Eastern

chairman · 07-30-16, 02:47 PM

Came across this little guy in the street in front of my home today. It is raining so I imagine he's either out hunting worms or was escaping excess moisture like the worms are.

But I noticed that his hemipenes are everted and he hasn't retracted them... is this likely to cause him any issues? I'm not familiar with garters and don't know how common this is, it is possible that he everted to musk and hasn't given up on his musking attempt. I'm going to return him to my yard but I'd prefer to see him retract first. The whole idea is for him to survive and hopefully stick around the property...

chairman · 07-30-16, 09:46 PM

Well, at this point it looks like he prolapsed. In looking closer at the area there appears to be some damage to the tail so it may be the result of some injury or another. Giving him a sugar water solution to soak in overnight to reduce the swelling but I guess I'll send him on his way in the morning. He'll probably have a better chance recovering on his own and without the added stress of being held in captivity.

macandchz · 07-31-16, 08:43 AM

i think that's the kind of snake i see all the time on our walking trail. do they do well in captivity?

chairman · 07-31-16, 09:36 AM

Garters do quite well in captivity. There are quite a few breeders that you can get a well-started CBB from. Personally, when I end up getting into garters, I'm looking at the blue phase ones such as T. radix or a Puget Sound.

RAD House · 07-31-16, 09:41 AM

You should also look into blue phase T. s. concinnus. They are beautiful animals.

Albert Clark · 07-31-16, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chairman

Well, at this point it looks like he prolapsed. In looking closer at the area there appears to be some damage to the tail so it may be the result of some injury or another. Giving him a sugar water solution to soak in overnight to reduce the swelling but I guess I'll send him on his way in the morning. He'll probably have a better chance recovering on his own and without the added stress of being held in captivity.

Sad...Kudos to you for trying to correct the condition. The unfortunate thing for this little guy is if he's on his way with the hemipenes still everted he is just going to wind up with a infection. Hopefully it will retract.