Short-headed garter snake

[Invisible Snake]

Hey I saw this being shared on FB so I thought I would share it with you guys!

8120

One of the smallest garter snake species.
The Short-headed Garter Snake

[guidofatherof5]

Sweet little scrub. Don't see those(species) very often.

[Selkielass]

Cute little guy!
Not nearly as colorful as the one I rescued from a neighbors cat while in Pennsylvania- but those may have been intergraded with easterner. (a I thought they were easterner until I did a lip scale count.)

[EKS56]

That is tiny! What do you feed them when they get that small?

[guidofatherof5]

Small slugs, small pieces of worm or small whole earthworms(rosy-tip worm) Rosy-tipped worm | OPAL (http://www.opalexplorenature.org/taxonomy/term/154)

[Selkielass]

My newborn butlers were about that size- they'd eat anything minced small enough to get in their mouths. Worms for a start, but they quickly started picking out rodent pieces first when I mixed them.
These little guys; http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/dcp_1684.jpg

Would take on worms nearly their own size and take silversides bigger around than their heading if they got the chance to grab one.

See this thread for pics of 'Hermione'different after she stole one of Roosters silversides.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/10742-whole-fish.html

These little species all seem to be pretty aggressive feeders.

[Greg'sGarters]

That is tiny! What do you feed them when they get that small?

I feed guppies and worm bits.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

With a snake THIS tiny, you often have to chop a worm into bits, and then take those bits and slice them vertically as well. unless you have some worms in your yard you can use that are very small. As far as guppies go... you would need guppies that are still juveniles to feed such a little fella!

I've always wanted to go out to their native range here in PA and check them out, just to see some in their native habitat. They're completely off limits here in PA, so it would be a looking at basis only! But wow that little guy sure is cute! Comparable to a newborn redbelly, but still a little bigger than one :)

[ConcinusMan]

That's about typical size for newborn northwesterns. I start them out on tiny worm bits (sharp precision scissors helps with that) and after a few sheds I start mixing in bits of pinky / pinky legs and tiny bits of fish fillet.