Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there:

The scarlet arrived at my door last night. I gently removed it from the cup. It did not bite at all, but was very swift and jerky in its movements. I let it settle in for the night, and worked with it a little more today. It bit me several times, but seems to be getting calmer. It is an extremely beautiful snake, and I absolutely cannot believe that it was wild-caught; it is flawless.
Today I tried several prey items. These included a live guppy scented with a brown Anole, another guppy scented with a Mediterranean gecko, and another guppy scented with a rough green snake. I also offered pinky mice scented with the previous reptiles. It turned them all down, but why on earth should I be discouraged? For one thing, I noticed that it is shedding some leftover skin on the head, and second of all, he just got here, so that shouldn't even count.
He also deficated, and there was evidence that he had eaten recently. Next I am trying a nightcrawler.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.0 brown Anole
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
1.0 Spanish ribbed newt
1.0 rough-skinned newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
1.0 dwarf peacock day gecko
1.0 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 White's treefrog
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
1.0 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
1.0 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
1.0 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.0 Western hognose snake
1.0 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake

If you want it to eat, throw it a live lizard...you'll get an excellent feeding response. The problem is the prey you are trying to get it to eat, fish!?!? That's a no, I heard of a SK eating fish one time and I don't believe it. Also, nightcrawlers, mine actually ate small worms, I know people that have kept scarlet kings for more than 20 years and not once get a feeding response from a worm, mine snatched it up as soon as I threw it in.

Like I said, if you want it to eat, give it a lizard, I doubt it was feeding on pinkies to begin with.
Michael
Michael's Place

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Michael_Fedzen@hotmail.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Hi there:

Thanks for the advice. I am still going to try many other prey items. I may stop by my local reptile store and pick up a bottle of lizard maker. The problem is, he doesn't know that the food is there. He is always trying to wriggle away, thrashing and biting, and never even stops to notice the food.
I placed him in a shoebox today with several prey items, and he was obviously more interested to think about throwing the lid off and darting across the floor than eating. This is what I think: I think he is a small snake in a new environment. In one night, he came from Miami to Ohio to New York where I live. He has been acting very nervous in his new surroundings.
I think I will just let him burrow under his favorite rock, and rest for a few days. Then I will try again. I really do believe he has been eating mice, after I saw him defecate. It is only his second day here, and I am definately not discouraged. I've had ribbon snakes that refused food for 3 weeks when I first got them, then they'd just start eating.
I am really considering a breeding project here.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
1.0 brown Anole
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
1.0 Spanish ribbed newt
1.0 rough-skinned newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
1.0 dwarf peacock day gecko
1.0 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 White's treefrog
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
1.0 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
1.0 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
1.0 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.0 Western hognose snake
1.0 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake

Why are you transferring him to another container? He'd probably be much more willing to eat if you let him burrow under his rock and just introduce the prey item into his cage. I've never had any problems with sustrate ingestion if that's what you're worried about.
-Alice

... I would be very surprized if it eats anything you offer it. You say you just got it last night and are trying to feed it all those different items AND handle it often??
WAY too much stress on the snake. Let the guy settle in for a week or thereabouts first and don't even handle it. If it has retained eyecaps, then maybe you should take care of that, but that's about all I would do for now.
Just my humble opinion but I think it's possible to do more harm than good with all the attention you are giving a "new" snake.
:Mark