New Blacknecks (w/ PICS this time)

[d_virginiana]

I posted a while ago about a couple baby blacknecks that I picked up. One was doing alright, but the other was a noneater. Since then, I ended up taking the rest of the noneaters from the litter temporarily to try and get them eating.

Nubbins (the larger one) and Knish (the smaller one) when I first got them. Knish was the one in really bad shape.
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Nubbins and Knish now. It's only been about a month, but they've both grown, and Knish has shed twice .
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This is a different baby I ended up assist-feeding for a week or so. Not my favorite method, but he had completely flattened out and was almost completely listless, so I didn't know what else to try. Taking his own food now and acting healthy, but I know organ-damage is a possibility with as bad as he had gotten. He may just end up being roommates with Knish, as I've gotten kind of attached to him.

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Still have two more babies from that litter that aren't really eating well, but not about to drop dead either. Since they are taking at least some food, I'm hopeful that they'll start eating well on their own.

[guidofatherof5]

Beautiful. Best of luck with the non/slow eaters.

[rickymar81]

Very cool snakes!

[d_virginiana]

Thanks :) They're very different from my easterns.

[joeysgreen]

Superb :) Next to the radix, I think these are my favorite garters.

[d_virginiana]

Easterns are still my favorite. Feisty, but I don't expect to bleed every time I open the tank. :p

The blacknecks have a nice temperament, but every one I've ever seen seems to have really bizarre feeding quirks.

[joeysgreen]

Do they do well with typical captive garter care? I was in their range once while driving from Denver to Amarillo and the field guides said they like the rocky streams and slopes typical of southeast Colorado. It's a neat area but I never did find any black necks; a baby elegans almost fooled me though :)

Ian

[guidofatherof5]

I had feeding problems with mine. Very shy to no eaters. Tried all the tricks I could think of.

[d_virginiana]

Sadly one of the two remaining non-eaters died earlier today :(

Yeah, of the three I've got eating so far only one of them will actually just take food; she's the one that's about five times the size of her siblings. One of the smaller ones will only eat silverside meat- no organs. The other will only eat pinkie organs- heaven forbid I try to feed him a leg. I've tried repeatedly to scent other pieces/types of food for those two, and they'll spit them out every time.

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear about the scrub's passing.

[d_virginiana]

Thanks. I wasn't expecting any of those four to make it in the long run though (never ate well, then pretty much just stopped), so the fact that even one is eating well is better than expected, and I'm still hopeful about the last poor eater.

[joeysgreen]

Have you tried feeding live tadpoles, frogs, earthworms, bugs etc.? Any risk of parasites is less than not eating at all. They can be dewormed, and switched to captive bred prey when they are larger.

Ian

[d_virginiana]

Everything that can be tried has been tried with these. I only have one left that isn't eating well though. The other three are taking food fine despite being quirky about it.

[joeysgreen]

I figured I was stating the obvious, good luck with them :)

[EKS56]

I had feeding problems with mine. Very shy to no eaters. Tried all the tricks I could think of.

That makes me feel better.

[EKS56]

When I got the parents to these the male went for 4 months without eating. :o

[EKS56]

I think this is why you don't see very many of them for sale.
I think Big Momma is gravid. I'll try some different angles this next time around.
I'm lucky I stumbled onto a pair.
Their natural habitat is in central Texas.

[d_virginiana]

I'm keeping the tiniest one.. I think he has something weird going on neurologically.. but you're taking the other one back once I get it eating well. It's taking some food, and I think I'm close to getting it to tong feed.

[chris-uk]

Sorry to hear about the scrubs.

My blacknecks are western, as opposed to your eastern blacknecks Lora. My two have two different stories at the moment, the female is eating very, very well and has been for about a month. The male hasn't eaten since Autumn, I've tried all the tricks that have been mentioned on the forum, he's just inactive and not interested in food. I occasionally see him moving around, and he's obviously drinking else he'd be dead by now.
Blacknecks do seem to be a species that doesn't like eating.

[d_virginiana]

Thanks. I honestly didn't expect any of the ones I picked up to make it, so the two noneaters (and their gigantic sister who is closing in on the size of my two year old eastern male :p ) that are doing good now are already better than I'd hoped. The one that seems to have neurological weirdness doesn't seem too bothered by it and it doesn't seem to be worsening, so I think he'll be okay.

I wonder if their finicky food habits might come from their natural habitat (at least the eastern ones). They seem to be found in hotter areas that are more prone to drought and quick climate changes... It makes me wonder if they're more sensitive to changes in heat/humidity because that would be a clue that they need to immediately start shutting down or risk death?

It might explain why I've had pretty good luck with the ones I picked up; they're set up near my tropical frogs, so their heat/humidity stays more stable than it would in a room set up just for temperate reptiles (they don't have the tropical temps, but the equipment keeps the ambient temp steadier).

[PsychedelicTarantulas]

Blacknecks have always been one of my favorite species of Thamnophis. Thanks for sharing pics and the story.

[guidofatherof5]

Congrats on making "The Reptile Report"
Baby Blacknecks | The Reptile Report (http://thereptilereport.com/baby-blacknecks/)

[d_virginiana]

Huh, never heard of that before lol I'll tell Nubbins she's famous now.

