Garter-newbie needs advice!

[Purplegrrl666]

Hello everyone,
I'm new here and new to garter snakes in general. I have previously owned 3 snakes (1 king, 2 corn) and I decided to buy a garter snake earlier today. *I think it's a western ribbon*. I have a couple of questions. If anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated.:D

1) How often do they strike, and how can I help to avoid it

2) How often should I feed him (right now I'm giving him feeder fish from the petstore, they told me 3 a day but that sounded kind of excessive.

3) What type of bedding should I use in his cage? Are aspen/ceder type shavings okay?

If there's anything that a garter-newbie like myself should be aware of that you can think of, please let me know!

Also, since I bought him a few hours ago, I only put 1 fish in his water bowl because I thought he may not feel up to eating tonight. What should I do if he doesn't eat the fish? Just let it stay in there until it dies and then take it out?

Whew! Sorry that was several questions :p thank you to anyone who responds!

[Sid]

Hello everyone,
I'm new here and new to garter snakes in general. I have previously owned 3 snakes (1 king, 2 corn) and I decided to buy a garter snake earlier today. *I think it's a western ribbon*. I have a couple of questions. If anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated.:D

1) How often do they strike, and how can I help to avoid it

2) How often should I feed him (right now I'm giving him feeder fish from the petstore, they told me 3 a day but that sounded kind of excessive.

3) What type of bedding should I use in his cage? Are aspen/ceder type shavings okay?

If there's anything that a garter-newbie like myself should be aware of that you can think of, please let me know!

Also, since I bought him a few hours ago, I only put 1 fish in his water bowl because I thought he may not feel up to eating tonight. What should I do if he doesn't eat the fish? Just let it stay in there until it dies and then take it out?

Whew! Sorry that was several questions :p thank you to anyone who responds!
HI and welcome to the forum.

1) As for striking, most Garters and Ribbon aren't bad about that at all. They will get a little hyper when handled until they get use to it. Handle it gently allowing the snake to move from hand to hand and they normally calm dow quickly.

2) I feed my adults once a week, babies two or three times per week is normal.

3) Use the Aspen. Cedar and pine contain oils that are harmful to the lungs.

Hope this helps.

[drache]

hi there and welcome to this forum

you'll find a lot of good info here
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet

as to your questions

1) I've only got struck a couple of times or so - when I had food smell on my hand

2) depends on the snake (size) and the type of food
my grown garters (ca 26") eat a fuzzy once per week
the babies eat a quarter pinkie every three days

if you are feeding fish, please also read this
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Thiamin,

3) the aspen stuff is fine
there's a whole thread on bedding
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/enclosures/491-best-substrate.html

be aware that he may not eat for a few days
just give him time to settle in

please ask as much as you need to
nice to meet you

[enigma200316]

you've already got great advice above, so good luck and welcome to the forum...................:)

[anji1971]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I've never had one of my garters strike at me, although the wild one bit once while I was holding her - just sort of latched on to my hand all of a sudden because she was scared. Most of the time the garters are pretty gentle, though. Sounds like you're off to a great start with all the advice above, so enjoy the forum and your new snake!:)

[adamanteus]

Hi Carolyn, and welcome to the forum.:)

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard, Carolyn. :)

[Snaky]

I think you've already been given all advice that you need...
So I can only welcome you to the forum, enjoy it here :)

[Lori P]

Welcome, Carolyn, hope you enjoy the forum. Post pics when you can of your new addition. :-)

[Cazador]

Hi Carolyn, and welcome to the forum. There's not much to add, but be sure to read the links that Rhea (Drache) offered. I just wanted to reiterate that garters and ribbons hardly ever bite people. There are always a few snakes that break the rules, but it's uncommon. If you're concerned, just try putting your hand into the cage and touching the substrate until YOU'RE comfortable. When you go to handle the snake, show (or fake) confidence. Enjoy,

Rick

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Carolyn :)

[Purplegrrl666]

Hi guys! Thank you for the advice I really appreciate it, I'm such a worrywart when it comes to my pets so this makes me feel a lot better. I just have one more question about feeding...

-Is there ANY danger of Jack not realizing that the fish in his water bowl is food?(Note: he was raised on these fish, so it doesn't seem likely.) It sounds stupid but since I put the fish in there on Monday it hasn't moved much (still alive though,) and I was concerned that he wouldn't notice it. Would it be a waste of time to add 1 more fish to try to get them moving? I keep telling myself that he just isn't hungry yet, but like I said I tend to over-worry.

[adamanteus]

It's quite common for them to refuse food for the first few days, or even a couple of weeks. Don't worry about it yet. Personally I'd release the fish.... it's maybe suffered enough!:D

[Cazador]

I'll second James' comment. Just introduce live fish for a few hours and then remove them. It makes for a cleaner environment and the new sight at feeding time can be exciting (for the snake).

Rick

[drache]

yeah
I think after a while they get used to the scent of the food being around
then it's not so interesting

[Purplegrrl666]

Good news! Jack shed yesterday so that's why he wasn't hungry. About him getting used to the scent of the food being around though, I find it kind of hard to believe. Why would he allow himself to starve to death? (seeing as animals have an intense instinct to survive.) If he's really hungry, he won't think "Oh well, I'm just going to sit here and die," right? Last night I saw him swimming in his water bowl, so he knows the fish are there...

[adamanteus]

Water in the water bowl soon becomes oxygen poor, so the fish suffer. Also the drinking water becomes foul, with fish swimming around in it for any length of time.