found ringneck snake...keep or turn loose?

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ArkansasKelly

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I just found a young ring neck snake hiding in my spare bedroom. Seeing how it is going to be cold outside, should I over winter him here in the house or turn him loose outside so he can take his chances?

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Kymiie

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Me personally being an animal lover would keep him and look after him but handle him as less as possible due to you letting him free after winter x
Or find a snake keeper

xx
 

ArkansasKelly

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Kymiie said:
Me personally being an animal lover would keep him and look after him but handle him as less as possible due to you letting him free after winter x
Or find a snake keeper

xx

I figured I would keep him over the winter now that it is so cold outside, but I guess what I was wondering is, do they hibernate? And if so, should I keep him in a cool place or keep him heated?
 

Kymiie

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Humm.. I couldnt tell you that one. My friend has 2 snakes in the UK (corn I Think) and they dont hibernate.. try look it up xx

If this helps

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/snakes/ringnkd.htm

http://home.pcisys.net/~dlblanc/articles/ringneck.php

http://www.kingpinreptiles.com/smallersnakes.htm

The last two look the best help xx

Hibernation

Ringneck Snakes hibernate around the end of November. They will not bury in the ground, they will go in deep crevices or tunnels and stay there until it warms up. The best way to hibernate(brumate)your snake is to stop feeding it for 2 weeks, give it a nice little bath in warm water and then put it back in the tank. Give the snakes alot of hiding spaces and a waterbowl for drinking and set the tank in a nice cool place. Ideal temperatures are 50 to 60 degrees. This is not exactly hibernation, it is more of a resting time for them. It gives them a time to not eat, shed, slow down and rest. Even after you set them to "hibernation" they will still move around just very slowly.
Southern Ringneck Snakes most likely won't hibernate. Alot of areas in which they are found don't get cold so they don't need to go through hibernation. Some Ringnecks will stop eating around winter because they know it's time to hibernate, that could be a frustrating thing.


Thats quoted from the last web address

xx
 

Yvonne G

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Kymiie said:
they will go in deep crevices or tunnels and stay there until it warms up.

...or in your spare bedroom!!! :D
 

Floof

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I would say wait until a relatively warm day and let it go.

If you really want to overwinter it, you could try recreating brumation conditions... If you want to overwinter it and keep it "awake" for that time, it might not make it to spring--Ringnecks aren't known to do well in captivity to begin with.

If you do overwinter it, find a room that will stay in the desired temp ranges (50-60*F according to Kymiie's quote), set up a small tub (6 quart would work for a snake that size) with teeny weeny ventilation holes (absolutely no bigger than its nose) and a substrate it can burrow in, and leave it alone until you're comfortable enough with the temperature outside to release it.

Getting a room cold enough can be troublesome. Here's how I did it earlier this winter, for my adult corn snakes:
1. Cordon off a spare bathroom on the ground floor/day basement
2. Turn the heater to the lowest setting (50-ish on mine) or completely off
3. Leave it/them alone, but don't forget to check/water-change regularly.

Using this method, for two months, temps stayed consistently between 55 and 60 degrees, with the occasional high of 65. Of course, the way you do this depends on your house, where the room is, what the outdoor temps are... It might be so cold in your area that you need to have a heater set on low, where mine was warm enough that, if the heater DID ever kick on, it probably didn't make a big difference.
 

ArkansasKelly

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Hey, thanks guys. I thought it was supposed to hibernate, but was not sure. My spare bedroom always stays very cool in the winter so I will put it in a 10gal. tank and leave it in there. Hopefully it will do just fine.

Now I wonder if any more of it's buddies are hiding somewhere. :)

Merry Christmas ya'll and thank you!
 
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