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.

snake.jpg

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

[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

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

[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!

[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

[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,