Brown Snake/DeKay Help with Feeding

[Ironpriest88]

It looks like you have a fairly small dekay there so it may be a little intimidated by the bigger worms even if cut up? What you could do is the next time you go to feed him try and hunt down some slugs. I found when I had dekays they *never* turned down slugs. Also are you sure you are feeding him the right type of worms? They will not eat the little skinny worms that I usually found in my backyard, I had to go out to city island and buy some from the bait shops.

[ProXimuS]

What a teeny little guy, how cute I would start the 5-8 days starting immediately(now). Worked ok for my baby Rough Earthsnake, and now I've got her eating cut up worm pieces.(Not the same kind of snake, but still a rather reclusive wild caught snake). I just cut up the worm pieces and add a little water, lay down a paper towel on the substrate and leave the bowl over night.

[Eliza311]

Okay, thanks guys!!
this is day 1 of me not touching. im gunna see if i cant find some slugs, are they in the dirt like worms?
ill let you know how it turns out. Thank you everyone for being so helpful

[Invisible Snake]

im gunna see if i cant find some slugs, are they in the dirt like worms?

You can find slugs in dark moist places such as under rocks, under leaves, and under bark.

[Eliza311]

okay so its been over a week since i attempted to leave him alone. I say attempt bc I was doing a lot of moving back and forth with him, because sandy hit and I was moving where i was staying. So a bit of a rocky time with him. I attempted to feed him these little baby slugs i found using beer in my garden. Still hasnt eaten. Its been 3 weeks since Ive had him and he hasnt eaten. I dont want to let him go bc it just snowed and he freeze!
thanks!

[guidofatherof5]

Yes, it sounds like releasing in a big NO.
I should also say that some snakes don't do well in captivity. You are between a rock and a hard place since you can't release.
A short brumation might to in order to maybe jump start the eating.
Some snakes die from starvation rather then eat.
Just giving you the sad reality that sometimes happens.

[Eliza311]

please dont ! i cannot have him starved. gave him a slug tn and didnt eat. should i release him guess? better he die out there then die bc of me... in result i cry every day. maybe i should just let him go and then buy a snake i know will eat since ive become so attached?

[d_virginiana]

In NY, I imagine it is too cold for the snake to survive if released. It is absolutely NOT better to release a snake to certain death due to cold than to attempt to keep it and get it eating. Having taken it out of the wild, it's your responsibility to do what is best for it. Releasing it into conditions it can't survive in would still be it dying b/c of you; if you keep trying it might not.
Like Steve said, you could try getting it to go into brumation. I've never brumated my snakes before, but there are people on here who can tell you how to do this safely.

In the mean-time... Is there any way you can get the snake in an area where there is no foot traffic? As in, no one in the room except for you when you do water changes. They don't hear, but they feel vibrations, so even walking around their cages can frighten them. Maybe cover three sides of the tank to reduce visual stress? Also, am I remembering right that you said you have newspaper as a substrate? Newspaper is actually my favorite substrate, but shy snakes enjoy burrowing which they can't do on newspaper. If you can get carefresh bedding or something similar this might help. If you can't, toss in lots of fake leaves or something.
Can you get tiny feeder guppies and leave them in a shallow dish of water? This works great on lots of garters, but idk if dekayi prefer them as much as worms/slugs.

[guidofatherof5]

I must agree, releasing now is a sure death sentence. The situation you are in has happened many times before and will happen again.
How are you feeding? Offering by hand? Dish?
Lora give some good advice.
If this snake has a hide it usually uses try cutting up the slug(so it doesn't escape) placing it under the hide on a small dish. I've had new snakes start eating in the security of their hide. After awhile I place the food outside the hide and they continue eating.
Keep us posted on this situation.

[Eliza311]

I can try moving him, maybe to my closet. The slugs Im feeding him are super small, really no need to cut them up. I can try hiding them. I caught the slugs using beer and thats where I continue to store them. Would he stay away from them bc of a beer stench? should i wash them off first? Also I literally have no idea what brumnation is.