Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I've always dealt with snakes, but never encountered this problem. I found a nest of eggs, 7 out of 11 hatched. I've always had Black Racers near my house, they'd come right up to my house, but they were always friendly snakes. I never had any problems with them, and actually enjoyed watching them. So without worry I released all but one of them, I decided it'd be nice to have a Black Racer. As adults I'd see them eat rodents and birds around me, but my Racer is still a juvenile. I read they eat frogs, insects, and small mice. However I only tried insects. However, he/she doesn't eat them. It's been about 4 days since he/she hatched, and he/she hasn't eaten yet. I'm worried. I don't know if I should release him/her, or keep him/her.

But I would like to know if there is any thing I can do to get him/her to eat, or maybe there is a better small animal he'd/she'd eat. I really want to keep the snake. Has any one encountered this problem with Racers, and could tell me the solution?

Thanks.

Well,......snakes that are newly hatched don't usually eat until AFTER their first shed, and even beyond that. That usually takes somewhere in the neighborhood of ten days or so.

They start out life with a good "head-start" in nature with a good supply of yolk from the egg they emerged from. Sometimes this yolk can be very visible as a large bulge in the mid-belly area.

Also, depending on where you are from in the country,and what subspecies it is.....for example, I live in central Florida, and the Southern Black Racers(Coluber c. priapus) are as common as "rocks" here!LOL.....hatchlings would typically feed in this area on very young anoles,.....I've watched them hunt brown anoles around my home with great success.

If you put a small dead anole in a small deli cup)or something similar) with very small holes in the side for air, put the snake in, and just leave it up on a shelf for a few hours without letting it get distracted by any human movement, odds are it will proceed to eat it.......make sure you give the hatchling plenty of time to get hungry(as mentioned above) as snake, even very young ones can go a VERY long surprising amount of time without eating.

Water, however, is a different story!.......see what happens after you let the snake at least shed before introducing a meal, and go from there.

best regards, ~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Also, try a thawed day old pinky mouse insted of insects, when he is ready. I have had Indigo babies go a month plus after hatching. Wash the pinky with soap and water (cuts the smell down). In addition, as Doug stated about his area and food availability you may have to trick the little beggar with a scenting technique by rubbing the lizard on the pinky to attract a response.

I would let him/her go and get a nice CBB corn to start your collection. I keep several of them!! Much better way to go.

Good Luck..

Thank you very much. Anoles aren't very expensive up here in the North, so in about 5 days I'll pick a small one up and see what happens.

Once again, thank you very much.

I've got one right now that my little brother caught. It's eaten three things so far:
1. a f/t pinky. The snake struck it defensively, then proceeded to swallow it!
2. a tiny green anole.
3. an even tinier mediterranean gecko that I caught around the house.
With the exception of the pinky, the snake hasn't eaten in front of us. I left the gecko in for two days before it was taken.

Good luck!
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