First time here.

[kueluck]

My first post and this is my first time as keeper of the snake, or should I say slave to a snake since all he/she has to do is sit there and look pretty and I will wait on em’ hand and foot, literally. Today I stood there and hovered over the tank saying to myself, eat the worm, eat the worm, pleeeeease eat the worm, and TA-DAHHHH, it ate the worm. This made me the happiest person in the world. Okay, maybe that’s a little exaggerated, but just a little. I found this little one on Friday when we had a crazy warm day here in NC and this is the first time it ate. I’ve been trying worms every night, also guppies with no luck, but today a worm was consumed. I’ve also got some fresh tilapia and I’m hoping for the best. Some say feed every day, some say feed 3 times a week, so question one is. How often do I feed. Also I’m thinking the snake is to small for pinkies so until it grows I guess I’ll have to work with the worms and fish. I’ve been reading care sheets since Friday and a real concern at this point is telling the difference between earth worms and red wriggles. Is there a for sure way to tell?2-28-12a.jpg2-28-12.jpg

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

Nice Storeria dekayi.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice to have you on the forum.
Nice dekayi.
Here's a link to the care sheet which will help you with your worm question.
It's very important to feed the right worms.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet

[mikem]

welcome! good to see another nc resident here! lovely little snake

[Selkielass]

What a pretty little Dekayi, I'd love to find one of those someday.

[infernalis]

Welcome aboard.

Yes that is certainly a Storeria Dekayi, not quite a garter snake, so the whole Pinkie/fish thing is out the window.

It will never be interested in fish of any kind.

As for heating, these snake are a cool temp snake and will avoid any heat, so for lighting I would recommend an L.E.D. light or a CFL (florescent) light.

They do require a slightly moist environment, or you will have shedding difficulties, since they primarily feed and move during the cool morning hours, early evening hours when their is abundant dew on the ground, then retreat under a hide during the peak sun period of the day.

In my experience, they make wonderful captives, and if yours is eating, then you are already heading in the right direction.

[gregmonsta]

Greetings

[chris-uk]

Welcome to the forum.

And Wayne, where have you been hiding? Well timed return to dish out the dekayi advice.

[EasternGirl]

Welcome to the forum! Lovely snake you have there! I would also love to have a dekayi someday. I do not know a lot about dekayis, but I know with my garters, the rule of thumb I follow with feeding is that I feed them enough to notice a little bulge in their stomach, and then I watch for the bulge to go down and then I feed again. Worms are digested pretty quickly, and dekayis are small, yours looks very small. If he is eating a whole worm...you could probably feed him a worm every 2 or 3 days...2 days if you see that bulge go down in his stomach. Unless someone disagrees? Could you show us a picture of one of the worms...just a pic of the worm? We can tell you if it is the right worm. Where are you getting the worms? We all get excited when our new snakes eat! I have often said..."Please eat...please eat..." lol.


Hey, Wayne! Nice to see you stranger!

[aquamentus_11]

that is so cool. i've only read about these. if i remember, they stay very small and i think they eat slugs, worms, snails, etc. sounds like a fairly soft-bodied diet. congrats on the little guy eating. what an awesome find.