Feeding Hyspiglena - [Corn snake lovers beware!]

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

I have the cal nightsnake on lizards and frogs, shovelnose and ground snake on crickets, and I think all the rest of my snake species/subspecies eat rodents.

Wow! I have always been fascinated by the smaller species; you are actually maintaining a ground snake? That's great. I have been told (and have experienced with rough green snakes) that the invertebrate eaters are always a challenge. You've got the ground snake on crickets? Awesome. So now it's time to experiment with other insects or arachnids! Crickets offer poor nutrition, unless ya dust them regularly. I have been experimenting with different tropical roaches (supposedly high in comparable nutrition) for my spiders, but that's a bit out of context. We wuz talkin little snakes! Where are you located? Closer to the desert than I most likely (I'm in the redwoods!). Yeah, the little guys are always at the bottom of the food chain! I only recently began to realize just how many "sock-eating socks" are actually out there... Let's see... My Ring-neck would eat my Sharp-tail, my Night Snake might take the Ring-neck (close match?), certainly my CA King would take the Night...

I must stop now! These are horrible thoughts! (......And I still feel bad for feeding slender salamanders to my smaller snakes!)

Steve

[Loren]

Here you go Steven.

I'll start with a pic of my ground snake's cage. A 40 watt bulb points at one end from outside the cage, giving a temp gradient of about 107 degrees (f) down to ambient temp, all in a 5 gallon tank. Thats a cardboard hide that runs most of the temp gradient. A long piece of melamine with 1/4" or so holes drilled in it- a great shedding aid which the ground snake uses every time.
The deli cup is moist vermiculite- a moist hide which the snake also usues from time to time. And, a babyfood jar water dish. Thats mojave desert sand in the cage.

All pictures were taken tonight. All names as per California Herps .com to cut out any confusion.





Sonora semiannulata - Western Groundsnake. Captive since July of 2007. Eats crickets. His head looks funny in the pic cause he's pressing it against my hand pretty hard. This is the only specimen I know of from Lassen County.


Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis - MojaveShovel-nosed Snake. Captive since June 2008. Eats crickets.


Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha nuchalata - California Night Snake. Captive since 7-3 2005. Eats Pacific treefrogs and fence lizards. Its in shed right now, so its not at its best.


Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola - Northern Desert Nightsnake. Captive since June 2008. Eats pinkies.

[Loren]

I do raise dubia roaches, I guess really young ones would probably be good for the shovel and ground snakes. Never even thought of it. I'll try the shovel nose first.

[GartersRock]

Now THAT'S a nice little group of super cool snakes!!

[reptile3]

Here you go Steven.

I'll start with a pic of my ground snake's cage. A 40 watt bulb points at one end from outside the cage, giving a temp gradient of about 107 degrees (f) down to ambient temp, all in a 5 gallon tank. Thats a cardboard hide that runs most of the temp gradient. A long piece of melamine with 1/4" or so holes drilled in it- a great shedding aid which the ground snake uses every time.
The deli cup is moist vermiculite- a moist hide which the snake also usues from time to time. And, a babyfood jar water dish. Thats mojave desert sand in the cage.

All pictures were taken tonight. All names as per California Herps .com to cut out any confusion.





Sonora semiannulata - Western Groundsnake. Captive since July of 2007. Eats crickets. His head looks funny in the pic cause he's pressing it against my hand pretty hard. This is the only specimen I know of from Lassen County.


Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis - MojaveShovel-nosed Snake. Captive since June 2008. Eats crickets.


Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha nuchalata - California Night Snake. Captive since 7-3 2005. Eats Pacific treefrogs and fence lizards. Its in shed right now, so its not at its best.


Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola - Northern Desert Nightsnake. Captive since June 2008. Eats pinkies.

Those are some nice snakes!!!

[Seere121]

My California night snake eats f/t small fence lizards and f/t pacific treefrogs. My desert nightsnake is pounding down live or f/t pinkies great- no scenting. I couldnt hardly believe it the first time it grabbed a pinky out of my hand.

Pardon, but where do you get your treefrogs? Do you buy them or capture them yourself. I have a stubborn western hognose and I'm trying to find a few frogs to see if he will eat them.

[Loren]

Pardon, but where do you get your treefrogs? Do you buy them or capture them yourself. I have a stubborn western hognose and I'm trying to find a few frogs to see if he will eat them.

I catch my own treefrogs and fence lizards locally. Most of my feeder animals are caught on my parents dairy, a few miles from my house. I can sex fence lizards quite well even when fairly young, and try to just catch males, so the population isnt hurt.

[Loren]

I personally always freeze my feeder frogs and lizards for several weeks first too, to reduce the chances of parasite issues.

[Garter_Gertie]

Cheez, Loren. Why aren't you older? Why can't I walk farther? Why can't can't we be more religioulsy compatible?

(sigh)

[Loren]

I dont know, Gertie, I just dont know. Some things in this world are just above our understanding.