Yellow bellied water snake

[disteldg]

I was superviser of the Texas Wildlife Rehabiliation Coaliltion two Saturdays ago when we got a phone call about a wild snake curled up along a neighborhood waterway. The temperatures were in the mid thirties during the morning so I told the man to bring it in. It was a yellow bellied water snake that was ice cold, pretty thin, all cut up (especially along the face), and its eyes were blue...poor snake. All the snake did was cling to my warm hands instead of the regular biting, scenting, and fighting to get away. I put it on Baytril and warmed it up in a small container with warm water and warm cloths to hide in and crawl through.

A week later, the eyes had changed back to normal color but no shed. I changed the cage out to a 10 gal with a three inch layer of moist cypress mulch, a hide box of wood, a large rock with holes in it to aid in shedding, plastic plant cover and a plastic shoe box three-quarter filled with water.

The snake loved the water. I also put ten brown feeder goldfish in the water tub but so far none have been eaten. The snake is about half shed now...really ragged shed due to the healing cuts, now scabs, all over the body. I am hoping when it finishes its shed, it might want to eat.

Eventually, this snake will get returned back to the wild.

[herpalot]

That's sounds like a job

what kinda stuff you rescue and how do let it go?

[disteldg]

I rescue native Texas reptiles and amphibians:

wild box or water turtles - usually hit by cars or chewed by dogs or caught by people

wild snakes - usually unjured by people (both intentianally or unintentionally) or caught by people

wild lizards - usually caught by cats or people

Wild frogs & toads - usually caught by cats or dogs or stepped on by people

Letting it go depends upon the condition of the animal (ie, if it is releasable or not - I caurrently have 5 box turtles so badly injured that they are not releasbale - blind box turlte lost both eyes from getting hit by car, 2 box turtles so badly chewed by dogs they way too much shell is missing and an eye missing, 2 box turtles with very bad MBD/shell deformaties.

They also have to be eating native foods again (like water turltes eating native water plants, snails, fish, crawfish and such - not floating turtle sticks which they are eating now).

Some animals get a soft release with outdoor conditioning in my yard or outdoor pond first (turltes) while other get a hard release (snakes, lizards, and amphibians). It is not reasonable to keep a wild snake in a cage outside to get it used to the wild again...

If it is releasable, I try to get it back to an area similar to the area it came from - I usually don't wan't to return it back to the yard with the dog that caught it or the yard when ther person hit it with a hoe. I like areas out of the city - reservoirs, parks , rivers.

Also, it depends on the season - the 6 water turtles I currently have will stay with me until the wild turtles come out naturally. This current water snake will stay with me until spring and probably be released at Barker reservoir.

[disteldg]

I have finished shedding out the snake...It had 4 old sheds on its head and over its eyes. I can now tell it is actually a blotches water snake, not a yellow bellied. Looks pretty darm nice now!

All of the remaining goldfish have disappeared so I will assume that it ate them...it doesn't look as skinny anymore.