Updates on Cuddles & Species Identification

[acovert]

For those of you who don't know, I have a male Northwestern Garter named Cuddles. I haven't been on in a while, so I'm not exactly new, but I'm sure there are a lot of people I haven't met yet! Cuddles was born in September of 2011 so he is about to turn six years old. He lives in a little 10 gallon tank as he is still rather small. When I first came here I had no idea what to feed him, and even once I did he would only take live worms, which worked though was a little inconvenient. He is the only survivor from the group of babies that I chose him from, though I believe his mother survived for some time later. I've made a lot of progression with him in the last couple of years, and he now takes frozen pinkies quite readily, so I am able to offer him a more complete diet. He can be a bit of a jerk, but I love him. I did have another garter, also Northwestern, that was a rescue. He could not fully shed because of a nasty injury that happened somewhere on my Uncle's property. He had trouble eating. I had him for a year or two before he finally died.

Here is a recent shot of Cuddles: 14732





I also got my hands on two snakes over the summer. One I believe to be a very young northwestern, found in my backyard (we live along a creek so we tend to get garters quite frequently). Possibly male, though I'm not sure. I would love to know what you guys make of the species and gender, though, since I am only able to vaguely guess! 14733147341473514736

And since you can only post five images in one message, I will post my other species identification question in a later post, after we've talked a little of this one ^_^
This little guy was caught in Gresham, OR, USA sometime in late June or early July, for those who would like the help of a location.

[guidofatherof5]

Ordies are an awesome Tham. They are my second favorite.

[Eddie]

Ordie morphs are overdue. I will try to help with that :)

[acovert]

I love my Cuddles. Him and the other ordies I've had/found are amazing snakes.


Speaking of snakes, any idea what this is? found it this weekend at Little Cultus Lake, Dechutes County, OR (Southwest of Bend/Northwest of La Pine). 147371473814739

Or this little fellow (found in Kansas City, MO yesterday by a friend of mine): 1474014741
I realize those two pictures are awful, so I will have to see if I can make them larger somehow.

[Albert Clark]

The first garter with the red flecks and black lateral scales strikes me as a Valley garter (T.s. fitchi). The second pic looks like a Eastern garter (T.sirtalis).

[acovert]

The second one struck me as Eastern as well. I couldn't get better images, sadly. He's taken refuge in my friend's basement, but they haven't been able to find him a second time. They caught him, released him outside, and then spotted him back in the basement. I wonder if the rain they've been getting is making the basement look like a nice refuge lol.

And I've never caught a Valley garter before! Not that I know of, anyways. I have caught garters in that area before, but I was a kid and didn't know anything about identification. Outside of my ordies, the only other type I've caught is what I think we decided was a Wandering garter along the Clackamas River here in Oregon.

I was hoping to catch more this summer, but I just haven't been able to get out and about enough. With all the smoke and being so near the fires near Little Cultus Lake, I hardly expected to see any. And I happened to find a shed when I released it/him/her, too (I found him rather close to camp, so after catching it and showing it to my kid brothers I moved it closer to the lake where there were lots of thick bushes, where my brothers wouldn't bother it).

[Zdravko092368]

Awesome, I am always surprised people have ordinoides, they don't seem very popular and I've never seen any for sale... love them though! Hope cuddles stays healthy for a long time.

[acovert]

The child of a woman in the Portland metro area found a garter in her yard and they kept her for a little while, not realizing she was pregnant. Cuddles is one of her babies. I was lucky to get to pick one out, and he saved my life that year, giving me something to focus on during my bad fight with depression. He is my baby, and I would love to have more of the little guys. I had another, but he passed away two or three years ago. I find them in the backyard from time to time. In fact, I found this guy a couple of hours ago, despite the horrible smoke and ash from the Eagle Creek fire right now (I may end up being evacuated if things get bad, but rest assured Cuddles will be taken good care of):14747




I also found this fellow and still have him in a container in my room. I'm assuming a baby ordinodes? Does someone have a differing opinion? If my husband agrees, I may keep him because he is so small and because the environment outside is so bad. I am sure he is well equipped to handle it, but I've taken a liking to the fellow
14748

[guidofatherof5]

Looks more like a Storeria dekayi - Brown snake to me.

[acovert]

Are those native to Oregon? I don't think I've ever seen one before.
What is best to feed this little guy?

[guidofatherof5]

Are those native to Oregon? I don't think I've ever seen one before.
What is best to feed this little guy?

I believe you are correct Ashley. My bad.

[acovert]

I'm sure it will be easier to tell what he is as he gets a little bigger.

[acovert]

147491475014751
Here are some (hopefully) clearer pictures of the little fellow that we've dubbed Creek. Any more guesses on species, age and gender for me?

[BUSHSNAKE]

The one from kansas city is probably a red sided....t.s.parietalis

[acovert]

The little snake I've taken in is doing well....he remains active and is slowly calming down when I put my hand in with him. I've cut small pieces off of the store-bought nightcrawlers that I have (obviously they are too big for him whole!) but he hasn't shown any interest, even though they wiggle a little. I've been trying to find smaller earthworms in the backyard, but I haven't had any luck. It has been a very dry summer and it will probably take some doing to get them to come out. I have frozen pinkies that I cut up for Cuddles, but after not having luck with the worms I'm not sure that he will go for anything that doesn't move.

Any suggestions? I've had him for three days now and I'm assuming he will be getting hungry within the next few.

[guidofatherof5]

You sould try a pinky leg and thigh, The new scent may trigger and eating response. Also try a small piece of fish. All these food have a unique scent and may trigger a response.

[acovert]

No luck with the fish. I'm going to try a pinky later this week. I found a smaller worm and cut it up to give it a go. Letting him alone to see if he will eat it. If I don't have luck then I will have to try the pinky for sure.
I wish I could find smaller worms outside right now. It's just so uncharacteristically dry right now. We found a couple large nightcrawlers with the rain, and nothing else.

[guidofatherof5]

Any place you can flip rocks or debris? Replacing everything as it was when you're done.

[acovert]

We've flipped all of the rocks in the back and front yards to try to find them. There's nothing. We watered the back lawn and got some bigger nightcrawlers to come out, but that's it. There's also been a few large slugs.

[acovert]

Rain is coming next week, so I am hoping I'll have some luck finding smaller worms. If not, I will try my mom's house tomorrow. I had good luck there, when I lived there with Cuddles years ago.
In the meantime, I was about to try the pinky parts when I discovered one possible reason for him refusing food. He shed! His coloration is a lot clearer now, but I'm still not 100% certain he is a northwestern or something else.

Here's a picture I just took: 14771