Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there:

Today the southern ringneck ate 7 guppies right in front of me (7 is my lucky small terrestrial and burrowing snake number) and guess who ate 4 rosy reds with the lights on right in front of me? The night snake! They were unscented and not messed with in any way! That guys fangs are hge, and he sunk them way into the fish. They died after about 1 minute, and then he ate them. That venom is pretty powerful stuff!
He didn't seem to mind me watching, and stared right at me as he pounded down one fish after another. What could be better than a pretty little night snake with a bulging belly?
Next come the hooknoses, and possibly some more breeding projects!
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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

Hi Dave

Congratulate for your feeding success. Will you please give us more details on how you feed your ringneck snake with the guppies. Do you feed the snake with dead or live one? Do you put the guppies in a container with water or just let them lay on the tank surface. Your advice will be highly appreciated.

SnakeSense

Hi there:
I used live guppies.
I originally placed the guppies in a shallow dish of water, and let the ringneck go in to get them. There were 7 small guppies in the dish, but he only managed to get 2 at first. I noted that he was a very poor swimmer. He didn't glide like my baby water snake I once had, or my ribbon or garter snakes do. Instead, he just threw himself all around he place, lazily lunging at the guppies. It seems to "hate" the water in fact, and always bursts out of it whenever ytou place the ringneck snake in water.
It finished eating all 7 guppies without a problem after I layed them out on the surface of the substrate. This leads me to wonder; why would such a terrestrial snake that seems to "hate" standing water, prey so readily on fish? Is it something a ringneck snake would do naturally, or does it just accept the fish in captivity, because it knows that they are "food"?
It is almost like a mountain gorilla preying on an octopus. I read that these snakes are very terrestrial forest dwellers, yet commonly found close to water. This could lead to some interesting studies...
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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

This leads me to wonder; why would such a terrestrial snake that seems to "hate" standing water, prey so readily on fish? Is it something a ringneck snake would do naturally, or does it just accept the fish in captivity, because it knows that they are "food"?

Dave, I am working on studies involving this. I know in New York, northern ringneck snakes will cruise along the streambeds and such, and snatch minnows out of the water. I've heard of those same northern specimens from New York living in captivity for years on a diet of guppies placed in a waterbowl. I am not sure as to whether or not the ringnecks think the fish are salamanders, or if they will naturally prey on fish, it seems as though the New York locales will, I have yet to have a northern ringneck accept fish, and I've had them from such locales as MA, PA, VA, NC, MD and OH. Will Still's amel northern ringneck came from a forest in New York, that little snake refused worms for a month when it was first brought into captivity. The first things it ate were guppies out of a waterbowl, and now, a year and a couple months later, the snake still eats guppies out of a waterbowl.

Mike
Michael's Place

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

Hi there:

Thank you very much for the information. That could be very helpful. I was surprised that such a timid little snake would eat so soon. Even though he's a baby, the night snake ate 10 rosys last night, and is really fat now.
ATTENTION EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD: Stay tuned. Later tonight I am posting pictures of the night snake, ringneck, my SK, and baby Western hognoses. I really wanted to snap some shots of my rough green snake breeders, but they were reluctant to come out of hiding. Maybe I'll post those later. I'll also be posting pics on other forums of my reptile room, my red-cheeked mud turtle eggs, and other interesting snakes.
Check the cage design forum, the rat snake forum, and mud/musk turtle forum for pics. The gopher snake forum will also have a picture of my Sonoran gopher snake. I am excited to see your reactions to how my reptile room looks. Enjoy!
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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

Hi Dave,

Thank you very much for you answer. "Pictures are better than thousand words", I will checking back to see the photos of your lovely critters. If you can took some pictures of your ringneck snake feeding on guppies and post it here, I am sure this will make HerperHelmz really excited.

SnakeSense

You've hurt my feelings with your mean comment
Michael's Place

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

Did you ever find the milksnake that escaped?

Yeah,

He was an escapee for about a week, I found him, gave him water, and then like 5 minutes later he ate 2 pinky mice. He was eating them every 3 days or so, but has slowed down now. I need to get some nice pics of him...

Mike
Michael's Place

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

Hey Michael,

I never intended to hurt your feeling by making those comment, I am sorry if I did and honest to God, it's never my intention. You always give me an impression that you enjoy watching reptile feeding pictures and what's wrong with a ringneck snake feeding on guppies. I never saw a ringneck feeding on guppies before and I would like to see it on photo as a learning experience. I think you are just oversensitive about my comment. Have fun and relax in this forum , you should know I am not the one against you.

SnakeSense

Hey Michael,

I forgot to tell you the true intention of my comment, I thought those comment will make you laugh so much that you will fall off your chair, who knows the outcome was so sad. I am sooo sorry.

Best Regards
SnakeSense

I was just joking by the comment lol, I hear that kind of stuff everyday, why would I get upset over it? If you want to see a pic of a ringneck eating a guppy, I'll get one.

Mike
Michael's Place

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

Hi Michael,

It's nice to know that you are not really mad at me. Haven't see Justin posting here for long time, do you hear from him lately and how was his albino ringneck? I put the words out to my neighbor that I am willing to pay a good price for an albino ringneck if he can get me one. Please post a picture of ringneck feeding on guppies if you can, Thanks.

SnakeSense

Justin doesn't keep the "smaller snakes" anymore, and he never had an albino. I think you have him confused with me(which quite frankly hurts more than your other comments lol).

Albinos won't be hitting the market for sometime, and they do become available quite often, I know a couple people that have them, and almost twice as many more that have found them.

Mike
Michael's Place

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

I have got to see a pic of those night snakes feeding on those fish. I believe you but I have tried lizards, frogs, toads, popcorn, shrimp, rodents, carrots and and they will not eat so I got to see to believe.

Dan