Quote Originally Posted by joeysgreen View Post
Why are you using cactus soil and an aloe plant? Consider replicating the habitat where you found it. Skip the copper, you don't want to add a potential risk factor. Copper is toxic to any animal if in high enough concentrations. This could simply be from eating a tonne of slugs that kissed the pennies before turning around. The food chain has a habit of magnifying toxins; think of DDT in rapters.

Brumation isn't necessary and can poke holes in imperfect husbandry. What may work for summer foraging behavior in a healthy snake may not suffice in a snake going through the rigors of winter - the season that kills animals of all sorts. Unless breeding is the goal, stick with normal summer perimeters.

For food, offer what you find in your back yard. Then create breeding colonies to become self reliant during droughts, winter, pet store shortages etc. Both worms and slugs are super easy to culture.

I'm no expert on Storeria but I hope this advice proves useful.

Ian

I don't think I could have said it better.. in my past experience, Storeria snake will share a tank well, since they are about the calmest mannered snake ever.