[guidofatherof5]

Huh, never heard of that before lol I'll tell Nubbins she's famous now.

We are fortunate to have The Reptile Report represented on our forum. Many great articles and other interesting things on that site. A good one to bookmark ;)
View Profile: Judy@TRR - Garter Snake Forum (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/members/judy-trr.html)

[d_virginiana]

Last one died over night last night :( Kind of disappointed, but I'm happy with the little one that did make it. So bizarre that he was by far the one in the worst condition initially, but the only one to make it. Later today I'll be moving him in with Knish and Nubbins (and moving the remaining feeder guppies into the 5gal since we've got leftover aquarium equipment from when I had fish; They'll be happy and it'll be good to have guppies on standby in case I need them in the future!)

My husband and I spent half an hour trying to come up with names for the little derpy one and ended up with nothing; Any suggestions?

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear the little scrub died.

[d_virginiana]

Thanks. It's a shame, because I was pretty hopeful about that one.

[EKS56]

:(

[EKS56]

Here is a pic of siblings of the same group that my Niece is raising. They seem to be doing real well.

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[guidofatherof5]

Dang, they are a strikingly beautiful snake.

[chris-uk]

Dang, they are a strikingly beautiful snake.

Whether it's Eastern or Western, Blacknecks are beautiful. Shame they seem to be one of the more delicate species.

[d_virginiana]

Whether it's Eastern or Western, Blacknecks are beautiful. Shame they seem to be one of the more delicate species.

Just out of curiosity, have you noticed any of the issues you have with blacknecks with you cuitzeo garters? From what I was reading, blacknecks can occasionally range down into the same areas of Mexico.

[chris-uk]

Just out of curiosity, have you noticed any of the issues you have with blacknecks with you cuitzeo garters? From what I was reading, blacknecks can occasionally range down into the same areas of Mexico.

Nope. My female Cuitzeo is a food monster. The male Cuitzeo can go for short spells without eating, and I suppose he's shy like the Blacknecks but not in the same league. My female blackneck is currently on a massive eating spree, I'm making hay while the sun shines with her.

[d_virginiana]

When the blacknecks get older I'm curious to see how the males will react to my male easterns. Maybe the enthusiasm for food will rub off on them.

Do your blacknecks usually go off food at any particular time of year (mating season/winter) or just randomly start fasting?

[EKS56]

Big Momma eats pretty much year round. It's the male that will go for 2-3 weeks at a time with out eating.

[chris-uk]

My female is random. My male just doesn't eat for most of the year. I'm getting to a point with him where I think I either force feed or I might loose him. But I've said in the past that I won't force feed on the grounds that if they aren't eating there's probably an underlying problem that won't be resolved by force feeding.

I dream of 3 week fasting periods.

[d_virginiana]

But I've said in the past that I won't force feed on the grounds that if they aren't eating there's probably an underlying problem that won't be resolved by force feeding.

I think you're right about the underlying issues. Out of the four sickly babies I was working with, three of them I tried forcefeeding; like you said, it had gotten to the point that if they didn't eat they were going to die. It worked for one, but not the others (looked like kidney failure, but can't be sure).

I think the only reason it worked on the one (the one with neuro issues) was that maybe he had always felt like eating, but could never really get the food? He basically opens his mouth and waves his head around like crazy trying to get the food, and you have to be ready to put it in his mouth for him or he'll never get it.



I dream of 3 week fasting periods.

My oldest male always fasts at least a month during breeding season. Not a huge problem when he was younger, but at his age it's worrisome.

[chris-uk]

My male shows no interest in food when he's not eating. I can put the food near his head, or right against his mouth and he'll just pull away. I can leave the food in his viv and it will be there the next morning. I can put him in a tub with food and it will be there the next morning. The only thing I've not tried over the last month is forcing food into his mouth.
HHe's never eaten well, but this current fast is his worst so far. Over the last couple of years he's eaten just enough to keep himself alive, so he doesn't have reserves to do half a year without eating.

[EKS56]

My male shows no interest in food when he's not eating. I can put the food near his head, or right against his mouth and he'll just pull away. I can leave the food in his viv and it will be there the next morning. I can put him in a tub with food and it will be there the next morning. The only thing I've not tried over the last month is forcing food into his mouth.
HHe's never eaten well, but this current fast is his worst so far. Over the last couple of years he's eaten just enough to keep himself alive, so he doesn't have reserves to do half a year without eating.

Helpless feeling isn't it :(

[EKS56]

Here is a picture of my female Blackneck. "Big Momma".

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[guidofatherof5]

Here is a picture of my female Blackneck. "Big Momma".

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Great looking snake but how did you come up with the name "Big Momma" ? :D

[EKS56]

LOL!!!
"Big Momma" and "Little Man".
She is just so much bigger than the male that I felt like their names should be a reflection of the size difference.

[d_virginiana]

After holding her yesterday I think she's gravid.

[chris-uk]

Helpless feeling isn't it :(

Yep. Had another attempt to force feed today. He spat it out. :-(

Sounds like you've got another generation of blackneck fun ahead, assuming Big Mamma is gravid. And looking at your photo she certainly looks it.