New, checkered baby

[Sylphie]

My boyfriend decided that he likes and wants garter snakes, so he bought his first checkered hatchling a few days ago. It's soo small that I'm afraid to even touch it, but s/he's eating like a champ. Here is a video of today feeding.

https://youtu.be/gDZ_3NNo9Wc

[Pogie]

To cute! I like the garter snakes...a lot!

[prairiepanda]

So tiny!!! I'd be afraid to touch it too! Very cute little guy. Nice feeding response, too!

[EL Ziggy]

Aww, what a cute little snake!! :)

[Albert Clark]

Good looking checkered. Healthy too! Remember to always vary the diet and include rodent pieces as soon as the next feeding. Fish only is a recipe for disaster. Live guppies are a good choice too. Stay away from goldfish that is just a junk food. Rosie reds are not that good either due to the parasite load. You can scent the pinky parts with fish or just mix it in cut up.

[Sylphie]

Thank you all! And we're super happy that he want to eat, haha :D

Albert Clark, I know, we are just waiting for our pinkies to arrive, so he's on fishes now, but as soon as we get the mices he will be getting more varied diet :)

[Pogie]

Soooo you have to cut the mice up? Ewwww lolol. I did like garter snakes but I don't think I could cut up a mouse :) I'll just admire them from afar rotfl.

[Sylphie]

I was once braining pinkies for Artemis, so I can cut the pinkies for this little one as well :D

[jjhill001]

Soooo you have to cut the mice up? Ewwww lolol. I did like garter snakes but I don't think I could cut up a mouse :) I'll just admire them from afar rotfl.

Not really different from breaking down a chicken to eat it.

[Sylphie]

Not really different from breaking down a chicken to eat it.

Exactly :D And if this is necessary for the snake health, then I don't see it as "too much". But personally I won't be able to kill the live prey and feed pre-killed, so I think that it depends on a person what she's able to do.

[prairiepanda]

I did like garter snakes but I don't think I could cut up a mouse :)

If you get a slightly larger garter you won't have to cut anything up ;) If you're ever looking into buying one, just ask the breeder whether they can handle whole pinkies yet.

I disagree with it being just like cutting up chicken, since chickens have been bled out prior to slaughter whereas frozen rats are still full of blood and tend to produce some gore. That said, I still consider them to be "meat" rather than "cute baby animal", which helps a lot!

[Pogie]

Not really different from breaking down a chicken to eat it.

Lol, well to me it is....A lot different. At least when I cut up a chicken it don't look like, well a chicken :D As is an animal that still looks like it's living self. That make sense? ROTFL! Now if the mouse didn't have a head, fur or guts, yea I probably could. If a chicken still had its head and feathers, nope couldn't do that either.

Feeding whole animals if fine, just as long as I don't have to slice into them hehe.

Sylphie, that baby is just to cute, I love it! :)

[Albert Clark]

Soooo you have to cut the mice up? Ewwww lolol. I did like garter snakes but I don't think I could cut up a mouse :) I'll just admire them from afar rotfl.

Well, you don't have to cut up the pinky if the reptile is large enough to swallow day old pinkies. When they are babies , garter snakes most often need their whole prey cut up for easier swallowing. At that size and time it's good to combine the pinky with a bit of fish. You can always wear rubber gloves. Lol.

[Sylphie]

Yesterday he ate his first whole pinky. He grabbed it crosswise and he spent first half hour trying to swallow it that way. When he finally decided to try and eat it starting from the head it taked him 1,5 hour to swallow it... I must say that I really admire his stubbornness, he never let go of the pinky that whole time. But I wonder if it wasn't too big if he spent whole 2 hours eating it? He's now resting, he didn't regurge it yet, so I hope he'll manage, but still I'm not sure if he's ready for pinkies.

[pinefamily]

It only probably took that long because it was his first one.
Regarding cutting up mice/rats, an easier way to do it is to cut them up while frozen; no blood and guts that way. And chicken shears or a meat cleaver are best.

[Sylphie]

Oficially my first time was with our small checkered! I went to clean his cage, and well, he don't like handling at all. The funny thing is that he was chewing like a hognose, not the typical "bite and then run" defence. I let him chew for a moment until my man was able to help me get him off gently, and well, I needed to take a pic, right?

http://i.imgur.com/Vuf6sKG.jpg

[Minkness]

He was chewing because he's a rear fanged snake just like Hoggies. Wouldn't surprise if the little bite itched like crazy and swelled a bit lol.

