My Story: Storeria dekayi

[Zdravko092368]

Very nice that you released it since you didn't think you could provide proper care. Hope she's doing well out there and just found herself a nice mate this spring and is growing babies right now.

I have a pet brown snake myself, they are so personable.

[Herp Derp]

@joey surprisingly there's lots of places to see wildlife even in a big city, I had to learn about what I was looking for as well as serendipitously being at the right time at the right place. I turn into a kid when I'm in nature and I try to observe everything.

not to hijack other posts and since this is my own. anything goes lol
about the feeder fish thiamine post, Im just getting into breeding convicts(1.5yrs) as feeders for my other fish... they're actually in the basement with no heater so the growth rate is very slow. I took about 4 babies and brought them upstairs(no heater as well) and they grew faster and have babies already. so about 100convicts now 2x20 gal tanks for the breeding pair and a 50 gal for the grow out of babies. the original parents might be breeding again but its hard to tell at the moment. as for a variety of diet I have obtained a few marvelous marbled crayfish(10gal ) which are suppose to clone themselves, if I succeed, I cant wait to see those tiny crayfish. I still need to work on a worm farm (they're just too easy to forget to take care of and just as easy to purchase), I've also tried breeding crickets which went so so they did breed and have babies but forgetfulness,time and procrastination did not help their cause. I'm babbling too much. I guess the thing is, its like the story of an old lady that swallowed a fly. The more I try to keep up with feeders the less time I have to do so many other thing.

[Herp Derp]

@zdravko I hope she is doing well also, there's so many predators out there. They really are likeable. I would like to one day breed them. Would be nice to also find a smooth greensnake Opheodrys vernalis. The wiki info on diet seems to be more accepting to eat things other than worms and slugs.

[Herp Derp]

Well I've taken on another dekayi. this one looks to be male and about 5", he was found under a rocks and seemed to be injured or have parasites? there were three bumps/bulges along his body. I ve had him for about a month now. he eaten small worms(those smalll pink ones that you find on the street or sidewalks when it rains i forget the species name for the worms) and slugs and has fattened up a lot and now those bumps seemed to have disappeared.

HE will not touch black slugs and I have yet to witness a dekayi eat a snail(eventhough a lot of info on brown snakes say they have special teeth to eat them).
For the garden slugs i do catch I put them in a transparent plastic container and just toss in green leaves( you will notice which ones they eat, grass and dead leaves. and use a spray to moisten inside the container once in a while. best time to catch them is early morning, daytime under logs and rocks, they will come out with rain too just look at the undersides of some leaves.

He seems happy and recognizes me sometimes. I have made a more natural habitat with soil and some plants. I used two same plastic containers (philly cheese or dip containers), one to stay in the dirt and the other to take out of it for water changes. I've given him a log and leave litter and dried up grass. he likes to sleep in the dried grass or the crumpled dried leaves. I've put worms and slugs and snails in the 10g tank.

If you need a trick to hydrate your snake mist the area so that beads of water remain in some places... I've seen Slinky(his name) take his first drink from the water that collected on a leaf(he does know there is a water bowl now)

[Herp Derp]

Is it normal for a snake to shed every 3weeks? Slinky has shed about 5 times since I've had him and his last shed was only 2.5wks after the 4th. On side note I saw a camel cricket that was in the aquarium with Slinky start eating his molted skin. Another summer is almost over and I will be releasing Slinky soon... he has grown quite a bit

[Rushthezeppelin]

Hmmm just read your previous post to this new one. You need to throw some woodlice and springtails in that tank (if they aren't there already) and make it fully bioactive. Those guys will cleanup snake poop as well as control fungi and just generally make the soil healthier for plants.

[Zdravko092368]

Funny yours won't touch black coloured slugs, my babies love the black the ones the most. I also have not seen a Dekayi eat snails despite most sources saying they do.

If he was only 5 inches then he was born this year and since you are probably feeding him a lot he's shedding like crazy because he's growing so fast.