Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thaw it out in warm water, in the bag it was frozen in, I wiggle it a bit, RN looks but not interested.

I went out and got a live one, seconds later, Dinner served...

Should I put the F/T in with a live Anole to scent it?

Thanks.........

The ringneck snake probably just likes the movement... And you wiggling a f/t anole infront of it was probably just too scary for it. I assume a lot of the time they attack prey when the prey is breathing in it's face.

It would probably go for the f/t anole... You'd just have to leave them alone for a little while.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Thanks Mike, the F/T has to taste/feel different.

I've noticed the f/t do smell different..

LOL.
Don't think I'm weird or anything, I wasn't putting my nose up to an frozen anole and sniffing it. Just something I noticed over the years after using so many of them.

For the most part if a snake will take a live anole, it will take a f/t one, it just takes time and patience. Sometimes you have to stop feeding the snake for a little while, then offer it the f/t one, it should take it if it smells like food...

I dug up some pictures the other day that took a few years back when I last kept a colony of southern ringneck snakes. These guys had the most variable diet of any ringnecks I have ever kept... There was a water bowl with rosy red minnows in it at all times, and throughout the day you could see them going "fishing" in it, and catching some. They would eat baby garter snakes, anoles, tree frogs, worms, frog scented pinky mice, basically anything I threw in there became a meal.

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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Nice pics Mike. Will the RN eat something that is smelly. What fish will my RN eat?

Do I have to scent it with an Anole? (just being silly)

Since I've gotten better at catching anoles (chain link fences are very productive areas, no place to hide) and it's getting warmer, stocking up on F/T's isn't necessary at this point.

On a different note, the Dekay, after a few days of digesting, appears on it's branch. I misted the cage and the Dekay didn't move (the RN runs away). Do they like going out in the rain or did it sleep thru the shower.

Whenever I mist Dekay's Brownsnakes they always seem to bolt for cover however what you say is a pretty valid point. While I don't know if this has anything to do with your snake not moving during a misting, Brownsnakes in my experience are one of the most active species on rainy nights. Think about what they eat naturally: earthworms, snails, and slugs. The prey comes out in the open on rainy nights so if it's warm, so do brownsnakes. When I'm out conducting night time road searches in the rain for amphibians in the spring it is common to also find Brownsnakes. Occasionally I find Milksnankes as well but almost always it's the Dekay's that are out and about.

Your ringnecks would probably eat guppies/minnows/goldfish out of a bowl... Probably. I wouldn't guarantee it but who knows, I had a lot of them take fish.

And all snakes react differently to water landing on them...
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com

Thanks guys. Concerning the fish, I can catch small fresh water fish, does it matter what kind, or does it just have to move.

I've had the Dekay 15 months. After dinner I don't see it for a few days. The usual routine is, lights go out, it goes up a branch, turns around at the end and lays with its head next to its tail. Every time, same branch. It's not always hungry when it's on the branch, but when it is it looks at me and flicks it's tongue.

I've watched it eat a worm from the branch, letting the worm hang (it's thinner this way). I also held a worm, the snake grabbed the head and the worm did all the work. wiggled down to it's stomach.

It's an interesting snake, easy to keep (perfect sheds everytime), but being nocturnal, it's a little boring.