Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have two adult whipsnakes that i caught in the southern utah desert. They have eaten 4 f/t pinks between them since capture (may 16) nnow trying ft fuzzies they just dont want to eat. A week ago i swithched them from a 15gallon rubbermaid container to a twenty gallon aquarium with a 60w basking light could this be a problem? Should i switch back to a container. i cover three sides of the tank with reptile posters. is there any care sheets for like coachwhips and whipsnakes??? Please help is there any tempting ways of gatting them to eat exept live food. (already used feeding tongs with no improvments exept a chewed up hand where they have bitten me.
please help any advise
chris

ps. sorry for the grammer mistakes (im sotove panicy)

How long are the whipsnakes?
Have you provided them with any hiding spots?
Do you have a theremometor in the cage so you can see what the temperature is?

Whipsnakes are very high strung and usually don't do well in captivity unless you provide them with a large cage and lots of places to hide. I would definately cover all 4 sides of the aquarium to calm them down and provide them with multiple hiding spots in the cage. I would recommend you get a larger cage as well. You can pick up 50 gallon rubbermaid containers for about $14.00 at shopko. You can then cut out part of the lid and cover the opening with screen. I would put the heat lamp on one side of the cage so they can choose what temperature they want to be in.

Once the whipsnakes feel more secure they should start feeding better. You could try braining the fuzzies as well to initiate a feeding response. I would seperate the snakes durring feeding as they will eat other snakes even their own kind.

Brian (another Utah herper)

Hey Brian! Where at in Utah are you?? I'm in SLC

Im in slc. Do you know dale in sandy or rick blair

No, haven't met either one yet....Have seen Rick Blair's web site and read about his stupid ordeal....

I dont know rick blair but i was just wondering if you knew the herpers around here. there is not that many. Do you have any garters for sale?

Sorry, our internet connection has been down......I don't really have any for sale right now, are you looking for any specific breeds or morphs?

i am looking for an adult m/f pair of any type or morph of garter that is in the price range of 50-100 dollars or less is better.
chris

I'm in Kaysville, but I work in Salt Lake.