Posted by Dawn Del Rossi on July 11, 2007

Q: My kids and I caught a brown snake while doing some yard work and set up a tank for it and thought we'd keep it for a while. We fed it mealworms, a tiny earthworm we caught and tried some crickets (but it doesn't seem to like these). The suprise was on us. It laid eggs and a few days after we caught it we had about 7 tiny brown snakes and a mama. We'd like to keep it for a while or at least learn a bit more about it. What can we feed the babies? How long would you recommend keeping them if at all? Can you either give us more information about the brown snake and how they give birth or direct us to a book or web site where we can do more research. Thank you for your advice.

Habitat: pond/lake

State: South Carolina

Habitat: pond/lake

A: Lucky for you to be able to see this unfold at your home - great for the kids! Feeding the babies will be extremely difficult since they'll need a variety of very small, live foods. I really think it best for you to release them soon. They can probably last a few days without food but as young, should have access to food as soon as possible. Be sure to release them in appropriate habitat (where you found the momma)and make an outing of it for the kids. This will be a good way to show your respect for wild animals and the kids will remember this always. You may want to keep the mother, if she's feeding well, but release her too well before the end of summer so she can retire to a place for hibernation.

If your children really want to have their own pet snake, why not see if you can get one from a local pet store. Those available in pet stores are usually bred in captivity (not removed from the wild) and are species better designed for life as a pet. Thanks for asking and I hope this helps.

John Wiessinger ( July 13, 2007)