New Snake Guardian

[Mandi0284]

Hello fellow snake admirers,

I am new to caring for snakes, but not new to appreciating them. since i have recently aquired a young common garter snake, i figured that i should learn as much as i can about them and how to properly care for this little animal.

I am not sure how old this snake is or if he is male or female?
Not sure if he can eat fish or what i should offer to him?

I have included some pictures of the snake.
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He is very friendly and seems to like me a lot.....kinda nervous around my boyfriend and will puff up a little when he gets near the tank i have set up. He is actually a very pretty little snake and seems like he will make a neat pet.

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

To me, it looks like a Wandering garter, Thamnophis elegans vagrans.

Here's the care sheet.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

[KJPettit]

Very pretty! Congrats on your new acquisition! I just got a couple wandering garters too!

[thamneil]

Doesn't look like any common I have seen. Im going to agree with it being a wandering. Have a good look at the care sheet and you should get the basics down. If you post some shots of the underside of the tail, we can tell you what sex he/she is. Im going to take a guess and say boy :p

Welcome to the forum!

[Didymus20X6]

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

[gazzamann]

welcome !!

[Invisible Snake]

Heyy welcome to the forum, if you have any questions feel free to ask :)

[guidofatherof5]

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

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family! Your little one is great looking. I have a suggestion for it's comfort, if you switch from the rock/dirt mix to aspen shavings or carefresh he might be even happier :). Be sure to check out the care sheet, it is packed full of great info. Welcome again!

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Ideally you should have done some research before getting the snake but you'r in the right place to learn garter husbandry.Welcome to the forum!

[mikem]

Welcome to the forum :) Cute little garter you have there!

[Mandi0284]

Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone. I didnt realize that there were so many different types of garter snake. I looked at some pics on the web and I found he does look like a wandering.

I will get some pics of his underside so I can get help figureing out the snakes gender.

i will get some new substrate for him in the coming week.

are the wandering garters the most common in CO? I remember catching garters as a kid and some of the ones i recall had bright yellow on them.

[Mandi0284]

58085809

Here are some pics of the underside of the snake.

[guidofatherof5]

From the photos presented I would say male. Any chance we can get a photo of the underside tail hanging down?

[katach]

Can't really tell from the second pic, but first says male. A straight tail photo would definitely help though.

[Invisible Snake]

I agree with the others, judging from those pics it looks male.

[Mandi0284]

lol i will see if i can get a pic with his tail down. he likes to curl it around my fingers when i hold him.

i was reading from care sheets about garters that they can eat earthworms, fish and pinkies. and then some others say only fish....and then no fish..... and then only pinkies.

i offered him small fish yesterday, but he didnt want them. should i try worms?

[Steveo]

Without knowing what it was fed in the past, it might take a little experimenting to see what it will eat. It may also just need a few days to settle in.

[guidofatherof5]

I think the best diet is a varied one. I feel it offers the best balance from all the foods offered. Each in their own rights have goods and bads.
The varied diet levels all those out in my opinion.

[EasternGirl]

Lovely snake you have there! And I concur with the others...that is not a common garter...most often when referring to common garters people are actually talking about an eastern garter...T.s.sirtalis. It is definitely hard to tell from the photos...but I would also say male based on the first pic...but we will need some with the tail hanging down to be sure. Definitely get some different substrate in there...as was suggested...aspen or carefresh are good suggestions. A couple of hides, some fake plants, and a lamp or heat mat on one side of the tank for warmth would be good. If you have anymore questions about specifics...we can help. I also feed my snakes a varied diet of nightcrawlers, frozen/thawed pinky mice, and fresh fish fillet from the seafood counter. You could try that instead of live fish. My garters won't eat live fish...but they love cut up pieces of fresh trout...raw, not cooked. And always buy fresh...not frozen. Tilapia is a good choice too. Make sure not to feed him on top of the substrate...you don't want him getting anything mixed in with his food. Either feed him with feeding tongs or hemostats...or put paper towels down over the substrate and then put his dish of food on top of the towels and watch that he doesn't drag the food into the substrate. Let us know anything else you need and welcome to our forum family!

[ProXimuS]

Welcome! As you can see, you'll get plenty of help here:)

[Mandi0284]

thanks everyone. i got aspen shavings and a bowl of water for him to sit in.

tomorrow i plan on getting some worms to see if he will eat those.