Eastern Garter Snakes

[BoidsUnlimited]

Well I finally have a snake again. Yesterday my little brother called my name and I ran over and he had it cornered. Its just a little guy, maybe 12''?I was gonna set it free but I havent had a snake in awhile I figured I'd make it my own.

I sterilized a 10 gallon tank I had. Gave it paper towel substrate due to its size, with a large water bowl and of course a hide box. I have its temperature about 75 - 80. I mist him once a day.

I'm gonna give him a week w/o handling then try to offer him a goldfish. I'm gonna read more into them right now to see what else I can offer them tho.....

Thanks,

Don

[sc00t]

I used to see tons of Garter Snakes around my house but sense all the building of new roads im starting to see less and less each year...:( but good luck with the Garter they can be tricky little snakes

[HerperHelmz]

Garter Snakes are one of the easiest snakes to keep. Depending on where the snake was found, it may or may not take goldfish. Goldfish are unhealthy for snakes anyways, and can lead to a quicker death of any snake that eats them.

Your best bet is to try earthworms, or rosy red minnows.

Mike

[Crazycorn]

I have 1.1 Eastern Garters (FL. Blue), mine are on mice with no problem except the female she was on them but stopped eating since shes gravid!

[BoidsUnlimited]

Originally posted by HerperHelmz
Garter Snakes are one of the easiest snakes to keep. Depending on where the snake was found, it may or may not take goldfish. Goldfish are unhealthy for snakes anyways, and can lead to a quicker death of any snake that eats them.

Your best bet is to try earthworms, or rosy red minnows.

Mike

I was actually thinking that over after I posted. Because I remember reading that Goldfish are poor feeders for Oscars and Piranhas......so it would make sense it would be the same for snakes.

Ill try earthworms...I'm gonna pick some up tonight after I get a hair cut :)

I have 1.1 Eastern Garters (FL. Blue), mine are on mice with no problem except the female she was on them but stopped eating since shes gravid!

Were yours WC? I'm gonna give him a go with earthworms and the suggested fish above....and maybe when he's larger I'll try moving him to mice. Also...I was wondering if you had any pictures of yours? that would be awesome if I could see your setup!

Thanks for the advice guys! U felt abit guilty taking him from the wild but my brother had been handling him for awhile and I just had to keep him....I havent owned a snake for over 8 months now!!!!

[Crazycorn]

I dont have any good photos right now, but I just use basic setups of a water dish, aspen bedding, and heat. Mine were WC by me.

[BoidsUnlimited]

Originally posted by Crazycorn
I dont have any good photos right now, but I just use basic setups of a water dish, aspen bedding, and heat. Mine were WC by me.

Thats fine.....I think I'll go pick up some Aspen this weekend!

[CamHanna]

Be very careful using goldfish or rosy reds as feeders. Both contain an enzyme called thiaminase which can lead to nerve damage and death. I've made other posts in this forum on the topic. There are some relevant links in them.

[Dirty]

WHat fish make good feeders?

[Topaz]

I have heard of danios and guppies as feeder fish. Its usually healthier to get them on a pinky diet, an article on how to do this is at www.mcwetboy.com, Jonathon Crowes site.
Also make sure once you deside to keep this snake you don't let it loose later, they can develope bacteria in captivity that the wild populations don't have that shouldn't be introduced to them. Also get a fecal to a vets it may have parisites. If you have other snakes and reptiles you don't want it to pass around.

Another option is to leave it in the wild and find a breeder of cb garters, they are often already eating ft pinkies and even come in a few colour phases if you are in the states. Just a thought. :)

Either way good luck!