Jasmine - My new eastern Garter Snake

Rham_Es-Hestos · 03-09-10, 05:31 PM

So today while in the forest, I found a small eastern garter snake, I've built a habitat for her and taken her to my room. Right now, I'm using a standard lightbulb to heat the corner of the cage as I have no heat lamp yet.
First of all, I'm glad to have her
Secondly, I need to know what to feed her.
Third, I need to know some general tips on keeping a WC garter

Thanks

Btw, pics up by tomorrow night. Sorry I can't do earlier.

marvelfreak · 03-09-10, 05:37 PM

The guy to talk to is Infernalis he raises and breeds them. He can help you.

Will0W783 · 03-09-10, 06:03 PM

Yes infernalis, Wayne, is the garter expert- I would shoot him a pm if I were you. They will eat mouse pinks, but they will also eat feeder fish and insects I believe. Here's a basic care sheet, but hopefully infernalis will notice this thread and post on here soon. Since he/she is wild caught you will most likely want to treat for external and internal parasites. Shoot me a pm or hit me up on AIM and I will explain the process I use to you.
Do remember that any wild-caught snake is a gamble. They are far less likely to adjust to captivity and thrive than a captive bred animal, but it can be done.

infernalis · 03-09-10, 11:26 PM

No insects!!!! they have no interest in them.

Here is a good guideline for care, thanks to Scott Felzer, a well known garter expert and friend of mine. Nearly all of my colorful morphs came from him.

Scott Felzer's Garter Snakes, specializing in aberrant garters

I will post pics of my setups tomorrow.

Snowflake eating cut fish....

masubius eats a pink....

Diana (She's a BIG girl) eating a real mouse...

shaunyboy · 03-10-10, 06:00 AM

love the colour of masubius,i always meant to ask what some of the food items were in your posts.i tried my best to id them but now i know its fish.i'd thought it maybe was chicken at one point.ram es-hestos,anything remotely garter related then infernalis is the man to ask.he's starting to get me more and more hooked on them every time he puts more pic's up.the colours of the little guys he has are truely stunning !
cheers shaun

infernalis · 03-10-10, 06:41 AM

Here is my blue guy "Sky" chowing down on some cut up tilapia. Commonly sold at Wal Mart for $4 a pound.

That's a lot of snake food for just a few dollars.

He also is rather fond of F/T pinkie mice...

An albino ponding cut fish....

Masubius is now on fuzzy hopper mice. I'll get some pics soon.

marvelfreak · 03-10-10, 09:07 AM

Just got the May 2010 Reptiles magazine and there's a feature article on the eastern garter.

shaunyboy · 03-10-10, 10:49 AM

just cant say it enough,the colours of your little guys are just plain awesome infernalis...!!

infernalis · 03-10-10, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

Just got the May 2010 Reptiles magazine and there's a feature article on the eastern garter.

By Tim Spuckler, I have some of his morphs.

I have yet to pick up the magazine, but since I know Tim, I got a heads up early about it.

Cool stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

just cant say it enough,the colours of your little guys are just plain awesome infernalis...!!

Thanks once again!

Rham_Es-Hestos · 03-10-10, 11:52 AM

Here's one pic I got yesterday, I'll get the rest of them up with the setup on here tonight.

Will0W783 · 03-10-10, 12:10 PM

Aww, she's pretty. So, you wanted a massive Burm and instead your first snake is one of the smallest species...gotta love irony!

infernalis · 03-10-10, 03:24 PM

when you get worms, just make sure you avoid red wigglers, they can make your snake sick.

They are the blood red worms found in compost.

That's why I said night crawlers......

Also avoid goldfish, rosie reds and comets, they contain thiamaise, known to give long term health issues.

Even though the data indicates that garters consume amphibians, avoid them as well.

Frogs, toads and salamanders usually have parasites.

Rham_Es-Hestos · 03-10-10, 07:36 PM

:\ She's not eating... I gave her some earthworms today from the backyard. Also tried some frozen flounder (only frozen fish we had at home). Nothing has worked yet. I havent yet gotten out to buy anything for her.

Hopefully she'll eat something soon.

I'm trying to get pictures up right now... trying to find the correct cord for my camera.

Anyway, she is amazingly tempered, never even tried to bite me. I'm so happy! She was exploring all over the place today, climbing all over my guitar, sniffing out my dirty clothes and fedora, everything!

Any suggestions on how I can get her to eat?

Kim, Yeah, it is ironic, but I think the desire to have some sort of snake overcame my desire to have a burm first.

infernalis · 03-10-10, 07:40 PM

Give her time to settle in.

Since you say you found her swimming in a stream, I'm guessing she was fishing.

Being a wild caught, you may have to put live fish in the water bowl for a while.

Will0W783 · 03-10-10, 07:52 PM

I'd also leave her be for a few days to a week to get settled and try not to handle her too much during this time- this is recommended even for captive bred animals. Generally don't expect a new snake to eat its first week with you. That's awesome that she is so calm- has she musked you at all? I know the garters I used to catch in my backyard always musked me...it smells like cat pee..ick. I wish you the best of luck with her, and who knows, you may find you like the wee ones better in the end!