baby banded water snake questions

[Mampam]

i have a new baby Florida banded water snake (8 1/2in) (sooooooooo cute)

what do YOU...... yes you...... recommend???

1. what do i feed'im??
2. how often to i spray the enclosure??
3. how often do i feed him??

if looked this stuff up, and much was already common sense
but i need YOUR opinion.... please....

 

[kafiltafiisch]

nice wc or cb? and pics would be cool

ID go 20 long or bigger with a sloped water feature with little branches for basking heat and uvb i think are necissary

 

[andyjs]

Does he have some sort of swimming area? If so, you couple probably put some feeder minnows in there for him. In the wild, they probably eat things like frogs and salamanders as well, but you may be able to get him onto mice. I cared for a northern water snake before and it ate mainly minnows and small frogs.

 

[logo]

I have a couple northern water snakes and I feed them minnows and they love them and I have tried small cravfish with a little bit of luck. I dont spray mine I just have them in a semiaquatic setup so they have constant access to water and land and this lets me put feeders in their with them. For mine I just always have minnows in there and havent had very much problems with them over eating yet but if you want to I would say feed them 2-3 times a week since they have such a high metabolism.

 

[Mampam]

thanks guys, yes he is wc

caught while dipneting, he came out of no where lol

 

[zerojquan85]

NICE

 

[Noto]

Start with small feeder fish and tadpoles. Avoid goldfish; use rosy reds, guppies, or best of all wild-caught fish like gambusia, shiners, and topminnows. Avoid anything with spines, like catfish or sculpin, or any but the smallest sunfish.

You will probably eventually want to get him onto mice, or else you'll be feeding him a ton of fish every week. The trick is to scent the mouse with his usual prey.

I agree that if he has access to a good-sized water dish you will not need to spray him. Be on the lookout for 'blisters' on the belly and for bulging eyes; these are signs of infections that these snakes seem to be prone to.

 

[Louie]

Start with small feeder fish and tadpoles. Avoid goldfish; use rosy reds, guppies, or best of all wild-caught fish like gambusia, shiners, and topminnows. Avoid anything with spines, like catfish or sculpin, or any but the smallest sunfish.

You will probably eventually want to get him onto mice, or else you'll be feeding him a ton of fish every week. The trick is to scent the mouse with his usual prey.

I agree that if he has access to a good-sized water dish you will not need to spray him. Be on the lookout for 'blisters' on the belly and for bulging eyes; these are signs of infections that these snakes seem to be prone to.

Arent they better off with just a water dish rather than sloped land section and water .
Easier to keep clean and less chance of infection,blisters ?

 

[Noto]

That's the received wisdom, and that's how I keep them (just like a kingsnake or cornsnake setup, but with a bigger water dish). However, I know folks who have kept them in more of a paludarium-type setup or even in an aquatic setup with basking logs as the only dry area; they don't seem to have any more problems with infection than I have had.

The crucial points are to keep the water clean and provide some totally dry areas.

 

[Mampam]

alright, ya, he has a big water bowl for his size

how often should i feed him??