My dekayi is acting odd

[akane]

A few days ago he went flipping around in his rock house upside down even and I thought he was stuck but when I touched his tail sticking out a gap he jumped away and then turned back to the rock and rolled with his head in the crevice I made before hiding behind the wood. Now he's hanging out in the rocks and around the water dish. Maybe he's going to shed? I don't see any difference in his appearance and I don't see anything on him. I misted the tank well yesterday.

[Cyclops]

I am not sure, but there is a genetic problem with some garter snakes that might happen in dekeys too but its where there sense of balance is a bit messed up, but it shouldn't effect his health as long as he is eating.

[akane]

He shed. He's normal again. Except now he's extra dark with a light stripe that wasn't that visible before.

[jossh27]

Akane, how old is he? I have no input on your post but i do have some questions about the breed. Do you only feed him earth worms? And how often? My son really wants "his own" pet snake but he's afraid of most- i think i tiny dekay would help his anxiety a lot

[akane]

Mine is wc so not sure on age. Nearly full grown. He's gained a little length and shed twice since about oct. The first was probably just adjusting to not actually brumating. They make their brumation run in the fall in large groups toward rocky areas from fields and if you find the right terrain you can collect lots of them at that time. Except it's not legal to collect any snake species in my state. Not knowing the exact week they are going to head for their shelters I don't always know the timing to go hiking over the state border. I think we are about their most northern territory and they've fallen out of favor for more brightly colored garter, ribbon, and racer snakes that can also be small and many eat insects or fish instead of rodents with no ability to bite so these guys can be hard to find listed for sale. Dekayi are made more for slugs and pulling snails out of their shells but will eat isopods (pill bug, rolly polly) and small earthworms. Being wc mine does not understand cut worm. I think I tricked him into eating a still wriggling head piece or 2 until I found some suitable small worms recently and put half in his tank to see if they will multiply themselves in my natural dirt setup. They have a little wedge head with rear fangs so they can't bite even if they want. Many of the other small snakes are much the same with small heads and rear teeth for pulling slippery prey into their jaws without the ability to expand their jaws as far as other species of snake. The worst you get is a wc or very nervous snake might musk and release foul smelling liquid. That and running really fast is their only defense.

[jossh27]

That's useful info. I found one Judy this padt summer on a work site. Neat littke buggers. Did the works successfully multiply, or did that fail? It would be awesome to do a natural viv that was self thriving... introduce a few insects and worms and let them thrive before introducing a dekay

[akane]

My first dekay tank the soil layer fell in the drainage space and the whole thing went soggy. I pointed fans down in it and such and the large night crawlers were all unhappily on the top pooping even more moisture holding material so I finally tore the whole thing down to redo. I now run it with craft mesh over a layer of river pebbles (hardware store few dollars a big bag) and increased the sand content a little more for drainage. That setup still has live isopods, worms, mealworms, and the occasional tiny milipede can be seen in the soil against the glass. I'm sure more of the little insects have burrowed into the middle. The smaller worms have all gone down in the soil now. I have probably a good 10" of palm compost (less dusty than peat or coir), native soil (sterile top soil if you don't want the random critters or don't have a chemical free area), and a little sand (most use playsand for about $5/50lb bag). Then I fill in the biggest open area with dry leaves for hiding and critter eating. Actual fallen leaf litter if you want the critters or cut some branches and dry them indoors if not. Some like surprises and some want to control exactly what goes in there. Basically you want organics to eat, moisture holding neutral soil to live in, and something to encourage drainage over a layer that can hold the excess water drained out sort of like potting a plant. The ratios just determine exactly how long it stays wet. My desert tank is 60% sand and does not require a drainage area underneath because it doesn't get as much water or stay wet. It only supports beetles though.

[12 o clock]

great info. Glad he is back to normal. As soon as I find one I'm prob going to run with your advice on the tank setup.