I find it so funny when tiny snakes act so dangerous! My little sand boas are really funny about that XD

[Sylphie]

Hahaha, yeah, they are sooo cute then! :D And I was lucky then, it only itched for a few minutes, then nothing :)

[Minkness]

That's good. =)

[toddnbecka]

He was chewing because he's a rear fanged snake just like Hoggies. Wouldn't surprise if the little bite itched like crazy and swelled a bit lol.

I find it so funny when tiny snakes act so dangerous! My little sand boas are really funny about that XD

Garter snakes aren't rear fanged, no venom of any kind. Babies typically live on earthworms for their first year, larger ones eat mainly frogs and such.

[Albert Clark]

Garter snakes aren't rear fanged, no venom of any kind. Babies typically live on earthworms for their first year, larger ones eat mainly frogs and such. Actually, garter snakes do have enlarged rear teeth and are considered mildly venomous! The mild venom comes from a gland known as the Duvernoys gland and is used to subdue and neutralize struggling prey. People can have allergic reactions to the venom. The allergic reactions can vary in severity. It's found in most colubrids that are not constrictors including hog nose snakes.

[prairiepanda]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Garter_snake_tooth.jpg
(Not my photo)

Garters have a very mild neurotoxin in their saliva which comes from the Duvernoys gland Albert mentioned. Not everyone considers them to be rear-fanged(it depends on the individual's definition of fangs; they sure look like fangs to me!) but regardless they are technically venomous.

Wouldn't expect anything serious from a bite, though. I definitely wouldn't classify garters as dangerous in any way; which is why I sometimes lie when people ask me if garters are venomous...depends on who's asking. They're harmless snakes and already subject to enough pointless killing.

[Sylphie]

Wouldn't expect anything serious from a bite, though. I definitely wouldn't classify garters as dangerous in any way;

Yeah, that's why we're having one :) I like the hoggies too, but allegric reactions to their bites are more often, and as I'm alergic to a few things I wouldn't want to risk it (and there is their going off feed thing too, haha!). It was just cute when he was soo passionate about chewing my finger, haha!

[toddnbecka]

Wow, I never heard that about garters before. Apparently neither has the State of Maryland, or they'd be illegal to keep along with other venomous species, lol. I've been bitten a few times, even chewed on a bit, but never had any reaction to them. Is there any difference in the venom's potency between different species of garters?

[prairiepanda]

Garter snake neurotoxin is so mild and dilute that it wouldn't make sense to call it venomous in the eyes of the law. If they wanted to include garters on their list of venomous species, they would also have to include bees and common garden spiders. Hognose snakes have a more potent bite so they're sometimes restricted because of that, but a garter snake wouldn't give you the balloon-hand photos that a hognose could give you. The only regulations I've seen against keeping garters as pets are just intended to preserve wild populations rather than to protect people from them. There is a difference in potency between species, but none of them pose a threat to humans, or even to cats and dogs which is often a concern.

[Albert Clark]

The garter snake venom is classified as a "mild neurotoxic venom" in most of the literature. However it doesn't pose a threat to humans outside of a localized irritation and swelling for most. There are reported allergic reactions to the venom in some individuals. In those cases the severity of the reaction needs to be evaluated quickly and the appropriate treatments immediately instituted. I'm sure the state of Maryland wildlife officials and the zoo is aware of the "mild neurotoxic venom" of garter snakes. Also their having and possessing "enlarged rear teeth".

[Albert Clark]

Garter snake neurotoxin is so mild and dilute that it wouldn't make sense to call it venomous in the eyes of the law. If they wanted to include garters on their list of venomous species, they would also have to include bees and common garden spiders. Hognose snakes have a more potent bite so they're sometimes restricted because of that, but a garter snake wouldn't give you the balloon-hand photos that a hognose could give you. The only regulations I've seen against keeping garters as pets are just intended to preserve wild populations rather than to protect people from them. There is a difference in potency between species, but none of them pose a threat to humans, or even to cats and dogs which is often a concern.

Great explanation prarie! Fantastic picture as well. Garters Rule, who needs a viper? LoL.