Hi from Austin, Tx

[Lowfur]

Hi everyone, my name is Lauren, my husband and I recently found a checkered garter and decided to keep him/her,we have never had a reptile pet before and have been trying to do as much research as possible, we have been successful with handling, and s/he seems to really enjoy soaking in his pool, we were able to feed him 2 small feeder guppies, but I'm not sure s/he is actually full, all the care sheets I have read have mentioned a slight bulge from feeding, but we haven't noticed any. I don't want him/her to be hungry. Any tips, or advice?

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Welcome! Are you 100% sure it is a checkered garter? I would love to see pics of the little one! The thing is feeder guppies are so small that it would take about 3 or 4 or maybe even more per feeding depending on size. Some other good food items is frozen thawed silversides, pinky parts, and nightcrawler chunks. I hope you enjoy your new little friend and good luck with him/her.

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing your friend.
Here's a link to the forum care sheet. It's always a good read. Any questions not answered their can be posted to the forum.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

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

[Lowfur]

8380 This is my sweet baby, we found him cleaning the pool, and are unsure of age, or sex. He is approx. 7-8 inches long, and the width of a pencil. We have lovingly named him/her "Nessie" because of how s/he likes to soak in her dish, with head up8381

[Invisible Snake]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Nessie looks adorable :)

[guidofatherof5]

Good, healthy looking scrub. Show us an under tail photo and we'll try and sex her/him for you. At this age/size it can be simply a guess but in some cases it's very clear. Here's a link to a thread that will you sex her/him yourself or at least show you the kind of photos to post.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/breeding/5069-sexing-pics.html

[indigoman]

Nice baby checkered garter! They are one of my favorites, you can get nightcrawlers from the sporting section of Walmarts. Bite size, about the size of her head.Its great that she is eating, small portions every day or every other day. I wouldn't worry about over feeding they grow very quickly.

[channa]

Hi and welcome

[Lowfur]

Thanks everyone, we have been trying to find as much information as possible to make sure we can keep Nessie in a home where she feels safe and well taken care of! So the kind words are very appreciated, I will try to get an undertail picture so we can guess at sex, any idea on age? I haven't been able to find any reliable information on growth rates, except that at birth they avg 8in, and can grow up to 2-3 ft.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice baby checkered garter! They are one of my favorites, you can get nightcrawlers from the sporting section of Walmarts. Bite size, about the size of her head.Its great that she is eating, small portions every day or every other day. I wouldn't worry about over feeding they grow very quickly.

Be sure not to buy Panfish worms, only night crawlers. Panfish/redworm/compost worms are toxic to garter snakes.

[chris-uk]

8380we found him cleaning the pool

Sounds like he will be a good addition, if he was cleaning the pool when you found him that's one job you won't have to do. :)

Welcome aboard, Nessie looks like a good looking checkered garter. The sort of size he is I think it's likely he was born last year. Give him plenty of hiding places in his enclosure and don't handle too much while he's settling, but the fact he's eaten some fish for you is a good sign.

[Lowfur]

Thanks! We are very excited to have him join us, and I love having a new project to research. This site has already had so much information to offer, and is extremely resourceful. We were able to dig up some local earthworms after a thunderstorm last night, would those be ok to feed? He seems very comfortable in his hidey-rocks, and loves to soak, I am still working on trying to get a good under tail shot, but based on the sexing photos that guidofatherof5 posted I'm thinking it might be a girl.

[Foxrun402]

Welcome! Nessi looks awesome! I cant wait to see him/her growing! Mine was about that big when I got her and she grew fast! night-crawlers and Pinky parts are good source of nutrition along with the feeder guppies! when Nessi gets older since he/she can already fish you could upgrade to Zebra Danios for a bigger size of fish. they don't contain thiaminase but make sure if you get them they aren't tanked with another species of fish. =) Glad you fond this place, take lots of pictures! =D

-Jonathan

[acovert]

What a beautiful checkered. Congrats on your find!

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks! We are very excited to have him join us, and I love having a new project to research. This site has already had so much information to offer, and is extremely resourceful. We were able to dig up some local earthworms after a thunderstorm last night, would those be ok to feed? He seems very comfortable in his hidey-rocks, and loves to soak, I am still working on trying to get a good under tail shot, but based on the sexing photos that guidofatherof5 posted I'm thinking it might be a girl.

As long as the soil is chemical-free(herbicide/pesticide)

[Sherrie]

Hi Lauren, Welcome! I'm from the Austin area as well. My son has an Albino Checkered. We just got him/her last fall. Still not sure on the sex, lol. He was about 8 inches long when we got him and he's about 17 inches now. We have really enjoyed him and I am seriously thinking of getting another one or two.

[gibble888]

So cute!!