Newly found little Brown Snake!

[Juliea201]

Hello all!

One week ago (as of Thursday tomorrow), my boyfriend discovered a very small snake by the house. We had a spell of about 3 freakishly warm days, but this was on the upswing of that, and in the evening so of course he was cold and moving verrry slowly. Not knowing what he was except that he was not poisonous, and thinking he was an off-season hatchling in trouble… into a Tupperware box he went with a bottle cap water dish! I TRIED to set him free the next day or so while it was still warm BUT… He was so cute and personable, plus he reminded me of a miniature version of the Corn Snake I kept for 10 yrs as a teen. Add to that, on Sunday began a deluge of record rain and steadily plummeting temps that is still going (from 70 degrees to floods to SNOW tomorrow … in one week… I tell you, the Mayans are behind this). Had I realized he was an adult sooner, I'd have sucked it up and set him free, best of luck, but as it stands now it'd be more like subjecting him to the fate of the Unicorns when the ark took off early… LOL.

SO, a pet store trip later, and he's now in a 10 gal tank with "Forest" bedding (not bark but more like a mulch), water dish and branches. After doing some research here, I'm 98% sure we have a Dekay's Brown snake (you tell me from photos though!). Which is GREAT because his staying small will hopefully mean his current setup is adequate. Some questions I do have to keep him as happy and healthy as possible:

*He's pretty active so far; spent a lot of time racing the perimeter of the tank the first night in it (Sun). Since then he has gone totally arboreal and hangs in the branches changing position/location every few hours. We're guessing this is good, though I thought these guys were more ground dwellers?

*He DID seem to have a swollen spot at his anus when we found him. He hasn't had a full movement that I've noticed, but I did find a yellow brown spot on the paper towels while he was in the first Tupperware Palace and it appears less swollen. I recall my Corn Snake getting constipated and warm baths helping. Should I try that here?

*Not knowing enough yet, we bought 3 mini-crickets with his tank, and of course, at least 1-2 are still running around (for all we know, #3 is probably in witness protection, not his stomach). I did find a tiny earthworm amongst the monsters that have been everywhere with the rain, but he didn't seem at all interested (I did leave it in there and I suspect it escaped the lid I set it on.. If it's alive, then he has a snack for later maybe). When and what should we attempt to feed him? And when to worry if he doesn't seem to eat? We get worms and snails aplenty, but generally the bigger kind.

*I was going to get a heat pad or rock, and the tank kit came with both a day and night warming light. Which do these guys prefer? And what temps?

*Anything else to keep him happy or add to the tank?

We really want to do the right things by this little guy since he's our responsibility now. Not sure how old he is though I doubt he's over 9-10 inches. Thanks in advance for any help!

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[guidofatherof5]

Welcome.
Looks like Storeria dekayi (Brown Snake) Sweet little snakes. Worms and slugs are their main food. Ditch the crickets, they can actually bite the snake. No heat pad needed. It usually take some time for all wild caught snakes to settle in.
If it's going to return to warmer weather soon you can release him.
What part of the country are you in?

[Greg'sGarters]

Agreed! Storeria dekayi would also be my guess. The care for those guys is VERY similar to garters. Make sure he has places to hide though! Brown snakes are usually found under logs. As for feeding, I would suggest earthworms. These guys are actually really cool because they don't need a big tank and usually will do fine in a 5g for one that size. No heat is required unless your house is cold, just keep the temperature at about 75 degrees, with an 80 degree hotspot.

[ProXimuS]

Definitely looks like a little Dekays. What cute little face, looks like he's smiling

[Juliea201]

Welcome.
Looks like Storeria dekayi (Brown Snake) Sweet little snakes. Worms and slugs are their main food. Ditch the crickets, they can actually bite the snake. No heat pad needed. It usually take some time for all wild caught snakes to settle in.
If it's going to return to warmer weather soon you can release him.
What part of the country are you in?

I wonder if that's why he's hanging all over the branches then (the crickets)? Hmm. Well, we'll get them outta there. We're in Knoxville, TN (Eastern part of the state). This time of year we MIGHT end up with a random 50-60 degree day again but even so the nights drop to 20-30. Spring shouldn't show up until late March. The 70 degrees a few days ago was a total fluke.

If possible, I'd kinda really like to keep him. I loved my corn snake and enjoyed having her, but of course I want him to thrive, not just exist.

We generally keep the house between 65-70; maybe the lamps would be beneficial then.

[Greg'sGarters]

I wonder if that's why he's hanging all over the branches then (the crickets)? Hmm. Well, we'll get them outta there. We're in Knoxville, TN (Eastern part of the state). This time of year we MIGHT end up with a random 50-60 degree day again but even so the nights drop to 20-30. Spring shouldn't show up until late March. The 70 degrees a few days ago was a total fluke.

If possible, I'd kinda really like to keep him. I loved my corn snake and enjoyed having her, but of course I want him to thrive, not just exist.

We generally keep the house between 65-70; maybe the lamps would be beneficial then.

Every year I go to a suburb of Nashville called Dickson to go herping for a week (my herping trip). Nice weather you guys have in TN but it gets HOT in the summer. I need a drink break every 20 minutes! Lol

[ConcinusMan]

We generally keep the house between 65-70

Which is plenty warm enough for a brown snake. They don't like heat.

[infernalis]

Dekayi make splendid captives, I kept mine in a spacious 30 (29?) gallon, no heat, eco earth sunbtrate and fed mostly worms.

a small water dish to drink from, a low limb for climbing, and they did wonderfully.

As a treat if you have access to a pesticide free area, they go bonkers for garden slugs.

Avoid the big banana slugs, they can't swallow them.

[guidofatherof5]

I was hoping you would add you expertise Mr. Dekayi.

[StrmChasr]

Looks just like my little brown snake. They defiantly go crazy over garden slugs. They will also eat earthworms as long as the pieces are small enough to swallow.
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I have a video of him eating a slug I caught on here somewhere if you'd like to watch it to get an idea of what size food they can eat.