Found snake in shower- help!!

[horselo284]

Hi,

So..I just went to take a shower, only to find a tiny brown snake squirming, trying to get away from the water. I turned off the water and caught it....and put it in a spare 10 gallon tank I had. Is this a garter snake? If not, does anyone know what it is? It's small...I did not know at first if it was a snake or large worm.

9898

Ok...so next question is what the heck do I do with it? I am on Long Island, NY. It is pretty cold outside and as an animal lover, I don't want to hurt it by placing it outside in cold weather.

It is in my 10 gallon tank..but the tank has no cover. Can it escape? It was wet from my shower so I put a wash cloth in with it to give it a way to dry off and maybe keep warm. Good idea? I have aspen bedding from my guinea pigs...should I put some in?

Should I release it tomorrow? any other ideas? And um..are more snakes going to magically appear in my shower? I don't mind snakes...but finding one is my shower was a bit strange...to say the least. lol

Thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Laura

[infernalis]

Is the belly bright red/orange or cream colour?

[horselo284]

Is the belly bright red/orange or cream colour?


Hey,

Thanks so much for the reply. I think it is cream colored, but I am not 100% sure without picking it up. I haven't picked it up yet and am a bit wary- I've held snakes before but pet ones, not wild ones. :/

I have two little boys so Ive been trying to figure out a way to make sure it doesn't escape tonight and end up loose in my house. I think it is too small to get up the side of the tank, but to be safe, is it okay to tape paper towels (since they are pretty breathable) over the top of the tank for some protection?

Sorry for appearing completely confused about what to do. This is a very new experience for me. lol

[guidofatherof5]

Is the belly bright red/orange or cream colour?


I'm with you Wayne.

Probably a Storeria dekayi. Great little snakes. What part of the country(State) do you live in?
Storeria dekayi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storeria_dekayi)

[BLUESIRTALIS]

it's a dekay's snake 100% harmless! They are not aggressive at all and I have never had one bite me and I have found hundreds of them! It might be best to keep it until spring so it has a better chance of surviving and if you decide to do so it feeds on worms and slugs and will only grow to about a foot long! If you do have to release it I would put it under the house because it won't be able to find a good spot to hibernate outside over the winter!

[guidofatherof5]

I'm with you Wayne.

Probably a Storeria dekayi. Great little snakes. What part of the country(State) do you live in?
Storeria dekayi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storeria_dekayi)

I guess I should have read the entire post. Then I would have seen your location.:D

[horselo284]

Thanks so much for the replies! If I kept it for the winter, what kind if care/habitat setup would it need? Where would I get food? It is a cute little thing! So tiny! Only maybe 4 or 5 inches long right now.

[guidofatherof5]

You should still be able to dig some worms from a safe area or purchase from Walmart. Be sure to purchase night crawlers only. Here's a link to the forum care sheet which should answer many of your question.
Thanks for care for the little gem.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

[ConcinusMan]

Yes, it's a northern brown snake a.k.a. "dekay's snake". It's not too cold for them yet. You could just put it outside preferably where there are some kind of burrows or decaying logs to hide in. They function just fine in the 50's. It's not too cold outside for you to let it go. If the days weren't getting warmer than 40F I would say it's too cold. This is a snake that prefers it cold. They don't tolerate heat above 80F very well. If you're keeping it, don't heat the tank. Now I'm wondering where the broken pipe is if it ended up in your tub.


Only maybe 4 or 5 inches long right now.

They don't get very big in the first place. Newborns can be around 1.5 inches and adults around 8 inches. My concern is that you won't be able to get t to eat this time of year, in which case, keeping it in the house at room temp is going to be too warm for brumating and he'll lose too much weight over the winter.

But like I was saying they aren't like most snakes. They don't like very warm temps and are sometimes seen out when there's snow on the ground. They ony need to keep from freezing in the winter. Other than that, cold doesn't bother them. They prefer it. That's why so many of these are found in Oct-Nov. and again late Feb-early April but you won't find many in the warm days of summer. They go underground (or end up in people's basements) to avoid the heat of summer. Not uncommon to find them indoors. They only come there to escape the heat of summer or temps below freezing.

