Hi my name is Michelle. I live in Orangedale, in Saint Johns County. I regularly find numerous snakes on my property. I find quite a few pygmys, some with outstanding coloration. If I find them within the fenced acre that is for the dogs I move the snake to another part of my property otherwise I let them be. It would take me quite some time to list all of the different species that I have encountered since moving here. I have even found a few snakes that are considered to be threatened and or endangered. Both times the snakes were in a safe area so I did not have to stress over whether or not they should be moved. I have not kept snakes since I was a teenager. As I have gotten older a busy professional life and a dislike of killing live critters has convinced me that observing snakes in their natural habitat works best for me. Although a few beautiful calm corn snakes have tempted me from time to time. That is until I found a juvenile scarlet king snake. I found him under some pvc within my fenced off area for the dogs. I was moving the pvc to another place in my yard so there went his home. I brought him inside my house telling myself that I would find a good spot in my forest to release him. I planned on releasing him the following day. Well that night we had a cold snap by the time it was over I was smitten. I know scarlet kings are often squirmy and timid but this little guy is calm. He does not seem to mind if I handle him. In spite of my reticence about keeping snakes I decided I would like to try and keep him. I created a suitable environment for him in a large Wal Mart type tub. I used natural substrate made from an old rotten bay tree that is out in the forest. He is able to tunnel through the substrate and hide in the holes in the larger pieces of bark that I placed in his cage. I went and bought a side mount heater as well as some wax worms. I put some mole crickets in there for him too. I don't have the heart to catch and anole or skink for him. Hopefully he will eat some of these bugs. I bought him a frozen pinkie but I need more information about how to best try to get him to eat it before I put it in his cage. Not sure how long I can safely leave it it in the cage before it goes bad. It also looks big for him. He is about 6 to 7 inches in length. I have had him for about 1 week. He seems very active and alert. If there is anybody in my area with experience with small juvenile scarlet king snakes I would love to hear from you. Or if there is anyone who has experience with this type of snake who has some tips and ideas on how to care for him I would love to hear from you too. Thanks in advance, Michelle
Well my little guy ate his first frozen pinkie (thawed). Swallowed it last night. I placed the pinkie on a paper towel strategically placed underneath one of the pieces of bark in his cage. When I check this morning it was gone. I removed the paper towel. I haven't seen him as I don't want to disturb him for a few days so he has time to digest. I would really hate to have him regurgitate. He is usually hiding somewhere in the substrate or in one of the rotten pieces of bark. My guess is he is in the substrate by the heat strip. I went to great effort to make his environment very similar to what he would have in the wild. I think that this may have worked. I am concerned about the amount of moisture in the bark and substrate. I know that the heat strip and pad will eventually dry it out but it is rather moist. However I live in an area that is hot, humid and very often wet so maybe this is not a bad thing. I am wondering how long I should wait before I try a second pinkie. I think that he is also munching on mole cricket larvae as well as wax worms. Michelle
Wow, congrats on getting him to eat a pinky for you, especially a frozen thawed one. Most wild caughts won't even go near them. I know this is an old post but, if you still have him, you should be feeding him a pinky every 5-7 days. Good luck with him. JoAnne
