Northern Red bellies anyone?

[ReptileRy]

Hey everyone! just have some quesitions because im a first time snake owner.
i have a northern red bellied snake i found in the backyard after a almost fatal weed wacking incedent. :eek:
i picked him up because he looked pretty stunned, he turned and looked at me and started flicking his tongue. im sure he is okay because he is acting completely normal except he wont eat.. im thinking that he might have eaten before i got him but im just not sure. what procautions should i take? he is a very beautiful snake though. ill post pics tonight.

[Lankyrob]

If there are no major injuries then release him back to the wild, he will find his own food :)

[Wildside]

If there are no major injuries then release him back to the wild, he will find his own food :)

^^^This

Chances are captivity is not gonna be suitable enough for him to even want to eat. Letting him go is the most kind thing you can do.

[ReptileRy]

i actually tried that.. i put him in the grass and he wouldnt go away from me. he just kept coming back to my legs and feet. i know its odd and everything, but hes actually doing good right now. its like he doesnt want to go back.. haha.

[infernalis]

If you are in fact talking about a Storeria occipitomaculata, I used to breed them and I can say they do terrible in captivity.

This snakes primary diet is garden slugs and small snails.

Can you provide slugs and snails year round?

I gave up on them because maintaining a slug colony in my basement was a major pain in the butt.

They are beautiful, friendly snakes.. it's the feeding part that makes them so incredibly difficult to keep.

For size reference, these are in a nyquil cup (medicine measure)

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/DK/slugs.jpg

[brylecc1989]

I love these snakes. Found one in the woods near my house in NEPA and he let me handle him for a while.

OP-put him back. Go buy a captive bred corn snake for 20 bucks :)

[ReptileRy]

i actually just watched him eat an earthworm now. so im happy he is eating! i am really really thinking of getting a corn snake, i love them. its just i dont have a big enough enclosure for one unless they can be in a plastic tote? and im only 15 and very into reptiles, but my mom hates snakes... and wont let me get a big one.. so thats another problem..

[infernalis]

Here is one of the litters feeding....

http://www.thamnophis.co/feeding/redfeeding.jpg

[infernalis]

Get a garter snake, they will eat worms, fish or pinkie mice.

They are a lot easier to keep in captivity and simpler to feed.

And you are right, if you look at that group shot of the babies, you can see one eating a worm.

[infernalis]

i actually just watched him eat an earthworm now. so im happy he is eating! i am really really thinking of getting a corn snake, i love them. its just i dont have a big enough enclosure for one unless they can be in a plastic tote? and im only 15 and very into reptiles, but my mom hates snakes... and wont let me get a big one.. so thats another problem..

Then a corn may not be for you, depending on what mom considers big...

My adult corn is 4 feet long and hammers down mice like a champ.

[ReptileRy]

i want a garter snake.. but i cant find them anywhere... no pet stores around here sell them.. or even outside haha. she thinks my red belly is big.. im thinking she is against the more thick snakes then long.. but ive been looking at ball pythons or corn snakes.. but i want a good handeling snake and a easy starter snake.

[Wildside]

i want a garter snake.. but i cant find them anywhere... no pet stores around here sell them.. or even outside haha. she thinks my red belly is big.. im thinking she is against the more thick snakes then long.. but ive been looking at ball pythons or corn snakes.. but i want a good handeling snake and a easy starter snake.

Here's a little tip for you... The fact that mom knows you have a red-belly and is ok with it means she can be talked into an actual pet and possibly even be converted into a snake person. I will tell you right now women are more easily turned on to snakes than men. What you need to do is educate Mom on snakes that make good pets. People around here can answer any question you or she has and if you have a Pet Shop nearby that knows what they're talking about they can probably help you talk her into it as well. In the meantime put the little guy back and walk away.

[ReptileRy]

Here's a little tip for you... The fact that mom knows you have a red-belly and is ok with it means she can be talked into an actual pet and possibly even be converted into a snake person. I will tell you right now women are more easily turned on to snakes than men. What you need to do is educate Mom on snakes that make good pets. People around here can answer any question you or she has and if you have a Pet Shop nearby that knows what they're talking about they can probably help you talk her into it as well. In the meantime put the little guy back and walk away.

well today i wondered off to petco with her to get food for my gecko and anole. and i tried showing her the ball pythons there. they are all only $40 on sale but she said no way in hell im getting another one. so im kinda SOL on this.. i tried everything with no avail... but she said i can get a bearded dragon.. so im kinda pissed... shes just scared of snakes..

[Wildside]

well today i wondered off to petco with her to get food for my gecko and anole. and i tried showing her the ball pythons there. they are all only $40 on sale but she said no way in hell im getting another one. so im kinda SOL on this.. i tried everything with no avail... but she said i can get a bearded dragon.. so im kinda pissed... shes just scared of snakes..

One more reason to let the red-belly go...

[ReptileRy]

One more reason to let the red-belly go...

im going to.. i just really wish i could get one before that. she told me this is the last one im getting until i move out.

[infernalis]

Not to sound like an old fart, but what are your plans 3-4 years down the road from now??

I have seen so many young people having to rehome pets over the years because of college, apartments, jobs, roomates, etc.....

Plan ahead because some of these animals will live 10, 20, 30 or more years.

[ReptileRy]

Not to sound like an old fart, but what are your plans 3-4 years down the road from now??

I have seen so many young people having to rehome pets over the years because of college, apartments, jobs, roomates, etc.....

Plan ahead because some of these animals will live 10, 20, 30 or more years.

planning to go to college, i have checked with them and they all said i can have reptiles as pets as long as they are well contained and wont get out. i might even be going to college for something with reptiles with a masters in buisness and sales.

[infernalis]

very cool, or go for a degree in zoology. Getting paid to study animals would be like a dream job.

[KORBIN5895]

My advice is to wait til you are done with school. Yo have lives 15 years without a snake so what's a few more. I was talking to a guy at the pet store that was buying a new royal. He told me he had just bought a king snake two months ago but had been afraid of it. I asked him what he did with it and this was his story:

He was having a party in his dorm room and they decided to get the snake out for entertainment. His friend that was an expert got bit and the snake wouldn't let go. So this brilliant piece of human excrement put his hand and the snake in the toilet and starts flushing. Well the snake let's go and goes right down the drain. "But man it was a great party!"

[infernalis]

My advice is to wait til you are done with school. Yo have lives 15 years without a snake so what's a few more. I was talking to a guy at the pet store that was buying a new royal. He told me he had just bought a king snake two months ago but had been afraid of it. I asked him what he did with it and this was his story:

He was having a party in his dorm room and they decided to get the snake out for entertainment. His friend that was an expert got bit and the snake wouldn't let go. So this brilliant piece of human excrement put his hand and the snake in the toilet and starts flushing. Well the snake let's go and goes right down the drain. "But man it was a great party!"


My oldest daughter (now 30) was at a college party once and this guy brought his albino corn snake, then the guys started chasing the girls around with the snake, before the night was over, the snake was dead.

[ReptileRy]

That's terrible... I guarantee alcohol was a factor. And I have terrible food allergies and can't drink. That would never happen.

[ReptileRy]

very cool, or go for a degree in zoology. Getting paid to study animals would be like a dream job.

I've been thinking about that too. But it doesn't seem like there are a lot of job opportunities around here for reptiles.. :/

[DragonsEye]

I gave up on them because maintaining a slug colony in my basement was a major pain in the butt.



One would think that rearing slugs should be a "walk in the park". However, I have heard and read that, as you mentioned Wayne, it really is far harder more involved than one would expect.

What were the main difficulties you encountered, Wayne?