Blackneck Garter Snake rescue

[Oscar27]

Hi everyone, as the title says I am rescuing a Blackneck Garter Snake that was found in a residential area and was planned to be killed so I decided to keep it.

The reason I post this is because I noticed that it have a wound in his head, it bleed when she tried to eat a pinkie and she didn't ate it.
I also have noticed that it doesn't flick it's tongue and when it opened it's mouth I saw what I think it was its tongue but it apeared like it is stuck in the tongue sheath it only looked like a needle coming out a little.

Can someone please help me?

Regards.

[guidofatherof5]

Photos would be very helpful to see the extent of the injury. Thanks for taking this Tham in.

[Oscar27]

Thanks for the reply!
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Here are some photos, the wound is just in front of my nail, its shaped like this "<" it seems to be healing but it was like that before he tried to eat that pinkie, brom below it have this kind of sore and I don't know what it is.

[Eddie]

Garters are resilient!! Keep it warm and hydrated and see what happens.
Good luck bud!

[Oscar27]

Thanks! What could I feed her without making it open much its mouth? And what could cause her to not flick her tongue out?

[Oscar27]

Also, how big can BlackNecked get?

[Zdravko092368]

Looks like its got an injury, try to handle her as little as possible. Blacknecks can get 26-32" at max length usually. Just cut up the pinky and put it on a small dish where she hangs out. Or cut up fillet fish like salmon, trout, etc. Just make it tiny pieces so she can eat it without stretching her injury.

[Oscar27]

Thank you, I will try with the fillet, should I take her out to take some sun?

[Oscar27]

Thank you, I will try with the fillet, should I take her out to take some sun?

[Albert Clark]

The injury looks relatively minor however it is a head injury that involves the mouth and jaw so potentially problematic. Hopefully not, but i don't think it's wise to take her out due to the added stress that will take on her bc she's a wild caught garter. If you are truly going to keep it then leave it be in the enclosure you provided. Put down some unprinted paper towels as a substrate until you can determine that the snake is on the mend. If it gets worse you may want to consider a exotic vet.

[Peterra]

I will second the warm temperature; garters heal better at about 30 degrees Celsius.

[Peterra]

My source for the above:

The effect of ambient temperature and type of wound on healing of cutaneous wounds in the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3349390

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/19807707_The_effect_of_ambient_temperature_and_typ e_of_wound_on_healing_of_cutaneous_wounds_in_the_c ommon_garter_snake_Thamnophis_sirtalis

[Oscar27]

It's healing, it's much better than when I posted this but she still won't eat, what should I do?

[guidofatherof5]

All you can do is be patient and try different things. Have you tried and live guppies?

[Oscar27]

I have tried the pinkie, earthworms and today I tried with fillet fish but seems she's not interested I will try with some live silversides. Otherwise, could It be brumation? And if this is the case what should I do?

[Oscar27]

She doesn't flick her tongue out I don't know why but maybe she isn't sensing the fotos because of that.

[Oscar27]

Update:

The injury seems to be healed.
She still hasn't eaten but I think she's hungry, I put muy finger in the glass of her enclosure and she started chasing it so I tried (this will sound weird) but I tied a small piece of fish to a line to see if she will chase it too but had no luck, what can I do?

[guidofatherof5]

Hide some food in her hide. Maybe she'll eat in there.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

A lot of wc blacknecks will only take frogs and toads or frog and toad scented food items.

[JooJooShrimp]

I'd recommend trying to warm her food up a bit. I live in Mexico as well and i know how hard it can be in some places to get you snake to a vet who can offer correct treatment so I hope everything turns out well. Keep us updated on this little guy.

[Oscar27]

I left some food in her hide but she didn't ate.

It is hard to find frogs or toads where I live and it's even harder in winter, also there is no shop or vet who sells them, I can only provide fillet fish, guppies, silversides and frozen pinkies. What else could I offer her?

Yeah, there is no exotic vet in my area, I will try but I think what she wants is to chase her prey but she barely goes out of her hide.

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a technique I use on neonates to get them eating. Get a small round container. Put just enough water in it so guppies will splash around(not swim) Put enough fish in so there is a lot of activity. Count how many go in, then put your snake in and cover the container so there are no outside distractions. Not many garters can resist flopping fish.

[Peterra]

I guess I got lucky but all my garters eventually learned how to fish. In some cases it took a couple of months but eventually they all did it. Once they started fishing it was pretty easy to throw pinkies in there and get them to eat them. Again, in the beginning they were reticent to eat the pinkies but eventually they all went for them as well.

[Oscar27]

She ate a chunk of fillet fish but It wasn't to much, she still seems hungry, how much should I feed her and how often?
I haven't tried the guppies because I'm worried she won't eat them, I think I will try and put the fish in a bowl with water in her enclosure to see if she chase them

[guidofatherof5]

She ate a chunk of fillet fish but It wasn't to much, she still seems hungry, how much should I feed her and how often?
I haven't tried the guppies because I'm worried she won't eat them, I think I will try and put the fish in a bowl with water in her enclosure to see if she chase them

I wouldn't stuff her. A couple of nice pieces to get things going.

[Oscar27]

I bought her two fishes and lay them in a tray with water in her enclosure and she inmediatlely started chasing them and ate one! I finally discovered what to feed her! :D


14847

[guidofatherof5]

I bought her two fishes and lay them in a tray with water in her enclosure and she inmediatlely started chasing them and ate one! I finally discovered what to feed her! :D


14847

Awesome update.

[Jeff B]

Good start

[Oscar27]

I would like to know the exact species she is, It looks like a BlackNeck but what variation? She has a different pattern that the ones that appear on internet.

[Albert Clark]

She looks like a Western blackneck (Thamn. cyrtopsis cyrtopsis) garter.

[Oscar27]

But she's black and has a chekered pattern starting from the neck and then the squares become circles, also how can I know if is male or female? I'm calling it she but I think its a male.

[Albert Clark]

Well, pictures can be decieving. Can you post a clearer picture of her whole body with natural light? As far as the sex identification, you can do a closeup picture of the underside at the cloacal region and past it to the tail tip and we can take a look at it and most likely identify the sex. Make sure to hold her in a vertical position and closeup for the picture.

[Oscar27]

14863148641486514866Here are the photos, hope they are good if not, tell me and I will take her more.

[Albert Clark]

Oh! Looks like you have a male there. And he does look like a Eastern Blackneck. Just a subtle variance in the coloration and patterning. But that can be a normal variation since garters are polymorphic meaning they can take on various forms in coloration and patterning of their appearance.

[Oscar27]

Wow! Thank you! I really like the pattern on him.
Should I let him brumate? If yes, how and when should I start it and end it?