wild caught garter snake

[camille]

hey guys i was woundering since theirs alot fo garter snakes in my back yard. i know its hard to get a wild garter snake to feed but is the care pretty much the same as a captive bred snake? Just woundering because i wanted to try getting a wild one to eat and if i could id keep it. of course if i cant ill let it go again.

[HerperHelmz]

Getting WC garter snakes to eat is not hard at all.

Infact, I caught a 9" eastern garter snake yesterday for a kingsnake, so I threw him in a small container. Later on in the day I found a worm, and since I needed some for some snakes, I threw it in there. A couple minutes later, he was eating it.

Getting them to eat is not difficult at all. I have 1 WC melanistic eastern, that I switched over to unscented mice. I have a Hypo Eastern that I switched over to unscented mice.

I can't even say it takes time. Because it doesn't, you just need to know what you are doing. :)

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[Bighead]

i agree. you shouldn't have any trouble getting one to eat. earthworms, slugs, and minnows are all favorites.

[camille]

yeah i dont want to feed him wild food though. id try earthworms cause i can buy some that are clean of pesticides and such. mayb try fish. but not goldfish.im reading up on it. since the garter snakes ares out completely right now so i have time

[DragnDrop]

I think you should check if it's even legal to keep natuve species in your area. Chances are there's a law against it, so check first.

Next, if you keep a native for any length of time, you stand a chance of it 'catching' cooties that it can pass on to others in the wild if you release it. It's especially true if you have other captive snakes in the house.

What's the worry about feeding a wild caught snake from your back yard with wild caught food from your back yard? I'd be more afraid the bait shop is selling tainted worms since they're not really meant as food, just bait for a fish that will soon be in the frying pan.

[Bruce]

I have a farm located 20 kms north of Vermilion Bay, Ontario. This is probably slightly north of Winnipeg, There's a 5 acre swamp just to the west side and two, 1-2 acre ponds on the east side of the barns. The other day my girlfriend spotted what she said was a black snake moving across the sand paddock, between the barns, heading towards the ponds.
She said it appeared to be 5 feet long, black and as thick as her
wrist. She's seen, possibly the same snake, last year.
I'm thinking it has to be a huge female garter snake. I don't think
water snakes are this far north... Any thoughts?
I'll go searching on my days off. Lot's of frogs, fish, mice for food sources.

Chris

[snakehunter]

Keeping wild animals is immoral........

[peterm15]

agreed, espically when you cought it yourself.. its not so bad when its an import.. you know thoes are gonna be sold anyways so may as well be to a good home.. but most ppl wont catch a snake themselves and keep it...

[Lrptls]

if i were you id just buy a snake at a pet store, its most likely free of parasites, its been in a cage its whole life. would you like to live free and then some one put you in a box to live for the rest of your life? it cant be fun being caught by something HUGE compared to you and all your thinking is its going to eat you and then you have to live in the box in some house with it. to me its terrible but do whatever you want.

[BoidsUnlimited]

Hard to feed? Maybe I'm lucky....my Garter will eat daily if I offered him and I've had him for about a month now....BABY too =P

[camille]

im still not really shure of getting one though. im moving to the city and going to work so i might just buy myself a corn snake as ive always wanted a candy cane cornsnake :)

[HerperHelmz]

Ok... for educational reasons, here are feeding records for my adult Male Eastern Melanistic Garter Snake last year. These records were not altered in anyway...

June 12th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 f/t nightcrawlers
June 14th, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 nightcrawler
June 15th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 worms
June 16th, 2004 - Mel. ate f/t nightcrawler
June 17th, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 worm
June 18th, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 f/t nightcrawler
June 19th, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 f/t nightcrawler
June 20th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 f/t worms
June 22nd, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 nightcrawler
June 23rd, 2004 - Mel. ate f/t nightcrawler-scented pinky
June 24th, 2004 - Mel. has blue eyes
June 29th, 2004 - Mel. shed, ate a f/t nightcrawler and a nightcrawler scented pinky
July 1st, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 f/t nightcrawler-scented pinky
July 3rd, 2004 - Mel. ate unscented pinky mouse
July 4th, 2004 - Mel. regurgitated pinky(too hot!!??)
July 8th, 2004 - Mel. ate unscented pinky
July 9th, 2004 - Mel. ate unscented pinky, he has fully switched over
July 10th, 2004 - Mel. ate pinky
July 12th, 2004 - Mel. ate pinky
July 14th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 pinkies
July 17th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 pinkies
July 19th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 toads
July 20th, 2004 - Mel. ate 1 small f/t worm
July 21st, 2004 - Mel. ate green frog
July 28th, 2004 - Mel. shed and ate pinky mouse
July 29th, 2004 - Mel. ate frog
August 2nd, 2004 - Mel. ate fuzzy mouse
August 4th, 2004 - Mel. ate fuzzy mouse
August 10th, 2004 - Mel. ate frog
August 17th, 2004 - Mel. ate fuzzy mouse
August 25th, 2004 - Mel. shed
August 26th, 2004 - Mel. ate fuzzy mouse
August 27th, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 pinky mice
September 12th, 2004 - Mel. ate salamander
September 14th, 2004 - Mel. ate fuzzy mouse
September 21st, 2004 - Mel. ate 2 pinky mice
October 6th, 2004 - Mel. ate a nightcrawler
October 14th, 2004 - Mel. ate pinky mouse
October 19th, 2004 - Mel. ate pinky mouse
November 19th-24th, 2004 - Mel. ate 5 rosy reds
December 17th, 2004 - Mel. entered brumation

:)
Mike
http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[peterm15]

a corn is still your better bet..

