Those of us who have small ground snakes as pets know how challenging it can be to feed a fussy eater in the winter. Most of us north of the “snow belt” have no slugs available for months at a time.

We used an old non functional chest freezer (cut off the power cord) filled up about 8 inches deep with mulch, moss and loose soil. I misted the inside and keep it very humid in there.

The door seals tight so no slugs can escape, and it contains the smell. (yes large amounts of slugs in a bunch smell bad)

While the weather was still nice I captured hundreds of slugs, and dumped them into the freezer. All sorts, the slimy white ones, the leathery brown ones with the stripe, gooey black ones and the orange ones that show up after it rains.

Once a week I dump a bag of tossed salad into this and close it shut. Slugs are greedy eaters and will consume a lot of lettuce, but they will reproduce and provide you with a steady inexpensive reliable food source.

I also have several dozen earthworms living in there, they do a good job of cleaning up after the slugs. Sometimes the browns will happily gobble up worms, but most of my red bellys will only feed on slugs.

We have had ample slugs for feeding all winter long. And with 20 little mouths to feed, we have needed them!

Now my mouse farm is another story...........

Peace.
Wayne A. Harvey


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