Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last night I managed to feed my baby Dekayi snakes scented pinky parts!!

Here is a couple pictures, First I cut off legs and thighs of frozen pinky mice, and rubbed them on a big garden slug, then offered the pinky parts on tongs.

I have been breeding and raising Dekayi's for years, and this is a first for me.

Tonight I am going to try the same thing with thighs off rat pups and offer to my adults.

More complete nutrition, and CALCIUM a critical component missing from the standard Dekayi diet.

Dances With Reptiles

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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
http://www.danceswithreptiles.com
------------------------------------------------------------>>>>>>>>>>
1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

I have never heard of anyone having luck with that! The first thing I thought when I saw the title of your thread was "OH, he better have pictures". I will be surprised if the adults take to it so easily, but then again, I would not have guessed that it would work on the young ones either. It will be very interesting to see if they will eventually take unscented thus removing the need to keep slugs on hand all the time... Good luck!

First I thought Pinky legs too small to really make a difference with an adult, so I cut the rear leg and thigh from some frozen rat pups, and rubbed it with slug.

After the first Dekayi ate the pinky part, of course I HAD to bust out the camera!
Dances With Reptiles

-----
Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
http://www.danceswithreptiles.com
------------------------------------------------------------>>>>>>>>>>
1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

Impressed once again. Utter awe comes when you have them on unscented!

try pink mice for the adults....see if they can eat the whole thing?....might work....

......you can take all the pink or rat parts and stick them into a small bowl and scent the whole pile with slug juice or a whole cutup slimed slug...?

I used to put like dozens of minnows, pinks, and worms all into a bowl and had like a half dozen to a dozen adult garters all go and feed from the bowl at one time...if they finished the whole bowl I would at times put another bowlful in there for them all......

(they all were gravid females except one male with an odd stripe......they all dropped their litters and were all released along with the parents one year......all in prime (same place they were caught)...habitat........
which is now all bulldozed under for a Cable TV tower/ station.....sad.....)......

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LOL......

quote "try pink mice for the adults....see if they can eat the whole thing?....might work.... "

May also hurt my Dekayi's so that is a risk I'm not willing to take.

Dekayi snakes have a very narrow head structure.
-----
Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
http://www.danceswithreptiles.com
------------------------------------------------------------>>>>>>>>>>
1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

.....DeKay's.........eat slugs, snails, eggs of worms and salamanders and slugs and all....etc etc....

......my thought......

the diet of the worms and slugs would make up the best parts of the DeKay's nutrition......?

..feed your worms and slugs good stuff and they would be really healthy for the snakes....

.......animals live better and best in the wild because they eat all the right things ....we could help their diet alot.....

......I think you love them little brown critters.....I did too,,,I had them and bred them for one summer.....(no money, they went...too many other critters here,,,thousands)....

.just a thought to try and help you.......

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small example I use......Russian hamster here....kids' pet....like 2 years old....she got sick....I couldn't feed her off...why I don't know.I left her go in my back yard...lots to do and eat...huge mulch pile full of lab chow, oats,corn,dog food and all the weeds and bugs she could ask for, big piles of sticks and leaves and all to hide/live in....few months after I left her go and figured she'd be dead...hunting worms at night she walked right up to me and looked up....just stood there....I picked her up and brought her back in and had her another year or so?....I forget....and she was healthy as any hamster could be......due to her new wild diet.....

.......have fun

good luck.......

(here the DeKay's live in a neighboring city, in the city alleys and yards....never see them in the woods....)....

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LOL......

Please don't think arrogance or condescension for a moment, But Wayne knows the Dekayi's

Raised, bred, midwifed many a litter.

Studied behavior, breeding patterns and I love my little browns.

The physiology is very similar to their distant cousins the Garter snake, another fetish of mine.

I plan to monitor weight, growth and even check the feces for any signs of ill effects.

Dances With Reptiles

-----
Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
http://www.danceswithreptiles.com
------------------------------------------------------------>>>>>>>>>>
1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

This is really cool. What strikes me as the best part of this is that it can solve the "what to do during the winter when there are no slugs" problem - freeze a few slugs or just slug puree and use it to scent.

I'm still not sure I'd do it year-round, though. You mentioned the point that pinkie parts are probably more nutrient-dense than worms and slugs, but that might not necessarily be a good thing. Storeria have evolved digestive systems that deal with the goo they usually slurp up, and I could imagine that mammal parts might be too rich for them. An experiment is the way to tell, and I'm curious to see what happens when you take a few of the neonates and adults and raise them on pinky parts rather than slugs and worms.

Again, well done, and I hope to copy you in the future.

Billy
-

Phillyherping

just a thought that you mentioned the lack of calcium in the diet...maybe not...and I am not eating worms and slugs to find out if they have calcium...

just that you could make worms eat calcium powder or other stuff that would make them better...

...I think pinks and parts won't hurt them too much at all...
and unless you start getting them to grow 3 foot long from it...?LOL....I think it will all be fine....3 foot....that would be cool.....

...

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and the drinks are on Pearl.............

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