Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found a red-belly in my garage last week and thought about keeping it.The problem is I have tried feeding it little black slugs but with no luck.Does anyone have some tricks getting these to feed?It is a cool little snake about 4 inches long.Just trying to decide to keep it or release it.Thanks for any help.
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1.0 aberrant cal. king
0.1 reverse spotted cal. king
1.2 mbk's
1.1 florida kings
1.1 anery brooks
1.0 hypo brooks
0.1 albino brooks
1.1 normal corns

You could try pieces of nightcrawler. If that doesn;t work, turn it loose where you found it.
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1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
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1 gray tiger salamander
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
1 G rosea
1 Haplo minax
1 Brachy angustum
1 Brachy sabulosum
1 Brachy vagans
1 Cent. hentzi scorp

Slugs and worms always seem to be the best bet. Usually it's possible to get them to take slugs without too much difficulty, worms can take some effort and might need to be scented with slugs at first. Also, consider the fact that we are approaching winter and a lot of snakes are going through internal metabolic changes. Depending on your exact location, the snake you found might not plan on eating again until spring. In that case I'd guess you would have to put some effort into convincing the snake that it's not the late fall anymore. Giving the snake a 14-hour daily UV cycle potentially could do the trick, you would most likely need a timer and a UV bulb. Temperatures are something to consider as well -- 70 degrees F is required for digestion in most species but you would want a "hot spot" in the tank between 85 and 89 probably (those numbers are not specific -- it's a rule of thumb for northeastern snakes). As always, wild-caught animals are a gamble. Some never take to feeding in captivity, even if the species in general does ok. I agree with the other poster that if you do not have any luck in the next week, let it go. Normally trying for as long as a month is OK but by then it will be winter and you'll be stuck with the snake until spring.

Usually within a day or two of capture they will readily take small slugs.

However as previously mentioned, it is the change of season....

I got into this situation before with a Dekayi (the cousin of the red belly)and it passed away in December.

So I also agree, if it does not eat right away, release it where it was found, or extremely close to that location.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Dances With Reptiles

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