[horselo284]

Thanks so much for the reply! It is pretty warm today (last week was pretty cold...right around me dipped into the 20's at night...but now its warm...silly weather changes lol).

I'm actually kind of sad to let the little guy go lol. I decided to pick him up to let my 3-year old see him closer and after some initial squirming, he was shockingly docile. Sat in my hand, looking around, but didnt seem scared? Of course I am not snake expert. He is so little though! I have never seen a snake so small! He really is the size of a worm! lol

I'm ready to do whatever is best for him, but would it be inappropriate to attempt to keep him and see if he would eat? I know he is technically a wild animal, but he is just so cool. lol I don't want to do anything that would harm him though,

[guidofatherof5]

This has to be your call. Keep in mind that the longer you keep it the more the chance you will be forced to keep it over the Winter. If you do keep it and it starts eating and thriving you'll be hard pressed to release it next Spring.;) Especially, if your little girl gets attached to it.

[horselo284]

This has to be your call. Keep in mind that the longer you keep it the more the chance you will be forced to keep it over the Winter. If you do keep it and it starts eating and thriving you'll be hard pressed to release it next Spring.;) Especially, if your little girl gets attached to it.

Ok...lol so I have a choice to make. Either I let it go tomorrow, while were back to fairly warm weather, or I keep it (assuming it eats and thrives) for at least the winter. :)

If I kept it, what do I need to get? Does it need a heat lamp or heat pad? It is really very tiny...(as thin as a pencil...maybe even thinner) would it have trouble eating regular worms right now? I could prob dig some up from the garden but I think they are probably the same thickness. I have a pet smart, petco and a private petstore right by me. I am not sure what worms they sell- but I could go check it out. I can buy online too (but something at a petstore would avoid shipping which would be great).

Is there more than one type of thing I should try if I keep him? what kind of sizes should I be looking for? What kind of substrate should I use? I have paper towels in there for now, but im guessing there is something better?

Thanks in advance!

-Laura

[horselo284]

Any thoughts? If I keep it, Should I use dirt from the garden as substrate? Or buy something from the store? Should I try worm from the garden? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! If I am gonna keep him for now, I want to set up a nice little home! Or would it really just be best for me to let it go? I will do whatever is best for it...but it's a cool little snake. lol I am enjoying it.

[gibble888]

If you do keep him paper towels or aspen is fine...cut thee worms into tiny chunks about half the width of his head for now till he gets a couple of feedings in him then larger chunks.....

[horselo284]

If you do keep him paper towels or aspen is fine...cut thee worms into tiny chunks about half the width of his head for now till he gets a couple of feedings in him then larger chunks.....

Thanks so much for the reply! He keeps going under the paper towels and ends up against the glass of the tank. Is that okay? What should I put in the tank to make him more comfortable? Does he need a heat/light source? The room he is in does not have a natural light source.

Also, does he need calcium powder supplement? I have never had a snake before so my knowledge comes from Lizards (I had a bearded dragon and a leopard gecko). I want to make sure I get it right and he gets the best possible care!

Thanks again!

[gibble888]

Hiding under the paper towel is normal....a flattened toilet paper roll as a hide and when you get more throw em in.....gonna need a shallow water dish changed at least weekly and depends on temp for the heat and im not sure what temps are correct for you as i keep garters

[horselo284]

Hiding under the paper towel is normal....a flattened toilet paper roll as a hide and when you get more throw em in.....gonna need a shallow water dish changed at least weekly and depends on temp for the heat and im not sure what temps are correct for you as i keep garters
Ok, Thank you so much! I put a small plate with water in it cause everything else I had in my house is to deep...but I am going to go buy something more appropriate. :) Thanks again!

[infernalis]

As for "heat" dekayi prefer cooler temperatures. Adding heat cooks them.

[horselo284]

As for "heat" dekayi prefer cooler temperatures. Adding heat cooks them.
Ok! So no heat. :). Anything else I should know? I gathered up some slugs and worms yesterday. When I put a slug in with him he stalked it and was about to grab it when it slipped under the paper towels. :(. Then I made the mistake of going to retrieve the slug for him and in the process scared him. Whoops! I took the slug out (it was such a perfect, tiny one...I didn't want to waist it lol) and left a worm in with him. When I went back a while later I didn't see the worm, so he may have eaten it. :)


how much should he be eating?


i am going to the pet store today, so if there is anything else you guys think I need, please let me know!


