Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi
I was wondering what subspecies/regional variant would be best for a beginner to this species.
I looking for one thats not too fussy over food and will take to pinkies as well as earth worms etc....and generally hardy!

Thanks in advance Paul

I've worked with half of the twelve U.S. sub-species... I'd say the southern ringnecks are the easiest. They aren't picky about food at all, I've had specimens take worms, fish, frogs, anoles, snakes, and scented pinkies in the course of a month.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Mike thanks for that!...just wondering what their geographical range is??...in order to mimic temps and conditions etc.

thanks again ...Paul

The southern ringnecks can be found around TX... over to FL.. and up as high as around VA I think. They do good at room temperature. Maybe a little bit higher.

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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Ringnecks are not good snakes to keep, just leave them in the wild where they belong. They do not do well at all in captivity.

Complete lie.

I can keep them easier than some of my kingsnakes.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

I found the northern ringneck to be an extremely picky eater & don't recommend trying to keep one. just my 2 cents

Maybe this is why Mike advised keeping the Southern Ringneck!

I always thought it was really interesting that a snake that's as picky of an eater as a ringneck is so common in most areas, it was kind of baffling to me, until I realized something about ringnecks. Almost nothing eats them. I read about this experiment a guy did a while back where he threw a milksnake in a pillowcase with thirty ringnecks, and four worm snakes. Came back a while later and had a pillowcase with a milksnake, thirty ringnecks, and no wormsnakes. I had a similar experience a while back in which I kept a racer for a while. I would sometimes feed it smaller snakes that I found. At one point, I tried to feed it a ringneck. It went after the snake like it would go after any other snake, but then quite suddenly jerked away from it, and spent the next few hours opening and closing his mouth, as if he had a bad aftertaste in there or something. I wouldn't be suprised if many other animals that commonly feed on smaller snakes wouldn't touch a ringneck. Anyway, that's my theory.
Kevin

It's already been noted that some snakes get a bad reaction to ringneck snakes.

There have been a lot of cases of kingsnakes eating ringnecks... Then mysteriously dying..

And there are also many cases of ringnecks used as feeder food for kingsnakes.

Probably something to do with the musk. Who knows.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

I have kept a good amount of ringneck snakes over the years and have found them to be very picky. I would definitely not recommend them to anyone as a snake to keep. However if you are intent on keeping them I would suggest the southern ringneck. In my experience they seem to take to captivity better than most. I would suggest earthworms for a feeder, I've had the best success ratio when using them.

Hi
I understand what people are saying...but what are ringnecks being compared with???...corn snakes or kingsnakes maybe??..
which as we ALL know make excellent/easy captives.
Not all snakes are 'a walk in the park'..it comes down to studying them beforehand speaking to other keepers to gain knowledge and taking the challange.This said you have to be interested enough in them in the first place before taking them on!!

Paul

Ringnecks are generally considered harder to keep than corn and kingsnakes for two reasons:

1) They have humidity requirements (like DeKay's and redbelly snakes) that are somewhat exacting. If not kept humid enough, these snakes can have problems - if kept too humid, they get skin infections.

2) King and corn snakes get all the nutrition they need from whole rodents. We really don't know if earthworms are enough to sustain a ringneck over a long period of time. In nature, these snakes eat other vertebrates and perhaps need a balanced diet of several different food items.

You also need to consider that virtually all ringnecks for sale are wild-caught and therefore almost certainly carry internal parasites. In addition, if feeding a ringneck wild-caught snakes and salamanders, you are most likely introducing parasites to its diet.

On top of all that, ringnecks, like most small snakes, spend the majority of their time hidden and don't seem to tolerate handling as well as corns and kings.

There are very few ringnecks that have been successfully kept for over five years, yet there are many corns and kings that have lived 10 to 15 years.

These are some things to take into consideration when contemplating keeping ringnecks.

Tim

Third Eye

Tim
Many thanks you have made it all a lot clearer..instead of the statement saying.."don't keep these snakes!!"..you have given me more of an explanation.
I think if I do try one it will have to be a long term captive (or even captive bred!!!)...I won't take one from the wild.However I do have a liking for secretive snakes and find Diadophis very attractive and maybe in need of more captive study.
Paul

No problem Paul,

I always like to hear about folks trying to keep the more unusual stuff - I think there's alot to be learned from snakes like sharptails, lined snakes, ground snakes, etc. - for those willing to accept the challenge.

Tim

SOUTHERN RINGNECKS ARE THE BEST OF ALL OF THE SPECIES, USE WORMS AND SALAMANDERS AND SLUGS ARE GOOD FOR THEM GOOD LUCK