Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there:

Recently I ordered 3 species of small terrestrial snakes. They are all kinds that I have always dreamed of having. I ordered the following, and already have EXCELLENT setups awaiting them. I rearched a lot on their care:

several eastern worm snakes
a small southern ringneck snake
a baby night snake

I am probably most excited about the worm snakes, but the ringneck also excites me. I got both the ringneck and the night snake from a site (I can't mention the name here; it's advertising) that was selling adult night snakes, juvenille night snakes, baby night snakes, ringnecks, giant Chinese green snakes, hooknose snakes, red-banded wolf snakes, longnose snakes and Asian vine snakes.
I have great setups for the ringneck and a really good one for the worm snakes, but it is hard for me to find anything on night snake care.
I understand that these are hard to feed, but I have a good supply of shed lizard skin and cotton thread, as well as mouse tails and pinky parts. I ordered a little baby. Would it eat small crickets? I read that babies are insectivores.
The tank is a large transluscent rubbermaid container with ventilation and a tight-fitting lid. It is in a dark part of the reptile room, in an area about 80 degrees farenheit. On the bottom is 2 inches of shredded aspen. On one side I piled up a mound of dry shredded paper towels for a hide, and for additional hides (I read that they are very secretive) I added 3 cardboard tubes. I also added a rock and some twigs to help it shed. Do I need a water dish?
I love Lyre snakes, night snakes and cat-eyed snakes. Smaller snakes are something that I am really getting into. I do not know when the worm snakes are going to arrive (I am still waiting for the check to clear) but the ringneck and night snake are being shipped off on Tuesday, and arriving on Wednessday.
Thanks for any help.
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
0.1 Asian long-tailed grass lizard
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
0.1 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog

assorted small terrestrial snakes are temporarily kept during the summer

COMING SOON;

1.0 fire salamander to breed with my 0.1.

Hey dude,

With the worm snakes, they'll only eat worms, so those are not hard to keep at all. Small southern ringneck snakes also are not difficult, try feeding it fish, such as guppies. Leave a small bowl of 4 or 5 guppies in it's enclosure, I've been meaning to do some test experiments involving fish being a part of their diet, but I haven't been able to get my hands on some southerns. If that doesn't work, baby southerns in the wild will eat ant eggs/larvae and worms. I wouldn't of gotten the night snake unless they said it was feeding on unscented pinks, night snakes are snake and lizard eaters.

Mike
Michael's Place

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Michael's Place has updated better caresheets
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Hi there:

Thanks for the advice. I cannot believe I will have some real live worm snakes. I have ALWAYS wanted to get some of these neat little animals. I also love ringnecks, and set up a pretty good habitat for the one I ordered. It's wierd; in REPTILES magazine, they say that most hobbyists don't dream of ringnecks, because they make such bad captives. Yours always seem to do so well! Of course, I read the same thing about green snakes...
I know about what night snakes eat as adults. I will discuss that in a minute, but first, is it really true that the babies will eat insects? Maybe small crickets or baby roaches? Just wondering.
As for when it matures, I have two boxes: one contains the shed skins of just about every snake I have kept, and the other contains quite a few lizard skins. I saw the picture on Micheal's place of the night snake eating the mouse, so I simply plan to tie the lizard skin to the mice.
Thanks for your help. That site I ordered these from really hit the jackpot in terms of small terrestrial snakes. THEY ALSO SELL REGAL RINGNECKS, BUT ARE CURRENTLY OUT. I am so excited about them coming!
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
0.1 Asian long-tailed grass lizard
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
0.1 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
0.0.1 southern ringneck snake
0.0.1 night snake
0.0.3 eastern worm snakes

I'm assuming you got the ringneck and the night snake from Regal Reptiles? They had a regal a little while back, my buddy bought it. I don't know if night snakes will eat insects or not, I'd say it's doubtful, you might just want to stick to lizards. The pic on Michael's Place is of a night snake eating a pinky mouse, and the pinky has a piece of a lizard tied to it.

Mike
Michael's Place

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Michael's Place has updated better caresheets
Helmz777@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

Hi there:

Yep, that's where I got them. I currently have a dead frozen lizard in the freezer that died a few months back. Gory as it may sound, I may just cut that up and tie the pieces of it to mice. A lot of the sites I have been to say that adult night snakes prey upon frogs and lizards as adults, but that the babies eat insects like "desert roaches".
I am REALLY excited about the worm snakes. I ordered those seperately, but you may remember my posts from quite awhile back, about how much I loved worm snakes and always wanted one.
The ringneck sounds really nice. I do not know for sure that it is a southern, but I am almost sure. I called to ask for a Regal (on the price list) and the person on the phone said that they were out of regal ringnecks, but that they did have a ringneck.
I asked how it looked, and he said it was "a small ringneck snake with a yellow belly and a bright orange tail". The bright orange tail made me guess it was either a southern or a prarie ringneck?
I can't wait!
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DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
0.1 Asian long-tailed grass lizard
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
0.1 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
0.0.1 southern ringneck snake
0.0.1 night snake
0.0.3 eastern worm snakes

I *may* be getting a very difficult feeding tiny night snake, which currently the only way they have figured out to feed it is to give it pieces of lizard tail (the lizards to to a legless), so your pieces of lizard my work. Can I just remind you that though you are now the 2nd person I have seen talk about tying things to other things with thread to feed to snakes, thread is very unsafe to have inside of any animal as it can slice intestinal walls and cause foreign body blockages. Herp people seem to think it's ok and I've seen way too many mammals on the operating table with just such problems, so I'd have to say it is a bad idea to allow a snake to ingest any material like thread.

Hi there:

THANKS for the warning! I am not going to use any thread now! I think a better solution might be to put a piece of the dead lizard in the mous's mouth. That way, the night snake would start to eat it from the head, and have to swallow the whole thing. Feeding business can sure be gory, but I really love my snakes, and would do anything to get them to eat.
I am keeping all of this in mind, but I am just trying baby roaches at first, because he/she is just a little baby, and I read that babies like roaches and crickets.
Wednessday will be here soon.
-----
DAVE

1.0 Western green toad
1.1 green treefrogs
1.0 Florida blue garter snake
0.1 Asian long-tailed grass lizard
1.0 Mediterranean gecko
1.1 Oriental fire-bellied toads
1.0 American bullfrog
0.1 Spanish ribbed newt
1.1 Eastern ribbon snakes
1.1red-cheeked mud turtles
0.1 Dubia day gecko
1.0 Sonoran gopher snake
1.1 rough green snakes
1.1 giant African black millipedes
1.0 Okeetee corn snake
0.1 Albino African clawed frog
1.0 Kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 Argentine flame-bellied toadlet
0.0.1 African bullfrog
1.0 yellow * Everglades rat snake intergrade
1.1 Western hognose snakes
0.1 fire salamander
1.0 scarlet kingsnake
0.0.1 Argentine horned frog
0.0.1 southern ringneck snake
0.0.1 night snake
0.0.3 eastern worm snakes

Their is a guy that has had night snakes for the longest time. He posts in rear fanged forum sadly I cant recall his name. Either way I remember he posted he fed them rosie reds and they ate them willingly.
Your snakes sound great.