im new here. wanna help?

[Squeaky10199]

hello, I'm new to this forum, actually i found this just a sec ago and wanted to join because i too love garter snakes. i have had many garters, not different kinds but they are all cool. ill start off by showing you guys my garter snake. His name is Spot, and he has been with me for a 6 months. he was smaller when i got him.
Here he is basking under the light.
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee250/squeaky10199/gggg001.jpg

laying next to the water bowl.
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee250/squeaky10199/dfjsldfj002.jpg

In the plants
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee250/squeaky10199/spiders005.jpg

I love him..
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee250/squeaky10199/animals006.jpg

So tell me what you guys think.
I also want to know, i have a 100 watt bulb being used for a basking light. Spot loves to bask every day but i want to make sure i have a good light. should i get a different type of bulb? like a halogen bulb or basking bulb? or is a regular bulb ok? and another thing, spot isn't eating. he has eaten once in 4 months. last time he ate was red minnows, and i know they aren't good for a complete diet but he wont eat. he wont eat pinkies and i cant get worms for him because its winter in Wisconsin. what should i do? and other thing, what type of garter is he? i was told he was a butler but those are illegal to have here but then i was told he is a regular eastern garter. any help?

[Sid]

On your "bulb" question, a halogen bulb would be far too hot. What is the temp on the heated side of your viv. Should be 80 to 85 degreess F. If it's higher than that I would go to a lower watt bulb. His not eating could be due to the time of year. In the wild he would be burmating now. Keep offering the live minnows. If he doesn't start eating them you my want to consider cooling him down for a short burmation ( a couple of weeks). Often this will trigger their appitite. As for the pinkies, my Easterns are tough to convert. Once he's eating well again put a pinkie in the water dish with the fish, he'll end up grabbing it and will finally accept it as food. Hope this helps.

[GarterGuy]

Hello, as far as the heat lamp...just check your temps. Like Sid had said, a basking spot at about 80-85F works well. Might be a good idea to get a thermostat for it as well, then you can just dial in the temp you want and you're good to go. As far as light quality.....garters, and snakes in general don't seem to really need the high quality of light that a lot of lizards use. A good full spectrum fluorescent bulb on the tank should be enough for day/night cycling and some don't even use them. As for feeding, he may be off feed due to the time of year. As long as he's keeping good weight I wouldn't get too upset just yet. He looks good and healthy from your pics. As an alternative for the rosies, you might try giving him trout or salmon fillet pieces. Also on getting him to take pinks, did you try live or frozen/thawed (F/T)? You might want to try F/T and rub some fish on it. This may get him to take them and then eventually you can scent it less and less. As far as what species....as in the other post, was thinking T.s.sirtalis, with a possibility of T.radix, but now that you mentioned T.butleri...it might be. I noticed that the side stripe was looking a bit on the high side, which was making me think T.radix, but it wasn't only on the 3rd and 4th scale rows, but also not just on the 2nd and 3rd....kind of in between. This would mean T.butleri. The pics aren't super detailed, so doing scale counts off of them is a bit tricky. If he's got 21 scale rows, then it's definitely T.radix, but if there are 19, it could be either T.s.siratlis or T.butleri......but with the side stripe where it is, I'd have to say that with 19 scale rows, it'd be T.butleri. If he is, I wouldn't get too upset about it, I really doubt the Fish and Game comission are going to come busting down your doors, because you have one garter. I wouldn't get anymore butleri or breed them, but besides that you should be fine.:)

[Odie]

Hi, Nicholas, from Oregon :)

[Squeaky10199]

hello i changed the tank she or he was in and put her in a ten gallon by herself. she was in a 29 gallon with three large toads... i know toads are prey items but they are too large for her to eat so i thought it wouldnt be bad. anyways now i have her in a ten gallon waiting to get some more garters for her to be with. she has a hide and a water bowl and a basking spot too.

