Hello all

[Bear-Cat]

Hello,
My spouse and I are new here. One week ago, we found a garter snake in the parking lot while it was snowing slightly. It was cold, so we decided to take him in. Not to mention, we have always wanted a garter snake! This is the first time we have seen one around us.
We are thinking it's a female, mainly because the tail tapers off just right after the vent, but we can't get a good shot of the vent without major wiggles.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/Fluffy_elephant_cream/043012161757.png

We look forward to frequenting this forum! :]

[guidofatherof5]

Nice save there. Good looking snake. Garters are awesome.
Here's a link to the care sheet which is always a good read.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//744/medium/welcome.jpg

[kibakiba]

Welcome to the forum. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask! Everyone is willing to help you. Don't forget to take a look at the Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet).

[Bear-Cat]

Thank you! We have been reading up on garters. In fact, we found this forum looking for good care sheets. Really and truly, the best info on the web I have found was on here!

[mikem]

Welcome to the forum :) Nice garter you got there!

[guidofatherof5]

Thank you! We have been reading up on garters. In fact, we found this forum looking for good care sheets. Really and truly, the best info on the web I have found was on here!

And people too. ;) Glad you are with us.

[chris-uk]

Welcome aboard. We're looking forward to hearing more about your new girl.

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family!

[Didymus20X6]

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/attachments/welcome-lounge/4500d1332817250-just-saying-hi-t9i0px.jpg

[Invisible Snake]

Welcome :)

[ssssnakeluvr]

welcome to the forum! size also suggests female.... =) also looks like a wandering garter, thamnophis elegans vagrans. where do you live? that will help with id...but the pic sure does look like a wandering. they are excellent pets! :D

[gregmonsta]

Greetings :D

[Bear-Cat]

welcome to the forum! size also suggests female.... =) also looks like a wandering garter, thamnophis elegans vagrans. where do you live? that will help with id...but the pic sure does look like a wandering. they are excellent pets! :D
Ooo We live in Western North Carolina. I was thinking she may be just an Eastern garter though! It'd be interesting if we could pin what she really was :]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes! :D

[Eight]

Welcome. I'm new to garters too, they really are brilliant snakes. Look forward to hearing more :)

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like Thamnophis sirtalis (Eastern Garter Snake) and Thamnophis sauritus (Eastern Ribbon Snake) are both common to N.C. but T.sirtalis is the only one common to the western part of the State.

The first range map is for T.sirtalis. The second is forT.sauritus.
This information is from this website: Snakes of North Carolina (http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_nc/snakes/snakes.html)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/easterngartersnake.jpg
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/easternribbonsnake.jpg

[mikem]

Oh, another NC resident! /wave :)

[Mommy2many]

Welcome to the forum from Connecticut!

[Bear-Cat]

Looks like Thamnophis sirtalis (Eastern Garter Snake) and Thamnophis sauritus (Eastern Ribbon Snake) are both common to N.C. but T.sirtalis is the only one common to the western part of the State.

The first range map is for T.sirtalis. The second is forT.sauritus.
This information is from this website: Snakes of North Carolina (http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_nc/snakes/snakes.html)



Ooh, that makes sense! We are located in Haywood county so yeah. I guess we have an Eastern Garter!


Oh, another NC resident! /wave :)

:D We are originally from SC. Just moved up here in November.

[EasternGirl]

Welcome to the forum family! I was going to say she looks like an eastern garter from the pic you posted...I'm a little late jumping in here. Her size would suggest eastern female...male easterns are usually quite smaller. Easterns are awesome...I happen to have a little family of them myself...:).

[Bear-Cat]

Welcome to the forum family! I was going to say she looks like an eastern garter from the pic you posted...I'm a little late jumping in here. Her size would suggest eastern female...male easterns are usually quite smaller. Easterns are awesome...I happen to have a little family of them myself...:).

Awesome. Easterns are pretty cool! :D

Thanks everyone so much for all the welcomes and confirming the sex of our snake! This forum's awesome :3

[guidofatherof5]

Sex hasn't been confirmed. We are all going by size and structure.
If you want confirmation you need to post a few nice photos of the underside tail area.
Here is a link to a thread that will teach you to sex your snake or give you an idea of what kind of photos you can post so we can give it a shot.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/breeding/5069-sexing-pics.html

[EasternGirl]

Steve is right...although the size suggests female and the pic you put up suggests eastern, I would definitely want to see a couple more pics to tell you eastern for sure...and we would need to see the vent area to absolutely confirm that she is a female. :) If you could put up a few more pics for us, that would be great!

[mikem]

I'd guess female based on size alone, but there's some big boys out there! :D Tail pics needed for confirmation.

[Bear-Cat]

Hey guys, sorry it's taking so long for me to get those pics, we are in the process of moving, and the only camera we have are camera phones. And horrible lighting, as there are no windows in this place. If I was to go outside, we would be choked by exhaust and papermill... As soon as we are done moving, I will take pictures of the vent for a real conformation! :]

[guidofatherof5]

Hey guys, sorry it's taking so long for me to get those pics, we are in the process of moving, and the only camera we have are camera phones. And horrible lighting, as there are no windows in this place. If I was to go outside, we would be choked by exhaust and papermill... As soon as we are done moving, I will take pictures of the vent for a real conformation! :]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the photos.

[Bear-Cat]

Ugh. She is getting more and more rambunctious . She just shed, and was mellow before the shed. Now that she shed she is crazy. I can't really handle her now without her trying to zoom away.

[chris-uk]

All the fun of a frisky snake :) Hope she settles down soon.

[katach]

You could try handling before turning her great source on. That way she will associate you with warmth and comfort. Plus if she is a little cooler she won't be so rambunctious.

[ProXimuS]

Hi! I'm pretty new too. Welcome! :)
You're snake is so pretty! I have a young Gulf Coast Ribbon Snake and just recently found him too.


P.S. This place is awesome!! You should find or recieve answers to any question here :D

[Bear-Cat]

Do garters get aggressive and restless if they are pregnant? She was perfectly fine before a few days ago. She's getting bigger and I only feed her twice a week, so it isn't a weight gain issue. She jusr tried striking my husband through the glass. I also can't handle her without her trying to escape.

[guidofatherof5]

I've had gravid garters get grumpy. Poor girls.

My X used to get grumpy when she was gravid.:D
After the first child she said I would never touch her again. I did anyway, 4 more times.:D