Say hello to my little friend! - Page 2

StudentoReptile · 08-28-12, 06:59 PM

I'm with Jaleely. If you have easy access to earthworms, you have an easy pet on your hands. Just give it some time to acclimate before feeding again. If you cannot (or are unwilling to) offer it a proper diet, then you should probably release it.
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The WC vs CB debate is fraught with hypocrisy on both sides...and as Tigger says, "you just can't argue with a word like 'fraught'"

infernalis · 08-28-12, 07:00 PM

Volcom269 · 08-28-12, 07:01 PM

Hahahahaha

infernalis · 08-28-12, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snake man12

Also those redbelly are very abundant in the wild. I almost

Red Belly snakes are close relatives to dekayi snakes, Storeria occipitomaculata (the red belly) do horribly in captivity, I gave up on them years ago.

Dekayi on the other hand are super easy, Heck I can get them to take food out of my hand in the wild, just wave a slug in front of them and the feeding response overtakes fear.

Xena was 7 years old when she finally died, she exceeded the "average" life expectancy by a year.

I still miss her, she was a real sweetheart.

StudentoReptile · 08-28-12, 07:12 PM

I stand corrected.

Why do the red-bellies do so poorly, Wayne, as opposed to the Dekays?

infernalis · 08-28-12, 07:25 PM

One of Xena's babies... we bred her with "Speedy man" (he was a quick little guy, hence the name.)

First, here is a sight you may never see again, Xena really was a "warrior princess" in this picture, she stole that pinkie mouse from the garter snake!! (before anyone comments, yes you can indeed house garters and dekayi together)

now one of her babies..

Two dekayi and a red sided garter snake.

I took this photo in the wild, look really close at this photo.. Hmmmmm.

some more pics... Lifted up a tarp in the yard once, and look what was under it.

I really miss seeing this, all I had to do was tap on the glass. The Dekayi got old and passed, they have such short lifespans. The two garter snakes are still there, but it's just not the same.

Don't bother heating the cage, these snakes don't like heat at all...

(Actual herping photo, taken in the wild)

infernalis · 08-28-12, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

I stand corrected.

Why do the red-bellies do so poorly, Wayne, as opposed to the Dekays?

Red bellies are very shy and secretive, put one in a cage, and all it wants to do is hide.

I kept them, and after a few refused to eat at all in a cage, I decided it was best to leave them alone.

On my property, I can see Dekayi out in the open, it's common. But I have only once in 30 years ever seen a red belly out in the open, and it was during this drought, and at deep dusk.. I almost stepped on it.

Dry, parched earth does not give up many slugs or worms. Their food all wend deep underground to avoid the heat and lack of water.

radstusky · 08-28-12, 09:26 PM

Thanks for all the responses. And thanks for the ID Wayne. I thought it might be a S. dekayi, but I didn't know for sure that their range extends this far north. I used to see them often when I lived down in Florida.

I do not plan to keep it as a permanent pet. I think I'll keep it just for a little while and feed it a couple of times, then release it. I live in a fairly urban environment (I'm in a Boston suburb), so I thought it was pretty cool to find a snake here. Maybe I'll let it go somewhere where it might have a better chance of survival. I did see another one of these snakes dead on my sidewalk about a month or so ago. As for it's housing, he's in a temporary housing and I did give him some water. I'll fix that up a bit tomorrow. He is cute, so I'll see what my kids want to do with him!

Thanks!

infernalis · 08-28-12, 09:48 PM

that's the really great thing about Dekayi. I have heard of them being found in flower gardens in New York City.

They have adapted well to urbanisation.

**Pareeeee** · 08-28-12, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Red bellies are very shy and secretive, put one in a cage, and all it wants to do is hide.

I kept them, and after a few refused to eat at all in a cage, I decided it was best to leave them alone.

On my property, I can see Dekayi out in the open, it's common. But I have only once in 30 years ever seen a red belly out in the open, and it was during this drought, and at deep dusk.. I almost stepped on it.

Dry, parched earth does not give up many slugs or worms. Their food all wend deep underground to avoid the heat and lack of water.

That's too bad, my first snake was a wc red belly, and she ate like a pig! Earthworms right out of my hand, she was awesome. Loved to coil up in my cupped hand and go to 'sleep'. Maybe she was an exception, not the rule.

Also, my bad about the ID of the little guy. Sometimes I mix the two snakes up in a photo. Easy to tell in person

**Pareeeee** · 08-28-12, 10:11 PM

found an old pic of her. I was probably only 15 or so...can't believe that was 10 years ago...

and here's a storeria dekayi I captured a few years ago

shaunyboy · 08-29-12, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

Storeria Dekayi.. A.K.A. Dekay Brown snake.

Primary diet, Slugs, snails and earthworms.

They have a special curveture to their tiny little teeth that allows them to pull snails right out of the shell.

^^^^^
very cool info Wayne

the way their teeth have adapted to pull snails right out there shells

impressed i be

re wild caught
why take wild caught if there are readily available captive bred ?

i see no reason for taking wild caught just for the sake of it.....

or for a free snake...

that will not be free,as you really need to PAY for fecial tests,etc, to be done

taking wild caught for new bloodlines and other legitamate reasons,i have no issues with

also with the amount of information available,any wild caught should thrive in captivity,should you take one

^^^^^
just my way of thinking

cheers shaun

**Pareeeee** · 08-29-12, 07:07 AM

You can't buy them in stores or from breeders. Well not in Ontario anyway. Can't even get garters...you have to catch them

infernalis · 08-29-12, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pareeeee

You can't buy them in stores or from breeders. Well not in Ontario anyway. Can't even get garters...you have to catch them

Again, exceptions. I have bred, sold and traded Dekayi for years.

Right now, there is 4 Dekayi that are in a classroom in Northern Alaska that I shipped to the teacher, he wanted small, docile snakes that small children would not be afraid of, and Dekayi fit that bill perfectly.

When Xena passed away, I stopped, she was my first ever "pet" snake, and I had gotten in pretty deep with the garter snakes, so these days, I just admire the dekayi in the wild.