Rough Green Snake Rescue, need some help...

[rattekonigin]

A rough green snake just came into my possession from a family friend who bought it for their child...

He isn't eating, apparently, though there are crickets running about his cage.

His setup is pretty good, he's on that bed-a-beast bark stuff, with a viney-branch thingy and some plastic foliage. I put in a little plastic container for a hide. I don't think he's had any supplementary heat, so I'm going to put a lamp on him.

Also, he looks like he has some scabs or something on his skin in places...they're basically black crusty spots...and there's a sort of bulge on his side, very small, that looks like maybe a broken rib...

I've heard green snakes are notoriously hard to get eating, is this true? If so, does anyone have any tips? Has anybody kept one of these successfully?

Thanks

[CamHanna]

In Snakes of North America Alan Tennant sites a study where caterpillars, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets and flies were found to constitute 85% of Opheodrys' diet. Perhaps of the other prey from that list would work.

Anecdotally, a large, well foliated enclosure with UV lighting is important when acclimating greens. I've never tried though.