My first!

[SkinnyPete]

Just picked this little one up last night. (I live in Southern Oregon)
It was cruising across my father in laws hay field, we usually find a few of these there every year. This one was small enough and my daughters are very enamored with it, so I decided to bring it home. Right now it's in a 1 gallon tank with some repti-bedding and a deli cup for hiding and a saucer with water. Took a few hours, but it settled right down and is chillin and watching us calmly.
It's still very small, probably only 12in long and the diameter of a pencil.
Now my question is what variety is it? (pic below)
(Please excuse my "IT" connotation, but I have not sexed it yet, so I don't know if it's Male or Female)

Thanks for any help!
Pete
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Petes Pics/C3D3CA78-478E-4ABA-AB56-DCCAB5246CC5-724-0000002B5DBAB7AD_zps7ce5a3c5.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a link that might help you sex the snake or at least show you the kind of photos to post if you would like us to help.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/breeding/5069-sexing-pics.html

[Selkielass]

How pretty! Lovely contrast with those red spots.
I wont guess species- I 'll leave that to people who know your side of the country better than I.

[GarterGuy17]

Looks like a red sided to me ( thamnophis sirtalis parietalis ) Pretty healthy looking , If you show us a picture of the underside tail area we could give you a pretty good answer of what the sex is :)

[snake man]

Looks alot like a red sided.

[joeyjoe9876]

kind of looks like my redsided a bit, very nice looking! :D

[SkinnyPete]

Just powered down a good sized Nightcrawler! From the field to eating in the cage in 24hrs! Awesome!

[guidofatherof5]

That's always a good thing.

[ProXimuS]

I'm not great on ID's yet, but I wasn't thinking Red-sided. I tried to look up the range of the parietalis, and it doesn't look like they range into Oregon. I was thinking more like a fitchi or a concinnus. I'm sure some of our Northwesterners can help more:p

[ssssnakeluvr]

not a red sider, they don't range that far west. definitely a valley garter, thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

[SkinnyPete]

Here are some (cruddy) pics my wife managed to snap when I had our little buddy out tonight. Talk about a mellow snake. Squirmed for a few minutes and I let it slide through my fingers,and run off some energy, then it settled right down and just explored my hands and let the kids pet it and even my wife got in on it. Just awesome. ZERO aggression at all. Totally mellow. Very stoked!
Here are the pics: any help with Sexing would be greatly appreciated!
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Reptiles/AD38769D-BEED-4164-835C-25EEEB3EA818-724-0000005BC6045753_zpsa0c6e451.jpg
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Reptiles/28AA0D0E-B193-4A0A-A8D2-145A6EFA3D3D-724-0000005BB525E8EB_zpsd6f15973.jpg

[ProXimuS]

Looks like a little female to me:) Is it just me or does the vent look a little swollen?

[SkinnyPete]

Looks like a little female to me:) Is it just me or does the vent look a little swollen?

Thanks for the info!!!

Vent: I was thinking that too. I will be keeping an eye on it. ;)

[SkinnyPete]

not a red sider, they don't range that far west. definitely a valley garter, thamnophis sirtalis fitchi

Thank you for this!

[snake man]

Try a few luke warm baths for thhe little gal.


Thanks for the info!!!

Vent: I was thinking that too. I will be keeping an eye on it. ;)

[GarterGuy17]

Yup looks like a female , I didn't even think to look up the range of Red sides so It was my first guess. Now you know the snake you have. Keen an eye on her vent though.

[EasternGirl]

I'm thinking it looks like a concinnus. Richard would be the one to ask about that. Looks like a female to me too. Any chance we can get a close up pic of that vent? Also...is the substrate you have in there moist? It looks moist...but that might just be the pic.

Congrats on your first garter and welcome to our forum family!

[guidofatherof5]

Female.

[SkinnyPete]

I'm thinking it looks like a concinnus. Richard would be the one to ask about that. Looks like a female to me too. Any chance we can get a close up pic of that vent? Also...is the substrate you have in there moist? It looks moist...but that might just be the pic.

Congrats on your first garter and welcome to our forum family!