[HerperHelmz]

^ Not all corn snakes are "perfect pets". I keep a variety of snakes, mainly snakes that will never reach 20" long in their whole lives. I'd rather have any of those, than a corn snake. I had a corn snake last summer, never ate, you know what I call that? Quick feeder food. :)

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[peterm15]

what snakes rarely reach 20" ive only heard of hognose that are that small... amd maybe rough grass

and yes.. there not ALWAYS better but imo a wild cought snake should not be kept in captivity its just not nice..

but a well established yearling corn with beauty colours and a great temperment cost me 60 bucks.. never refused a meal perfect shed and never tried to strike.. so hey.. alot of ppl get snakes like that..

you could also look into a cbb.. you MAY be able to find one... depending on where you are.. isnt also against the law to keep gartes.. and once again i believe its imoral to keep a wc in captivity...

[TamTams]

why use uncented mice?

[HerperHelmz]

If you have only heard of 2 snakes that grow to less than 20", you need to learn more about snakes.

Ringneck Snakes(some stay small, some get large, I deal w/ both)
Pine Woods Snakes
Brown Snakes
Blind Snakes
Earth Snakes
Swamp Snakes
Night Snakes
Tantilla species
Kirtland's Snakes
Scarlet Kingsnakes
Worm Snakes

^ Those are all snakes that require more attention and patience than snakes that you just throw a mouse to, and they eat it. Those snakes also rarely eat mice, they eat worms, or other snakes, lizards, salamanders, frogs and many other things that some will not want to get as snake food. I have worked with smaller snakes for over 15 years, and have made many advances for them in herpetoculture.

You may not approved of keeping WC, but not everything out there is available CB. Infact, most of what I keep is only available CB by WC collected gravid females. Alot of what I keep haven't been successfully bred in captivity.

It's called a challenge, for some. I have 'difficult' snakes, that eat more readily than some of my kingsnakes and milk snakes.

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[camille]

i dont like small snakes actually :p. i like bigger snakes. but not HUGE ones like bermese. more like ball pythons etc.

[Boakid]

I don't like Mike at all. " I caught a snake, it was a corn, but instead of releasing it I fed it to a kingsnake completely unecessarily". WHY??

[Boakid]

Ok, I just paid a visit to Mikes site and look, theres a baby amel corn being fed to some random ugly black snake, how great!

[Boakid]

And a quote from Mikes site:
Leave the tank covered up at this time as well. If that did not work, place a live prey item in the snake's tank(I don't suggest this if the prey can bury away). If that doesn't work, leave the snake alone again in the dark for another week, and proceed with trying to give it food again. If that doesn't work, you should just get rid of the snake and get another, research the snake in depth, or contact me.

[HerperHelmz]

^ Thanks for your 2 cents kid.

The pic on my website you are referring to is of a regal ringneck snake eating a f/t albino corn snake. See, corn snakes are so extremely over populated in the pet trade, that friends of mine often buy hundreds of them each year for use as feeders.

And normal regal ringnecks look better than any normal corn ever will. :)

I don't understand your problem with what I said on my site? You are restating a tip of mine to get ringneck snakes feeding, why? I know, it's great advice.

And I never caught a corn snake, and I've never had a kingsnake eat a corn snake. And quite frankly, I don't care if some punk from England dislikes me.

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[peterm15]

everybodies entitled to there own practices and opinions... oh and i mis worded what i had said..

i ment to say i only know of 2 smaller snakes that are readily available in the trade..... ive herard of most of thoes snakes just never knew they were only that size.. none of thoes happen to strike my interest..

and boa kid.. there is nothing rong with his practices of feeding.. some need that to be done.. im sure alot of rodent enthuesists dont agree with what we do... if thats what needs to happen thats what needs to happen..

please dont imply that i dont know about reptiles and snakes.. i know about them i just dont bother goin and looking up things that dont catch my attention..... just like i dont feild herp.. thats not part of my passion.. the cbb's are..

as well i dont agree with WC snakes because i wouldnt want to be free and then put in jail for no reason till i die.. and i dont think any animal should go through that... and in ontario isnt it ilegal to keep native species and i KNOW its a hefty fine if cought... to me its just worth it to buy a legal cbb snake..

[HerperHelmz]

sounds like Canada isn't the best place to live....

[DragnDrop]

Let's just keep on topic or this thread will be closed. No need to pick apart someone's advice if you don't have a clue about how right or wrong it is to begin with.

[SNAKE_GODDESS]

hey if someone wants to feed corn snakes to another, well let them... i have no problem with them doing that, I hate Corn snakes anyways...