Thanks so much!

[SD Reptiles]

Let him go and buy a gartersnake ;-)
Maybe the little guy dont want to eat well in captivity or get sick and dies. Thats a risk to take and i dont would want to take that risk ;)

[horselo284]

I'm just worried it won't do well if I let it go now. The weather has been all over the place. One second it's 55 and the next is is 23 degrees. In my house it is steady in the high 60's. It is supposed to snow in a couple of days and was actually flurrying last night (which is funny because it was beautiful during the day).

He did eat the worm I put in yesterday. I went to take out the paper towels today and add substrate that he could burrow into and there was no worm or dried up worm anywhere. He seems to love the new substrate...went burrowing around in it when I put him in. I also ordered some hides, fake plants and new dishes for him (they should come tomorrow or the next day). I left a worm in a small dish with him now and figured I would leave him alone for a few days to get used to the new substrate and stuff.

If you guys think it would be better to let him go, I will though. I really do want to do what is best for him. I just thought making him a nice home might be that....but if it's not, I will do whatever I need to do to keep him safe.

[CrazyHedgehog]

I'm no expert, but is sounds like you are giving the little fella a wonderful chance, and for a novice snake owner, its great that you are looking for and taking advice. Well done and enjoy him!

[ConcinusMan]

He did eat the worm I put in yesterday.

If you didn't see it happen, assume it didn't eat it. If you just cut the head off or cut it in thirds, the worm isn't going to crawl away.


If you guys think it would be better to let him go, I will though.

I would but it's really up to you. If you can't confirm he's eating by actually seeing it eat, if it refuses to eat, or doesn't eat an adequate amount, he's better off kept at 42-50 degrees until spring when you can let him go.

IF he eats OK there's really no harm in keeping him but come summer you had better have air conditioning. Like I said, you have to keep them fairly cool.

[horselo284]

I'm no expert, but is sounds like you are giving the little fella a wonderful chance, and for a novice snake owner, its great that you are looking for and taking advice. Well done and enjoy him!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate them! :)

[horselo284]

If you didn't see it happen, assume it didn't eat it. If you just cut the head off or cut it in thirds, the worm isn't going to crawl away.



I would but it's really up to you. If you can't confirm he's eating by actually seeing it eat, if it refuses to eat, or doesn't eat an adequate amount, he's better off kept at 42-50 degrees until spring when you can let him go.

IF he eats OK there's really no harm in keeping him but come summer you had better have air conditioning. Like I said, you have to keep them fairly cool.

Thanks so much for the reply! I have seen him eat one small worm in person (yesterday) and the day before I am pretty sure he ate one because he was still on paper towels and when I took the paper towels out to put in new substrate, there was no sign of a dead/dried up worm anywhere. Only the clean paper towels, paper towel roll (as a makeshift hide) and the dish I had put in.

That said, how much should I be expecting him to eat and how often should I feed him? He is pretty small, not only short, but skinny as well. I've found some videos of Dekay snakes on youtube and compared to the videos, he looks about half the thickness and a bit less than half the length of the grown dekays.

Also, is there a good way to keep the worms and slugs to keep as may as possible alive (I am planning to collect a bunch while they are still around...). I am not finding as many as I had hoped though, so I will probably have to buy something for him to eat at some point. What would be the closest option to the earthworms and slugs from my backyard?

Thanks so much!
-Laura

[ConcinusMan]

Walmart sells night crawlers in sporting goods. Just find a sporting goods place or section in a store they are sold as bait. That should get you through the times you can't collect worms and slugs. I would say with a diet like this and a temp of 60-70 F you should let him get really full 2-3 times a week. If he's eating and you can keep him within 60-75 degrees with no problems, then I'd say keeping him is feasable. At least over the winter, he'll be better off. I was just worried you wouldn't get him to eat enough if at all. Heck, if he's eating and the temperature range isn't going to be a problem then just keep him if that's what u want to do.