Found it July 5th, 2014, 13" under a sunny rock along with a larger S occipitomaculata(which I first thought was a dekayi until i saw the underside, this one got away though.. I was too excited). I arrived at home, quickly emptied a 20g fish tank wash it added some cactus mix soil and a small plastic potted aloe plant. I later added a clump of natural ground cover(clover, dandelion, sorel, grass etc) into a plastic bbq chicken container) and aplastic container of water. My research was fast and i caught a few slugs but it did not eat. I read this was normal. The snake did eat the next day though and everyday about 4-6slgs(maybe 1-2cm stretched mode)/day. This was awesome because I was reading up other ppls experiences of weeks with no eating. I became concerned when I read that dull colours could mean it was dehydrated... on the 10th an unexpected thing happened, it shed and I was fortunate enough to see it happen in 5mins. The skin was all in one piece it was cool and soft/moist to the touch. Two days after that I've fed slugs off my finger to it, usually I use a small thin stick or drop some down on the grassy area. I believe it's female from the diagrams I have found on this site about sexing them, since there seems to be a tapering of the tail right after the cloaca. For the most part she has been diurnal however just recently she seems to be hiding more during the day and sticks her head out from under her rock a lot, maybe she was out a lot more because she was about to shed.

Would anyone know if copper it toxic to these snakes or snakes in general. Since these snakes eat slugs I'm trying to find other ways to keep them in the tank... the dry cactus soil seems to keep them in the grassy area, and Ive read they don't like to go over copper. I would like to try and make a "slug habitat" inside the enclosure surrounded by pennies or copper tape so there would be a steady amount of food during winter. Which brings me to my other question... do snakes have to brumate or can I just keep them year round in the same conditions and lighting? How many slugs should she be eating .. is it per day or week? For the more experienced dekayi owners how small are the neonates? If they are really tiny would they eat white worms? I have read adults eat snails and beetles(not sure what kind)... I have yet to see this and does anyone know the full spectrum of their diet. I would like to give it a variety.