New guy

[Starling96]

I found a little ribbon snake who has several broken ribs. I'm not sure if I should let him go or try to nurse him back to health cause even at 85 degrees he's pretty sluggish but he did eat some trout.
And also is a 30 gallon long to big? It's the only baby ribbon snake proof tank I currently have lol

[guidofatherof5]

It's really your call on whether to keep him or not.
30 gallon long should be fine. Too much room is usually not a problem.
It's good that he took some food in.

[Starling96]

Yea I think I'm going to keep him.
Also is trout a staple diet? And if not what should I try to feed

[ConcinusMan]

Also is trout a staple diet? And if not what should I try to feed

Whole fish and rodents too, preferably. Most fish eaters will eventually take fish-scented pinkies. I avoid live fish however, when I'm feeding snakes that are CB or dewormed. Significant risk of parasites so I prefer to only feed them fish that has been frozen for some time.

You also have to consider that virtually all trout and salmon have varying levels of mercury and/or PCB's in them which accumulate over time and can become toxic. These are neurotoxins which can produce tremors/seizures and symptoms similar to B1 deficiency. If you're using trout or salmon, then it's best to use ONLY Wild Alaskan salmon or farmed trout/steelhead. These have fairly low levels of contaminants. Most any other salmon besides Alaskan is highly contaminated. No more than two small servings a month is recommended for adult humans. Tilapia is much cleaner however and has only minuscule amounts of contaminants. Virtually none. A little now and then usually does no harm even if it has fairly high levels of contaminants. Contaminated/polluted fish is really only a concern if this makes up the majority of your snakes diet.

[RedSidedSPR]

Trout works... i prefer frozen silversides, though. Or live feeder guppies.

You'll want to mix it up though, not ONLY trout... although with ribbons it might be OK... not with garters. IDK.

30 gallons shouldn't be too big. It's defiantly not too small

Good luck. Keep us posted

[Starling96]

L I didn't thunk it was to small
and we caught the trout from the white river. We have tons of it and eat it all the time and nothing seems to be wrong with except I love snakes jk lol
and I'll mix it up my sister has guppies that breed like crazy so she won't notice any missing lol

[RedSidedSPR]

and we caught the trout from the white river.

Then you probably need to freeze it for awhile before feeding to get rid of parasites.. I THINK.. not sure if that goes for fillet..

and I'll mix it up my sister has guppies that breed like crazy so she won't notice any missing lol

Hehe

[kibakiba]

IMO, it is always wise to freeze something self caught at 0 degrees for at the VERY least, 2 weeks. Just in case.

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, then, I guess I was right.

But if that's a pain, or if it's just too long, BUY FROZEN SILVERSIDES.

[Starling96]

Yea they have been frozen for a yer or longer and I will I know where to get some and thanks fr the help guys!