[drache]

if you're going to get more and house them together, a 10G will be too tight
it can even be tight for a single adult, depending on their size

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

[quote=Sid;44288] As for the pinkies, my Easterns are tough to convert.quote]

I am astounded by that!!! I find eastern garters to be the only garters that will 80% readily accept an unscented pinky for the first time, on the first try, even if they are WC.

[Squeaky10199]

yeah how do you guys get your garters to eat pinkies?:confused: Spot wont eat anything i give him. :mad:havent fed him a worm lately cause its winter. he wont eat rosies anymore. i tried goldfish too but he wouldnt eat that either. :eek: i want to get him to eat pinkies. he is like 15-18 inches. i know you can scent them but i have no worms or anything so what should i do?:confused::confused: if you have any good ideas then please share. :)

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

ok, you can try cut up salmon or trout and if hell eat the salmon or trout try rubbing it all over a pinkie and that should work, but i dont think what your feeding him is a problem if he hasnt eaten in 4 months, a short 1 month brumation might get him feeding again.

yeah how do you guys get your garters to eat pinkies?:confused: Spot wont eat anything i give him. :mad:havent fed him a worm lately cause its winter. he wont eat rosies anymore. i tried goldfish too but he wouldnt eat that either. :eek: i want to get him to eat pinkies. he is like 15-18 inches. i know you can scent them but i have no worms or anything so what should i do?:confused::confused: if you have any good ideas then please share. :)

[Squeaky10199]

how do you brumate him? i dont have that low of temperatures in my house and i cant put him i my garage cause he will die. if i put him in my basement then it wont be as cold as what it should be. i dont have a thermometer to check the temps either. how should i go about this? how do you set up the brumation stuff? any help or pictures would be great because then i will brumate him if i can.

[ssssnakeluvr]

to brumate them, you need to not feed them at all for 2 weeks. then set up a clean cage with a water dish. most people cool them down slowly...dropping temps over a week or so. then you put the snake and cage in a dark cool place..garage, basement, or cool spot....temps need to generally in the low 50's to upper 40's. if its in the 60's, they won't brumate...they are very cold tolerant, I have found garters out and about with temps in the 60's. leave the snake down for 3-4 weeks. check on him or her weekly for weight loss and condensation in the cage. clean the cage and dry it out if there is condensation...can cause skin problems. after the 4 weeks, start warming them up over a week or so. give him a couple days to a week before he starts eating. the cool down should stimulate the feeding.

[drache]

if you think your garage is too cold, you can always add a touch of heat
I have this sunporch that's almost as cold as the outside and I add tons of extra insulation to my brumation tanks
I have a small heater with a thermostat that kicks in when the temps sink below 45ºF
I drape space blankets over the whole thing, so I don't waste the heat
a bit makeshift, but it works really well

[Squeaky10199]

so i could just put it in the garage which would be warmer inside than outside by like ten degrees or so and put blankets over the cage? how do i make the brumation tank? dont you need leaf litter and substrate? and a water bowl? or could i just have substrate in their because he burrows alot.. what i am going to do is decrease the light for a week. he hasent eaten in like two months so i dont have to worry about that. i have no warmth on him at the moment so the temps decrease then i will put him downstairs where it is a bit cooler than upstairs. then i will put him in the garage. this will be 5-7 days apart. to get used to it. does that sound ok? any advice is good. thanks for the help by the way.

[drache]

you can cool him down faster to save some time
do give him water and something to burrow in - it doesn't have to be leaf litter
it could be shredded paper or care fresh or . . .
make sure you check the temps of your brumation tank when surrounding temps become extreme

[Squeaky10199]

ok. well i put him in my basement which is like ten degrees cooler from upstiairs and in about 5 days i will put him in the garage. how long should i keep him i8nthe garage? about a month right? will he breed then? if i get a female?

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

yes a month is good to get feeding, if you get a female u need to brumate her too, they might breed after 1 month but 2-3 months is better if you want them to breed

ok. well i put him in my basement which is like ten degrees cooler from upstiairs and in about 5 days i will put him in the garage. how long should i keep him i8nthe garage? about a month right? will he breed then? if i get a female?

[Squeaky10199]

oh ok thank you for the help.