MC's Snakes

[MCwyo]

I like all of the neat "snake journal" threads members have posted, so I thought I'd start one too.

Currently we have "Ember", a little baby that my daughter and I found in a storm drain. We also have a litter of scrubs from a wild caught female we dubbed "Dragon". Dragon and most of her babies will be released, and we will probably keep 4 of the little ones + Ember. The snakes are all wandering garters.

Here are some photos from this week :)

Several babies hanging out:
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/1498/picture299i.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-14

Ember in shed phase and kinda ticked off:
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3403/picture286e.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-14

Ember post shed:
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/6899/picture319k.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-14

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/7825/picture317i.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-14


Here's Ember and the one for sure keeper from Dragon's litter so far. If male, it will be Ezio, if female it will be Ashe. Their colors are so different!!
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/9025/picture320s.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-14

[ProXimuS]

They're all so pretty! I really like the lighter looking ones:D

[mikem]

Beautiful babies :cool:

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking scrubs. Very nice photos.

[kueluck]

They're all cute, it'll be tough picking out which ones stay.

[Steveo]

Love the one with more yellow. I don't see that color too often down here.

[Mommy2many]

Very nice looking squiggles!

[katach]

Great looking little ones! Congrats!

[MCwyo]

Thanks everyone. Had a super huge bummer last night :( The one scrub I had picked out from Dragon's litter so far passed away. I am not sure of the cause. It had no visible injuries. I found it curled up in the middle of the tank as if it were resting, and I do not think it had been dead long. I could not feel anything hard in it's tummy (my first thought was that it has swallowed substrate). Just a big bummer. Maybe FTT? All of the other babies are doing fine, though I do have 4 which have not eaten... they are however VERY active. Several of the scrubs are getting ready for their "first" sheds. My daughter has picked her two snakes, "Rusty" and "Scute".

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear about your loss.
Failure to thrive is as good a reason as any when it comes to unexplained deaths in newborns.

[MCwyo]

Thanks Steve. I just wish I could pinpoint what happened. I cannot find any explanation, and that makes it harder. I've been watching the others like a hawk, I'm so scared I'll find another dead baby. But they all seem to be doing good, eating, pooping, swiming, climbing. Even the 4 non-eaters are keeping up (energy wise) with the largest of the bunch.

[Invisible Snake]

Sorry for your loss :(

In my personal opinion I think its too early to jump to the conclusion of failure to thrive without knowing some more details on the little one.
What was he eating? And has he been eating consistently? Up until his death was he active and alert? Anything out of the ordinary with him?

[MCwyo]

The little one was eating farm raised frozen thawed salmon with no additives, which is the same thing that everyone else is eating. Across the litter, it was an average eater and had an average energy level. I do think it spent more time resting prior to it's death than was usual. The increased ammount of rest beginning maybe 24 hours or so before death? The scrub was housed with two other babies at the time it died, and both are currently 100% normal.

[Invisible Snake]

Hmm.. that's weird that he was doing good and then suddenly died, I'm sorry that I can't help you pinpoint the cause of death. The reason I don't think it was FTT is because usually the animal doesn't eat and displays noticeable signs, like poor eating habits, not as active/alert, etc.

[MCwyo]

Yes... just the only thing I could think of. But maybe it sustained an injury from one of the other snakes, or some aspect of the habitat, that did not leave any visible marks?

[chris-uk]

I think it's likely, although I have no evidence either way, that some baby snakes are born with congenital defects which are not immediately fatal but are incompatible with long term survival. As baby snakes die and aren't necropsied it's not one that can be proved, but most animals (humans included) have some infant mortality that doesn't get explained.
Probably the best example of something to illustrate this is a human born with patent ductus arteriosis (hole in the heart) which until relatively recent times would result in the death of a baby while still young.

Sorry for your loss MC, I think some things are just unexplained.

[Invisible Snake]

That's exactly what I was thinking Chris!

Maybe the little snake had some under developed internal organs.

[ProXimuS]

^My thoughts exactly...And you have to think the whole littler doesn't always survive, that's why animals like that have so many babies. But it's still very sad. Sorry it was one of your favorites too:(

[MCwyo]

Thanks all. Just wanted to give a quick update on a happier note. One of the scrubs shed last night! She came out a very pale silver color. I will try to get some photos. There are 3-4 others that will probably shed within the week.

Ember is growing like a beast! Or at least she seems to be. She's somewhere around 11"-12" now, as best as I can measure & I believe she's around 2 1/2 months old. She seemed so tiny when I found her.

Here's a few "just because" photos...

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3919/picture337us.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-22

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/2411/picture343e.jpg
By mccpc (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/mccpc) at 2012-08-22

[snake man]

Aww that last picture is awsome,

[ProXimuS]

They all look so cute together! And Ember's face is so pretty:)

[Invisible Snake]

Great pics!

[EasternGirl]

I just love your pics...the first pic in the first set and the last pic in the last set of pics...just priceless! I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your little one. I know it would break my heart to lose one of my babies. It is definitely hard when you do not know the cause...but sometimes we will never know these things. Some babies just don't make it. Rest in peace little one...although your time on earth was short, you were loved.

