Help with New Jersey Storeria Dekayi (Northern Brown Snake) / Baby Snakes

[YoungSnake]

(Pictures included!)

This is a fairly long one, but I'm new to snakes and I want to ensure my little snake (and her babies) live the best life possible!

I live near Newark, New Jersey. While cutting my lawn on July 1, I found a snake about 15" long. I had seen similar snakes dead in my streets, so I decided to rescue the guy and bring him in.

As far as I can tell, it's a Storeria Dekayi (Northern Brown Snake). She shed within a few days; she was easy to pick up and generally pretty calm. I did pick her up a few times and she went berserk, so I've gotten better at spotting when she is ready for being picked up and when she wants her alone time.

She currently lives in a small cage, with a a fist-sized cave (that doubles as a water bowl), a few inches of dirt from where I found her, and various foliage (leaves, rotting wood, etc). I watch her with the lid off, and she seems unable to escape.

I've been digging up worms from where I found her (3" to 6" in length) as well as slugs (1" to 3" in length); I'm pretty sure she only ate one really small worm, once. She may have eaten one or two chunks I cut up, but, then again, she may have just hid them in the dirt. She certainly never eats in front of me when I put the small, live worm in the cage with her.

She recently had babies (first time learning it was a "she" -- is there any other way to tell? I couldn't even tell she had eight little snakes in her!), so she must have been pregnant when I found her. She is certainly thinner after having babies (I woke up to find them all around the cage.. all alive, is that common? I think they give live birth? that would have been cool to see) and her skin looked ragged. She shed, and she looks really healthy (for what I can tell) now.

These little snakes were about 2" to 3" in length, and jet black in color. Basically, they looked like little worms with snake heads, really fascinating. This doesn't seem to match exactly what I've seen for Storeria Dekayi babies, but maybe it's because they were very newborn. They've grown a lot in just a few days. They love to tangle with each other, usually sleeping in pairs of 2-4, all curled up together, it's adorable.

They're really, really playful too. I have a lot of leaves for them to hide / play in, and they often imitate each other's poses and sneak out on the leaves in threes. Some of them dig under the dirt and pop their heads out in tandem. It's precious.

The babies (seem to) eat tiny cut up worms I put in a small dish.. I cut them into ballpoint pen tip-sized pieces. This is kind of difficult, because when you slice the worm its cuts pour out. I've never seen one eat, but the food is gone in the morning. Again, these little rascals are pretty wild and they might be knocking it into the dirt.

I'm looking for some help with the following. Any advice is appreciated. I included whatever pictures I could; these guys are so tiny, none of my cameras (which include some high end stuff) can get a good picture, and I don't have a macro lens.

1) Is this definitely a Storeria Dekayi?

2) Is it common to get 8 living (seemingly, hopefully healthy) snakes from one mother?

3) Do snakes inbreed? If all goes well and I raise them properly, will potential brothers and sisters produce more snakes? Is that a problem?

4) Is it safe to release any of these snakes into the wild? If so, when? With proper care, do these guys have a better chance to live in captivity?

5) Any good feeding tips for momma and her babies? These snakes appear to be defecating (I find what I believe must be snake feces all over the cage), but I've never really seen them eat. Is it possible they're eating tiny (almost invisible to the human eye) insects in the dirt, and, if so, maybe I should constantly bring in fresh dirt to help them?

Any questions you have for me, please ask. I am aiming to raise very healthy snakes, so I want to help them as much as possible!

Thanks!!!