Hello.

[Robin Ryuu]

Hi everyone I go by Robin Ryuu when I'm online.

I found a baby garter snake at my sister's new house about two weeks ago when me and my brother in law were doing yard work. I didn't like the thought of it getting chopped up by a lawnmower so I took it home with me.

It is currently in a 20 gallon reptile setup in my room.

I'm not sure if the snake is male or female so any help with that would be appreciated.
I was thinking about naming it Kohaku if its a male and Tehanu if its a female.

Well it is nice to be here and I hope we'll get along.

[Albert Clark]

Hi RR, glad you could join us and welcome aboard! It's a little harder to determine the sex unless the animal is popped and or probed. Usually in baby snakes they get popped at the vent opening (area close to the tail). That is a pretty definitive technique. In garters, the tapering shape of the tail is a less definitive way to determine the sex of a individual and usually its more evident in older snakes. It seems the class of garter you have there is a eastern garter. Nice catch and good thinking to save him from a lawnmower and who knows what else. Pretty little garter too. If you can post a few more pics of the underside of the snake, especially the mid body and lower third towards the tail, more of us can get a better idea and try to determine the sex. Be careful also bc wild caught snakes are loaded with internal parasites that require treatment and may also have mites and or ticks on the outside of their bodies.:D

[Leo731]

Hey Robin and welcome! Albert summed it all up for you.
make sure to look over the care sheets carefully!

[Robin Ryuu]

Thanks guys. Yeah if it had escaped the mower then it probably would have become a snack for one of the 5 pit bulls next door. Would you guys have any advice for spotting and treating parasites? I'm not sure that there are any reptile vets around here. Getting pictures might be a bit difficult as the snake is quite feisty and bit at me a few times as I held it for a couple minutes earlier. I was able to dodge somehow.

[indigoman]

Welcome to the forum!

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome to the forum. Here's a link to the care sheet which should be very helpful.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

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

[Albert Clark]

Thanks guys. Yeah if it had escaped the mower then it probably would have become a snack for one of the 5 pit bulls next door. Would you guys have any advice for spotting and treating parasites? I'm not sure that there are any reptile vets around here. Getting pictures might be a bit difficult as the snake is quite feisty and bit at me a few times as I held it for a couple minutes earlier. I was able to dodge somehow.
It's a wild caught snake who is really stressed right now and will take awhile to settle down. The pregnancy and captivity are weighing on the garter now. If you are still going to keep the animal make sure you put a couple of objects so the girl has places to hide such as a flower pot, bowl, small box. That will help with the stress a bit. Most garter snakes do adapt to captivity with the proper care and time. The parasite issue is important to get completed. The flea and ticks or mites is also important. I would just google exotic vets in your home area and see where you can take her for the checkup. Vets will usually require you to bring in a stool sample. You can use a zip lock bag to gather that up and refrigerate it once you collect it. Make sure you double bag it for safety. Keep us posted. Good luck. :)

[Robin Ryuu]

It's a wild caught snake who is really stressed right now and will take awhile to settle down. The pregnancy and captivity are weighing on the garter now. If you are still going to keep the animal make sure you put a couple of objects so the girl has places to hide such as a flower pot, bowl, small box. That will help with the stress a bit. Most garter snakes do adapt to captivity with the proper care and time. The parasite issue is important to get completed. The flea and ticks or mites is also important. I would just google exotic vets in your home area and see where you can take her for the checkup. Vets will usually require you to bring in a stool sample. You can use a zip lock bag to gather that up and refrigerate it once you collect it. Make sure you double bag it for safety. Keep us posted. Good luck. :)
I think you are remembering a different post since the snake I'm talking about is barely as big around as a pencil. I'll check in to finding an exotic vet.

I'm setting up a breeding tank for guppies, but until I can get some offspring that are big enough I'm going to be relying on finding worms and the sporadic shipments of feeder guppies the pet store gets.

[Albert Clark]

Oh, ok. My apologies then. your guy looks like he might be closer in age to a yearling/ juvenile. The 20 gallon is kind of big for him so make sure he has lots of hiding areas. Keep an eye out for any bugs on the outside of his body. Mites, ticks etc. Are you planning on posting other pics of his belly and tail?

[Robin Ryuu]

I don't see any bugs, but I guess that I could be missing them. I if can get any decent pictures I will.

[Robin Ryuu]

When I turned on the lights this morning I found that the snake had shed during the few hours since I had seen it last.

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It is a complete unbroken shed. I measured it and it is about 10.5 inches long.

I saw the snake dart back into hiding when I walked in, but I haven't gotten a good look at it yet.

[Robin Ryuu]

Here we go.

12035

The log seems to be its favorite place.

[slipknot711]

very pretty little one. id say closer to a yearlings size. Robin could you get us a picture of its cloaca? then im sure we could give you a solid guess on its sex. also welcome to the forum. bunch of great helpful people here

[Robin Ryuu]

I'll try and thank you.

[Albert Clark]

Quick look at at the configuration of the tail from this view I will say preliminarily a female. Subject to other views and other experienced garter snake keepers. She appears a bit dehydrated can you put her in some shallow water for about 20 minutes or so?:D

[Robin Ryuu]

If I put it in the water dish it would just get back out so should I put it in a different container?

[slipknot711]

i also was thinking female but since its still so small i thought a cloaca pic would help us and also teach robin how to sex
Quick look at at the configuration of the tail from this view I will say preliminarily a female. Subject to other views and other experienced garter snake keepers. She appears a bit dehydrated can you put her in some shallow water for about 20 minutes or so?:D

[slipknot711]

do you have a bucket? 5 gallon? or even a 2.5 gallon? keep water very shallow and baby or luke warm.

[Robin Ryuu]

I have an empty critter keeper.

[slipknot711]

thatll work. just make sure water is shallow and luke warm

[Robin Ryuu]

Hi guys, I'm back at least temporarily. The reason for my previous disappearance is that the little garter died. The reason was an accident on my part coupled with a trip where we where gone for a few days.


The reason that I'm back is that I have picked up another garter a few days ago, a male who's about 2 feet long, and I think that he's injured. His eyes appear to have blood clouding them. His right eye is a dark crimson and I can't see the pupil. There is also a piece of white skin or something stuck to the bottom. His left eye appears to be normal except for a slight brighter red mist that goes from the bottom to a small part of the pupil.

I'd take pictures, but I don't have a good enough camera.

He does move around the enclosure though.

[guidofatherof5]

Any idea of the cause of the injury? Where was this snake picked up?

[Robin Ryuu]

I'm not the one who found him. My sister was the one who gave him to me. She said that her co-workers found him under something that they were moving and that her co-workers took turns carrying him around on their arms all day, which to me that doesn't sound good even for a tame creature.

She also said that he never offered to bite any of them, but that could be because he was injured or that he was starting to hibernate.

Forgot to say that she named him Severus Snake.

[Albert Clark]

Wow, it's probably better to release him/her bc a eye injury is serious business and the fact that it is a wild caught with a disability the release might be best.