Do you feed your snakes a balanced diet? I am very big on balanced diets in garters. Fish is good...but I don't think it is a good idea to feed fish all the time...and salmon does have a high mercury content. I would consider alternating fish with worms and pinkies. I give my babies fish from time to time...but their diet is one that is primarily nightcrawlers. My adults get nightcrawlers, pinkies and fish.

[MCwyo]

Time for an update on my little buddies!

First off, we released Dragon quite a while ago. We picked a location in the same general area we found her, but away from the road and the walking paths. It's a perfect little garter heaven- very wooded, lots of brush & grass, a brook, a marsh. I took photos, but they are on my phone... not sure how to get them off. When I figure it out I will post them.

The babies are doing great. I've decided to hold them over the winter and release in spring. Aside from Ember (whom I found in a storm drain) I did not see one single scrub out and about this year. I usually see quite a few garter scrubs every year, along with green racers. I think it was a pretty bad year for the snakes. I hope they will have a good shot at survival next year. I plan to release them in the same general area Dragon was released. As a side note, it has been decided that my daughter is not going to have her own garters at this time. Long story, but she disregaurded the snake rules in a VERY big and serious way. "Rusty" has gone to live with a friend of mine from work, and "Scute" will be among the released scrubs.

I have decided to keep just 4 vagrans total. Ember, and three I picked from the litter. I currently have my 4 keepers in a ten gallon, and the remaining litter in a 30 gallon. We are planning to move next spring/summer, and when we are settled I will expand to larger tanks. If things start getting crowded for my 4 keepers in the mean time, I have plenty of extra 10 gal tanks that I can separate them into for the winter. One of my extra 10's is currently set up for some new additions I'm expecting next week... my first ever garter snake *purchase*. I am VERY excited!!!

As far as diet goes, I have stopped feeding salmon and switched to tilapia. As of yesterday, I have FINALLY gotten 2 of my babies to eat worms. The third baby will still have nothing to do with it (and then there's Ember who will literally eat anything you put in front of her face) I do supplement with vitamins every couple of feedings (cal +vit D) and I have found a pet store about 30-45 minutes away that will order in silver-sides for me starting in November. It's a no-go on pinkies... I think the rest of the house hold would want to be rid of the snakes if I started feeding pinkies. We have kept pet mice and rats for many years and the sentiments run high. I have thought about feeding vole though... more on that later. This post is getting long as it is.

Now the photos!

First off, here are the three snakes I have chosen to keep. I'm still up in the air about names. I have kinda picked names but they just don't... click. So suggestions are welcome.
　
Snake one... the lightest colored of the bunch:

http://imageshack.us/a/img707/3213/tabooe.jpg

Snake two, my favorite:

http://imageshack.us/a/img37/593/picture590r.jpg

Snake 3:

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/162/picture582z.jpg

And of course, Ember. I love this snake. When I put my hand in the cage she comes right out & climbs up on me.

http://imageshack.us/a/img228/9080/ember2.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img7/6912/ember1h.jpg

[MCwyo]

And the tanks. My vagrans 10 gal..

http://imageshack.us/a/img835/3672/10galt.jpg

My 30 gal..

http://imageshack.us/a/img194/5985/30gal.jpg

In the 30 gal I have one of the coolest pieces of driftwood I've ever found and it makes an awesome hide for the babies. It's a hollow, twisted log that has been shaped by the river. Not quite as cool in the photos as it is in person. The babies love it!

http://imageshack.us/a/img341/2700/logqz.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img607/7642/babiesz.jpg

[MCwyo]

Aaaaand some random photos to finish of this mile long post.

http://imageshack.us/a/img26/789/snakepile.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img27/4348/hidin.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img707/6907/grnbaby.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img696/5752/banditx.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img99/3240/babya.jpg
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

[guidofatherof5]

Awesome!

[snake man]

Nice looking snakes!

[MCwyo]

Thanks guys. Just had to hop on here really quick and comment on a snake I dubbed "Tiny".

Out of the litter of 14 scrubs, I have lost 2. One is mentioned earlier in this thread, the other never ate and passed away. In my 30 gal, I have one poor skinny ity-bity scrub... "Tiny". Tiny has never shown interest in food. I have repeatedly offered different things trying to get this little guy to eat. On several occasions, I actually force-fed him small bits of tilapia. He'd swallow them, but only with great difficulty, and it hasen't really made a difference. He seems to shrink as the others grow. I've been at the point where I feel it might be better to PTS or release and let nature take it's course. But I've kept trying because this little one has just really tugged at my heartstrings. Tonight was feeding night for the 30 gal, & I took Tiny out last to see if I could get something into him. He chowed down three decent sized pieces of tilapia!!!!! All on his own!! This is the first time he has ever shown any interest in any type of food, and acted on his own to eat. It's so wonderful to see this little one's belly full, I almost cried. If he dose survive, I believe I will have 5 vagrans staying with me instead of 4.

[snake man]

Congratz!