New to this with 2 T. radix babies

[sasmon]

A researcher was preparing specimens she caught to be used in a herpetology class (essentially pickling them so we can have a collection for years to come of local fauna.) One of her larger garters got loose and ended up catching it in the office and putting it back in the terrarium. The researcher indicated that it might be a gravid female they were going to keep it until september. I kept going in and checking up on her each day - she pulled off an escape attempt one of those days - and she gave birth earlier this week to 21 babies!

I decided to adopt two of them. The rest are going to be fed and released. So I have two garters, and find myself wanting to make sure I give them the care they need. Initially I was going to adopt the runt and name him/her Wilbur (after Charlotte's Web), but he/she hasn't eaten since birth and will likely not make it. I didn't want to have a sad situation on my hands, so I got two who actually ate without problem. I've named them wilberforce and wilbury. Pictures below.


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[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome. The one that isn't eating will probably start. Some babies don't eat for weeks. Don't count the little one out.
Here's a link to the forum care sheet which is always a good read. Feel free to ask all the questions you would like.
What State are you in?

Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

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

[indigoman]

Welcome to the forum!

[gregmonsta]

Greetings :D

[chris-uk]

Welcome aboard.

It's a shame the mother of your two is destined for a pickling jar. I know that specimens are needed, but it isn't a case that radix aren't going be easy to find in the future ;). Anyway, you won't be disappointed with your radix, they are an awesome species of garter.

[sasmon]

Thanks all! To answer your question, Steve, I'm in South Dakota. My lil guys (I think they're girls) are growing up so fast! One has graduated to downing whole nightcrawlers already. It's really fascinating to see their personalities emerging to the point where I can tell which is which just from their behavior when I open up their cage to feed or hold them. One still is very nervous around me, and tries to shoot away. However, in the cage she actually takes on a curled up defensive posture. The other is very calm at this point and doesn't mind me handling her. In the cage, she likes to try the run away as fast as possible technique. I've also gotten to be able to distinguish them by facial features and now by size difference. I got them a 10 gallon Zilla tank with locking screen top, a small side-mounted heater and a thermostat controlling it. I'll be so glad when they both can eat whole worms; I'm tired of getting my hands all gross. :)

Anyway, I'm very happy with them and hope they're happy with me. Here's a picture of the bigger one (wilberforce), whose pattern and coloration is really starting to show.
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[rickymar81]

Welcome to the thamn. Your going to love this site.Everyone is really cool here. Great looking scrubs. good choice with the radix ;)

[sasmon]

A little update. As a beginning keeper I made a mistake I'll regret for quite some time. Wilberfource was the calm one and loved to be held. She'd wander around the cage without worrying about me moving around my office. Well, I fed her and went up to the third floor and came back to find she'd disappeared through a heating pipe hole (our building is old). I tried what I could to coax her back: water and food by the hole, but haven't seen her in two months. Now I'm sure to keep that top secured right after feeding. Wilbury is still a nervous nelly and doesn't really like to be held. She tries her "flying" technique when I do stuff like open my mouth to tell her she's pretty. I guess she thinks I might be trying to eat her. I've gotten good at calming her down, but I think she'll always be a skittish lady. The local store ran out of worms so I hat to resort to fathead minnows. My word. She went apetits for those things to the point where if I put one in front of her, she'd chase it around with her mouth open. With worms, she cares more about if I'm watching. I wish those fish were a good permanent food source because she clearly loves em. But, back to worms and supplements. Anywho. That's it for now. And, Steve, thanks for the garter snake penny! I'm not sure why you're so nice, but it's awesome. I'm not really the giving type so I don't get it haha. (I absolutely appreciate your thoughtfulness.)