Storeria dekayi/Dekay's Brown Snake Availability

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by BobBarley

Rough greens are what I looked at first, but it seems their care is too over the top. Garter snakes, it seems, need to be fed a diet of both worms and mice? I can't do mice, dead or alive (parents). Ribbon snakes are a possibility, but can they be fed on a diet of exclusively fish? And where can I get fish that don't contain thiaminase?

I'm looking for a snake that is totally insectivore with easy care. Being handleable is definitely a huge plus.

Garters can be fed a diet of just worms (this requires additional supplements though), just fish, just mice, or a mixture. A diet of worms and fish is most like their natural diet, as most garters do not eat rodents as a staple in their diet in the wild. They are opportunistic, though. I would stay away from insects and amphibians with these guys, since insects aren't easy to digest and yield little return, and amphibians pose a very high parasite risk. Same with slugs, even though some might eat those.

There is are several lists of thiaminase-free fish, just Google a few. Thamnophis.com has some and I've found longer lists elsewhere.

Your best bet might just get a lizard tbqh, your options with snakes are limited and probably won't really fit into your invert keeping.