New here

[Zim1485]

Hello I'm new to the forum and new to owning a snake well here goes nothing I have a question--we found a little garter snake in our basement and my kids decided they want to keep it we got it the tank and the set up everything it needs--my brother has owned snakes for as long as I remember so I can get general advice from him but I wanted to know if it's normal for this type of snake to be laying with its belly upward? I've never seen a snake do so but like I said I'm new to this entire snake owning concept--thanks for any help

[Albert Clark]

Welcome to the forum Z! what are the temperature zones in the tank? Maybe its too hot. How are you heating the tank? Usually it's good to offer a cool side and a warm side along with a basking (hot zone) area in the tank. All areas should have places to hide or some type of cover. Actually another possibility the snake is positioned with the belly upwards could be it's gravid (pregnant). When you can, post a few pictures for us to see. Lol.

[albertagirl]

Is your heat coming from above or below? I've heard of snakes going belly up after a meal when the only heat source is coming from above... but I think I've only ever heard it once or twice. I'm not sure if it's "normal". LOL I also know nothing about garters at all.

[Zim1485]

It's just tiny tiny but I turned the light off thinking maybe it's too hot in there I need to get a little thermometer or something but he seems to be back to his active self now---put some more little hiding areas in there with him but he just seems to want to sit on top of them--opened the blinds on the window next to him to give him some natural lighting hopefully that also helps a little---so far so good tried to post a pic not sure if it worked thanks again everyone!

[Zim1485]

Oops heat is from above not sure if he ate or not as we just found him in our basement but doesn't seem like he has eaten recently tried to feed him last night no good gonna try again tonight since I don't know when his last meal was

[eminart]

Welcome, and FYI, that's a Dekay's Brown Snake, not a garter.

[Zim1485]

Good thing I posted a pic I had no idea I just assumed--ok so if there anything I should be doing differently then since it's a different snake? What should I feed it how big will it get now I'm even deeper in the knowledge hole than I thought

[albertagirl]

You'll probably want to give him a few days to settle, and make sure you got your heat sorted out before feeding. They need the heat to digest, and if he refused food yesterday he might be too stressed to eat. Offering food too often will only stress him further.

[Zim1485]

Got it--will wait then thank you