Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I got 4 prairie ringnecks a couple months ago. They're doing well and eating worms. At first I kept them individually on paper towels so I could be sure they were all eating, and now that I'm sure they are all eating the worms, I've shifted them to mulch so I can leave the worms in for the snakes to eat them whenever they'd like (with paper towels the worms die in about 24 hours if not eaten).

I'd like to keep them all together (on mulch or potting soil, with multiple hides) and just throw in a handful of worms each week. Do others keep them like this? Any tips on making sure they all get fed?

Thanks,
Billy
Phillyherping

I tried that but they sometimes end up getting each end of the worm and eating each other. And mulch is fine, but if it gets too moist it leads to blisters in ringnecks. I would say keep em together and have 4 small containers nearby to separate them and feed them twice a week or else you might end up with 3 or 2 in the long run. That or closely supervise their eating as they condition themselves to get in a frenzy during feeding time and a mistake is most likely to happen.

Dan

More or less that housing never works. I mean, usually it seems like a good idea, but there is really no way to monitor if all of them feed. If you give them mulch, they will burrow, if you pull them out to feed them, they usually won't eat.

Also... Keeping worms in potting soil and mulch doesn't guarantee the worms will live. Unless you make sure the worms have food in there, they will die.

Basically if you plan on using this housing method, I suggest you just monitor the ringnecks every week or so and make sure they aren't too skinny. Richard Hoyer usually kept ringnecks in a natural enclosure like you are thinking of, he would put prey items in once a week, and also weigh the ringnecks so he could tell if they've been eating.

But. Keeping them together you are also risking cannibalism. Here is a group of southerns I kept in a more natural enclosure last year... Fights over food = common

Then you just have to hope one of them gives up.

-----
Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake
Updated 7/10
www.captivebredforum.com

Thanks for the tips, guys. Of course I would like to avoid them eating each other. It's just always a pain to have four boxes to clean, four water dishes, etc.

Mine don't get into any kinds of frenzies about eating yet - they all seem pretty terrified of me still, but who knows what they do in the privacy of their boxes when I'm gone.

I'll keep them separate for the time being.

Cheers,
Billy
Phillyherping