Shed. I think it's the last post on that thread... You can sort of see the bite in the second picture.

[chris-uk]

That Red Belly the cat brought up today has the tiniest head on him:o
8044

Looks like he got lucky - if the only damage from the cat are the small punctures between your thumb. Use some antimicrobial barrier ointment on the wounds just in case, and if they may not get infected. Can you tell how deep the punctures are?

[infernalis]

Okay, actually I just realized that my dad posted a picture of it on his other thread about the blackneck garters titled Retained Shed. I think it's the last post on that thread... You can sort of see the bite in the second picture.

I hope you don't mind, I moved the pictures to this thread, it seemed to make sense rather than having this conversation split on two unrelated threads.

The downside is, they move in chronological order, so the first photo wound up bumping to the top of the thread.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I hope you don't mind, I moved the pictures to this thread, it seemed to make sense rather than having this conversation split on two unrelated threads.

The downside is, they move in chronological order, so the first photo wound up bumping to the top of the thread.


At first I was wondering if I was crazy. I was like I KNOW THAT WASN'T THERE LAST NIGHT!

[d_virginiana]

Yeah, I saw that the thread had a different author and it confused me for a minute :p

I picked up some fake plants and made a short hide out of the bottom dish of a flower pot today, so everything should be ready when I get him.