Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my 11" female ring neck layed 3 eggs and then was dead the next day. Don't know why though. Just one of those things that dies for no noticeable reason. I now have the eggs in incubator at 82 degrees and awaiting them to hatch. How long does it take for ringnecks? Is it it ike other snakes and reptiles in general? Couple months? And what is a good food source to start with? You know those red worms that bait shops sale, They are toxic are they not? You know the yellow excretions on them when they get poked or burned or something.
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Justin

What state are you in? Ringneck snakes don't usually lay eggs until the last week of June or the first week of July. The eggs will usually hatch in August or September, but yours may hatch a little sooner because of when they were laid. Are you sure they are fertile? The snake could've just laid some infertile eggs. A temperature around 82-85 is good. When the young hatch, depending on the sub-species they will be big enough to eat newborn brown snakes, newborn worm snakes, a few other small newborn snake species, some small earthworms(I'd tried F/T, it's easier on the snakes) and you can try some small feeder guppies and/or tadpoles as well.
Michael
Michael's Place

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http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Helmz614@aol.com

North west AL. I'm sure that they are fertile. When looking at it woth a bright light in the background I cn see a dak spot, a few very small veins, and it has the pinkish sort of look that most fertile eggs have. I am not sure but according to the my petersons field guide it is a mississipi rig neck. It does not show the range on the mapwhere southen starts and northern stops Or backwards. I guess I'll have to stick to small frogs or toads or worms because I never see anny baby snake around here like any pine woods or other ground snakes.
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Justin

Well you still have a few months to think about what you are going to feed the hatchlings. I'm not sure but if you are in the ranges of both sticotgenys and edwardsii you could have any intergrade snake. But if and when the eggs hatch, your best bet is to feed them frozen thawed worms.
Michael
Michael's Place

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http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Helmz614@aol.com

That is what I thought it might be,an intergrade. The mother looked different from other ringnecks I've caught as it had a more of a brown back and head than black or grey, But trust me it was a ringneck just a little different color. These will be my first snake eggs. I will try frozen thawed worms if I can get them small enough. I have heard about feeding small snakes pinky legs and tails. I know it won't be a stple food source but will it hurt? I have a bunnch of pinky legs and tails and stuff at the bottom of my forzen pinky and fuzzy ziplock.
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Justin

Just to let you know, just because the snake has a brownish color, it doesn't make it an intergrade, there are brown ringneck snakes. If you can't find worms small enough to feed whole, try cutting them in half after you thaw them. Feeding smaller ringnecks mice tails isn't actually a bad idea, though you may have to cut up the mouse tail if it is too big. Feeding them pinkie parts could be an alternative if the F/T worms don't work.
Michael

Could your snake maybe be a ground snake, or a worm snake?
Michael's Place

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http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Helmz614@aol.com

Oh I know that does not mean it is an integrade. I just have not seen any and I am like right between the southern and northern ringneck ranges. I'll prob. use some pinky parts and worms. I had a ringneck about a foot long a couple years ago and I would put a moose tail in its mouth and it would swallow it(like all other ringnecks I have had that were prob. eaters). These were adult mouse tails and suprisingly it lived very well. Only reason it died was I went on vacation with my parents for couple days and it's water sources were dry and so was the snake when I got home. Before these hatch I figure I'll find some more. I will post pics of eggs when I get my stupid camera installed. I can't find my disc to install it with.
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Justin

I also really wanna see pics of that "queen snake" you claim to have had, until it died, that would take pinkie mice. That has never been documented. What did it's ventral side look like?

And I highly doubt a ringneck would die just because it had to go a few days without water, it's just unlikely.
Michael
Michael's Place

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http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Helmz614@aol.com

I will take pics of the queen hopefully tomarrow. I am going to try to find the disc to download my camera software and I will gt the snake out the freezer and take pics. About the snake dieng from no water I had all my lights on and it dried up like a raisin. I had moss in there that I soaked and it was bone dry and it spilled the small water bowl I had in there(I knew nothing about putting a bigger water bowl as I and idiot.) When I get my cam. installed I am going to post a bunch of pics. I will take pics of of top sides and belly and head of the queen. I know that it is a queen. If by some chance(unlikely) it is some kind of crayfish snake or other relating snake of that sort. According to the pettersons field guide to REptiles and Amphibians of eastern/Central North America only the queen is in my range. All I did was I put the f/t pinky in front of the head and it took it. It ate 2 or 3 times.
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Justin

Man you wasted that snake, fried him, what does it's belly look like? And how are the ringneck eggs doing?
Michael
Michael's Place

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http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Helmz614@aol.com

Are you talking about the ringneck I fried? That is the snake I was talking about dieing. The queen just died. I had everything set up perfect and it just died. I think it was because there bodies were not made to digest mice and it killed over. The belly was a yellow/tan color with rusty colored scales going down the lenght of the snake(rusty colored stripes). dark Brown on top with a very small stipe down the side. Just barely noticable.
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Justin