[TamTams]

Hi people... why take a wild garter anyways?.... sure YOU CAUGHT IT!!! take some pics!!! LET IT GO !!! Like seriously you can buy garters (captive) and there only like 10 BUCKS!!! Reptile amazon in montreal has hundreds of garter snakes even the red ring necks for as low as 15$ to use as FEEDERS or PETS Lets remember all our favorite creatures are just part of the food chain. If you can't handle giving your king snake another serpent then i would say you have some heart... Now after what i just said i have to contradict myself by saying Me Personaly if i was herping came across a garter and put it in my container... then walked along further came across a cali king PERSONALY i would not take the garter and feed it to the king deliberatly! That king would have to hunt and work for his/her own food!... After all i walk by a bbq quite often no one offered me a hamburger lol


QUESTION PLEASE... WHAT ARE UNCENTED MICE? AND WHY USE UNCENTED MICE?

Thanks for the feedback if any...

[SNAKE_GODDESS]

Well lets put it this way, if you did own a king snake and the thing couldnt actually hunt for itself then you might as well buy the things that it eats, no matter what the thing is... get it?

[TamTams]

said in the wild there sunshine... lets remember this was a wild caught snake lol GET IT?!

[galad]

Wow this one question sure has taken a beating.

I don't know about other provinces in this country, but in Manitoba it is illegal to keep any wc native animals in captivity.

If you live in the counrty were there are lots of wild snakes right in your back yard, why do you need to steal one from its home to put it into a tank to observe?

Isn't it more enjoyable observing them in their natural environment?

Canada is one of the best places to live in the world buddy.

No tamtams I don't get it

peace

ws

[HerperHelmz]

Unscented mice are mice that AREN'T SCENTED. Wow.

To scent a mouse, you rub another prey item on it, whatever that may be, a fish, frog, snake, etc. And that is called SCENTING.

T.T. - A $10 garter snake is not something anybody should want. If it was that low in price, it's obviously WC or a CB that is not eating or deformed in some way. There is no such thing as a red ringneck snake. A $15 feeder snake is barely worth buying, in my opinion. My friend that buys corn snakes for feeders, buys them at $9 each, in large quantities so there are discounts.

It's easier to observe snakes in captivity, than in the wild.

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[TamTams]

I am against taking from the wild idiot read my post a little more. and to the other response to the uncented mice, Are mice not already scented?.... I believe they are as i smell the bins after a few days smells like mice to me!...lol but i do get what you mean by rubbing another prey on the mouse. OHHHHHH and by the way folks I have kept some garter snakes and one i had over 4 yrs in captivity and was C.B !!! If your feeding night crawlers do yourself a favor go with red worms they will do better then on crawlers (found at bait stores) type as they have high acid and reduces a snakes life as well if you go with fish avoid goldfish or any fish without a high oil content. Something freshwater. Maybe go fishing dont use the sea smelts as they have the highest oil content! .... usualy i dont debate in these forms or you end up fighting but this time i had to post .... I CAN'T SIT BACK AND WATCH YOU'Z HURT YOURSELFS LIKE THIS ..... lolz

[bob2004]

Originally posted by galad
.
Canada is one of the best places to live in the world buddy.



We used to be #1 (health care, education, taxes...) but we have slipped down the list of developed countries to the point where it's not worth mentioning.

[galad]

Yea TamTams is there really any need for the childish name calling? I mean really!??

And I would agree 100% that any snake in a pet shop selling for 10 bucks is either wc or not eating and they want to get rid of it.

This is a debate the only time it turns into a fight is when people start showing disreaspect for others.

Ya Bob I could really care less about what the statistics are.

We are a lot better off then so many other countries.

peace

ws

[HerperHelmz]

If your feeding night crawlers do yourself a favor go with red worms they will do better then on crawlers

Not true. Red Worms are smaller, so it will take alot more red worms than night crawlers to satisfy a hungry garter snake. Also alot of red worms are raised in manure piles, therefore are extremely unhealthy to snakes. :)

Mike

http://www.freewebs.com/mikesnake

[TamTams]

Not being rude people and trust me google search the snake there is someone on there that actualy has studied these snakes for over 30 yrs so i am sure his research is acurate. as for the red worms those you can find by flipping over a piece of wood after the rain. I am not going to debate a garter snake or who's country is the best to live in.... this thread was over a wild caught garter snake and feeding it.... all of a sudden the balls been taken and everyones playing over there ------------->

[bob2004]

Originally posted by galad

This is a debate the only time it turns into a fight is when people start showing disreaspect for others.

Ya Bob I could really care less about what the statistics are.


hhhhmmmm

[pedro11478]

well. i just thought id mention although i LOVE herps and find it very relaxing to keep them as pets. you cant sepperate wc /cb on morality issue.

either way it is wrong or right to keep them as pets. no split.

nobody wants wc harvesting to decimate the natural populations of any snake or herp. that said dont bash someone that is keeping a garter snake ( part of a thriving population) for a pet saying its wrong. its just as wrong to keep any snake.

it isnt like cbb breeders create the life. ultimately these snakes came from the wild. "the snakes" breed and "the snakes" would escape given any opportunity :)