Need advise! Feeding ringneck

phisigherper16 · 03-30-15, 11:06 AM

I am a herper who has kept geckoes, anoles, chameleons, toads, frogs, salamanders, etc. in the past. I am happy to be here as we can all learn from each other. Anyways, we live in CT and last night, I found a small ringneck snake in our kitchen! My son loves snakes and was overwhelmed. Well, we can't let this little guy (or girl) outside now since it is still too cold. My husband says we can keep it for a few weeks until it gets warmer and then let it go. I can set up a habitat for it as I have everything it would need. My question is this, what can we feed it? I have read online that it eats small invertebrates, ants and earthworms. What if it is too cold outside to gather these animals? (Such is the reason why we are keeping the snake.) We would be happy to get anyone else's thought on this.

MDT · 03-30-15, 11:33 AM

hey....having caught and kept a butt load of ringneck snakes during my childhood, i had to get somewhat creative with food sources in the winters. try local bait stores for earthworms...that's what i did. the good news is, that your ringneck snake can probably go a few weeks without a meal. just make sure it has plenty of water, several good hides, ideally, some soil to burrow or just get lost in. they are very secretive. and as beautiful as they are, you'll prob not see it much. good luck, post up some pics, keep us updated..

phisigherper16 · 03-30-15, 11:37 AM

Thanks for your FAST reply! I'll try finding it some earthworms somewhere. Do you know if they will at mealworms or blackworms? My local pet shop has those as well as small crickets.

MDT · 03-30-15, 10:21 PM

good question....it's been a long time...my assumption is that they will most likely go for soft bodied prey. however....like i said, it's been a long time and i haven't kept a native colubrid in a great while...there may be others on the forum that can lend better info...

jjhill001 · 03-30-15, 10:23 PM

Contact Mike Fedzen at albinomilksnake.com he was a ring neck breeder for a bit. He also has a care sheet on his site if I remember.

Albert Clark · 03-31-15, 05:32 AM

All snakes are carnivores and they don't eat insects. Ringnecks feed on nightcrawlers, earthworms, slugs and small fish and toads. It's a good idea to try guppies as the fish and stick with nightcrawlers from a bait store. Also try cut up smelt also from the bait store. If you want to stick to local foods for him the earthworms in your backyard should be ok too.

**Minkness** · 03-31-15, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert Clark

All snakes are carnivores and they don't eat insects.

Some snakes are insectivores actually. Rough green snakes are a prime example. Also, very young garters will eat small insects until large enough to eat more appropriate prey. Those are just the ones that came to my mind first. I'm sure other snakes out there share a similar diet.

As for the ringneck...while I have no personal experience on then, I have always wanted one since i was a kid and have done alot of research.

They should be kept in soil which will need to be misted regularly. The best diet for them are earth worms/night crawlers. They usually do not eat crickets or other hard bodied insects, so stick to worms. I haven't heard of them eating fish, but I haven't heard it was bad for them either. They also like it cooler, so some keepers do not provide a heat source, but some will just in case. They do not need any over head lighting since they are a burrowing type of snake and too much light can stress them out.

Again, I'm not expert, this is not my experience, just what I have learned while researching in hopes of one day having one.

Also, please note. Ringnecks don't usually do too well in captivity, so don't be surprised if the worst happens. I wish you all the luck and look forward to updates on the little guy =)

Albert Clark · 03-31-15, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

Some snakes are insectivores actually. Rough green snakes are a prime example. Also, very young garters will eat small insects until large enough to eat more appropriate prey. Those are just the ones that came to my mind first. I'm sure other snakes out there share a similar diet.

As for the ringneck...while I have no personal experience on then, I have always wanted one since i was a kid and have done alot of research.

They should be kept in soil which will need to be misted regularly. The best diet for them are earth worms/night crawlers. They usually do not eat crickets or other hard bodied insects, so stick to worms. I haven't heard of them eating fish, but I haven't heard it was bad for them either. They also like it cooler, so some keepers do not provide a heat source, but some will just in case. They do not need any over head lighting since they are a burrowing type of snake and too much light can stress them out.

Again, I'm not expert, this is not my experience, just what I have learned while researching in hopes of one day having one.

Also, please note. Ringnecks don't usually do too well in captivity, so don't be surprised if the worst happens. I wish you all the luck and look forward to updates on the little guy =)

The rough green snake is listed as a carnivore in all of the literature. But you are right that they eat insects. Mostly grasshoppers, caterpillars and spiders. Also they feed on moths and crickets.

Albert Clark · 03-31-15, 02:09 PM

They are not classified as "insectivores", even though their diet is comprised of insects. Go figure.

**Minkness** · 03-31-15, 02:13 PM

Funny how that works lol

Albert Clark · 03-31-15, 02:19 PM

The diet of the ring necked snake consists primarily of earthworms, slugs, sometimes they eat lizards and frogs.

Albert Clark · 03-31-15, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minkness

Funny how that works lol

Yeah, I guess you live and you learn, thanks for that info. I have to update my notes!