Thanks for the info everyone! I will get a better pic of the vent tonight.
Offered another worm this AM and she took it great!
The substrate is Zilla "Jungle Mix" HERE (http://www.zilla-rules.com/products/bedding/fir-sphagnum-peat-moss.htm) that is just barely damp, feels like fresh dug dirt. I used it because I had it on hand. I am planning on getting some aspen today when I am out running errands, and also getting a larger enclosure, since this is obviously going to be a long term relationship :)

[mikem]

Nice looking fitchi :)

[SkinnyPete]

Got some better pics tonight of the belly and vent:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Petes%20Pics/1B8555D0-1972-4C38-8B43-9D03FCCC9977-1808-0000018D9E7C9412_zps5a5557e1.jpg
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Petes%20Pics/B6AD588C-67FE-44B6-91A4-BC8EF214BC19-1808-0000018DA84F14D3_zps9b77a1a0.jpg

The vent looks pink in the pics, but in person it is not pink or inflamed. I think it looks more pink in the pics because I am holding onto her tail. When she is relaxed it looks just fine. :) She (I am thinking it is a she from what you guys have said.) is settling in great. Ate another nightcrawler this AM that I put in her water dish with a small amount of water. Then she pooped this afternoon in her new enclosure. So things are going in and coming out, and overall she is vigorous and healthy looking. I did another 5 min handling session tonight and she was very calm and did not musk or urinate (both positives) and was pretty mellow, squirmy at first , but calmed down almost immediately. No attempts at biting, or aggression at all.
Her new home is a 10gal aquarium with 2 hides a water dish and Aspen as bedding. I got a screen top for it with a "hatch" to access through that has a nice secure latch. I took the advice given here and made sure to fill in the "gap" at the top of the tank between the lid and the tank so she couldn't wedge up in there. (Some 3/8" poly/nylon rope hot glued in there made a perfect gasket!) and screwed the lid onto the top frame of the tank so it can't come off. She lives on the shelf above my Leopard gecko's so she gets a little warmth from them through the bottom of her cage, keeps it at 78-82F from what the thermometer told me today.
Thanks everyone for all the great advice and comments!
So just to verify, it looks like a girl? My kids are incessantly asking! I think from the immediate size drop on the tail after the vent that is looks female, but I am looking at my first snake with a grand total if 30 hrs of research under my hat,, so yeh, best guess from me :)
The kids have decided to name it : Lexi if it's a girl and Alex if it's male. :)
Thanks again!

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

Yep, shes a Fitchi!!! I have 2. Well 16 if you count the babies!!! Lol :) They are fantastic snakes to own. I love mine. She is very pretty. Congrats on your new pet!!

[Invisible Snake]

She definitely looks female and Lexi is a great name for her. :)

[ConcinusMan]

Southern oregon...

No way red sided (CA or Canadian kind) occur near Medford. CA red sided might be around Brookings though. No concinnus' down Medford way either. I can't see the pics (I've come to expect this from photobucket users. DON'T move or delete your photos after you hotlink them!) but it does sound like T. s. fitchi. I know they are called "valley garters" but this refers to mountain valleys, which is where Medford sits.

Although a snake on this page is listed as "western terrestrial" (not even close) it is a T.s. fitchi from Medford.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh91/ghosthousecornsnakes/field herpin/gartersnake.jpg

Reptiles of Oregon - Ghost House Corn Snakes (http://ghosthousecornsnakes.webs.com/reptilesoforegon.htm)

[thamneil]

Sounds like you've got the husbandry down pat! About the vent, it sometimes remains open and can look swollen if the snake has been musking. My flames' vents always look that way when they are being handled.

[SkinnyPete]

They are deff T. s. fitchi, sorry about the first pic, I didn't realize I couldn't go back and edit it.
Here is a pic from today:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp84/Supertex1978/Petes%20Pics/19FFFF72-A754-4291-A892-1F509986B068-1511-0000022940595391.jpg



Southern oregon...

No way red sided (CA or Canadian kind) occur near Medford. CA red sided might be around Brookings though. No concinnus' down Medford way either. I can't see the pics (I've come to expect this from photobucket users. DON'T move or delete your photos after you hotlink them!) but it does sound like T. s. fitchi. I know they are called "valley garters" but this refers to mountain valleys, which is where Medford sits.

Although a snake on this page is listed as "western terrestrial" (not even close) it is a T.s. fitchi from Medford.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh91/ghosthousecornsnakes/field herpin/gartersnake.jpg

Reptiles of Oregon - Ghost House Corn Snakes (http://ghosthousecornsnakes.webs.com/reptilesoforegon.htm)

[ConcinusMan]

They are deff T. s. fitchi, sorry about the first pic, I didn't realize I couldn't go back and edit it.

If you move, delete, whatever, at your photobucket account, the link you posted becomes invalid and points to something which no longer exists. ;) You know the concept. If you move and fail to inform the post office, you will not get your mail. It will go to the wrong address.:cool:

Gorgeous snake.