hides in the water jar all the time

[stewartscience]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, but this is my 2nd garter snake. (the first one escaped and was never found) It's actually a ribbon snake that I've been feeding minnows, mostly, for about a couple of years. I'm keeping it in a 7th grade science classroom. It has an under the tank rubberized heating pad on one end, a gallon plastic box for the fish, and pathos growing out of a quart jar and two different hides. It's been hiding in the jar with pathos roots for weeks and months -- sometimes coming out to bask in the very early morning and sometimes only to feed. Is this ok? I just let it do what it wants, but worry about being too wet all the time.

thanks,
Mrs. S

[adamanteus]

Hi Pamela, and welcome to the forum.:)
I'm not sure what pathos roots are, so I can't fully visualise the problem. But if the snake is permanently in water this could indeed lead to skin problems. Maybe if you rearrange the tank and offer more/ different hiding opportunities, that might encourage her out of the water. It may be that the hides you have in there at the moment are 'unattractive' to her for whatever reason (temp?)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

yea, sounds to me like it just likes where those roots are the best. If they are in water I would do as james just suggested! I find that snakes tend to choose hides that are warm, low to the ground and very dark inside. the lower it is to the ground the more secure they seem to feel.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Pamela :)

[GarterGuy]

Hello Pamela...yeh, you could run into problems if the ribbon is wet all the time. It is good that he/she comes out to bask....and dry off for that matter. If it's been months, I'd think you'd already be seeing issues with skin problems and such by now. Like the others said, you may want to look at the hides you're using, they may just not be secure enough for the ribbon. Since he/she is curled up in the pothos roots, you might want to put in a bigger pothos plant (not sure how big it is now) so that it provides some more dense cover or even use a silk or plastic plant to do the same. Ribbons do tend to be more aquatic then some other thamnophis species so not real surprised by the fact that she/he's in the water so much. If he/she's in a tank, you may also want to put backround material like they sell for fish tanks around the sides and back. I've found that this offers a bit of seclusion, so that the snakes are not feeling totally exposed all the time. Hope this helps.:)

[stewartscience]

A pathos is one of those vine-like house plants that has tear-drop shaped leaves about 2-3 inches across. The plants can live for years as a cutting in a container of water, or they do ok with soil and once a week watering. The jar is one of those spaghetti jars that I put in the tank so it would have some sort of natural cover. The snake has been in and out of the jar (mostly in) for maybe over 2 years. She spends less time in the jar in the summer time when she's boarded out with my mother, who swears she watches TV with her in the evenings. I've yet to see any skin problems, but I keep reading about them, and then I came across your forum. Besides the openness of the hides, maybe the actual problem is the active nature of 7th graders.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

is she held every day? u might wana designate 2/5 days in which it can be held so it doesnt get realy streesed

A pathos is one of those vine-like house plants that has tear-drop shaped leaves about 2-3 inches across. The plants can live for years as a cutting in a container of water, or they do ok with soil and once a week watering. The jar is one of those spaghetti jars that I put in the tank so it would have some sort of natural cover. The snake has been in and out of the jar (mostly in) for maybe over 2 years. She spends less time in the jar in the summer time when she's boarded out with my mother, who swears she watches TV with her in the evenings. I've yet to see any skin problems, but I keep reading about them, and then I came across your forum. Besides the openness of the hides, maybe the actual problem is the active nature of 7th graders.

[adamanteus]

maybe the actual problem is the active nature of 7th graders.

Very good point!:D I would still be wary of the snake spending so much time wet, even if she has managed to stay problem free for two years. If it were me, I would simple loose the spaghetti jar and provide a couple of more secure (and dry) hides. Anyway Pamela, how about some pictures of her/her viv?:)

[stewartscience]

Handling the snake reduces its stress level? Well, finding students to handle the snake would be no problem. And yeah, I should pay her more attention. For now, until I make it to the store, I added black construction paper to the back of the tank and some cocoanut shell bedding to one end of each hide to make them seem more snug. And removed the jar. Snake totally freaked, of course, but it looks healthy. Pictures....I need to figure out my camera and my computer.....

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

no handling adds stress thats why i was suggesting u only let them handle it 2 or 3 days out of the 5 you teach, how big is your enclosure?, oh and what school do you teach at? i live in los gatos

Handling the snake reduces its stress level? Well, finding students to handle the snake would be no problem. And yeah, I should pay her more attention. For now, until I make it to the store, I added black construction paper to the back of the tank and some cocoanut shell bedding to one end of each hide to make them seem more snug. And removed the jar. Snake totally freaked, of course, but it looks healthy. Pictures....I need to figure out my camera and my computer.....

[stewartscience]

Sorry, I misunderstood. The students don't handle the snake. I've been figuring the snake hides from the students in the jar, and when the students are calm, the snake will come out the jar to feed. Since the snake comes out of the jar so rarely during school hours, I figured she's totally fed up with students and I won't let them handle her. The total enclosure is about 3 feet long, 14 inches high and 12-14 inches deep. Sliding screen top, coconut bedding, 2 half cylinder bark hides, and a gallon plastic "shoebox" 1/2 full of water with an airstone in it for the minnows.

I'm at August Boeger Middle School in San Jose.

[drache]

your habitat sounds fine
do you keep minnows in there all the time though?
I have a couple of snakes who like to hang out in the water a lot - it may just be a personal preference thing
as long as the enclosure is dry, I've never had scale rot issues or anything like that
as for the snake showing itself more . . .
some of my shyer snakes came out more once I packed their tank full of fake plants, providing cover and camo
it also helps to provide a basking spot that isn't too exposed, or gives the illusion of camo (branches and such)
if possible, create a calm zone around the tank as well

[gwynhwyfar]

Welcome! Pictures! :)

My guess is that she's hiding from the 7th graders. They're much larger than she is and a lot more active and snakes are prey to a lot of things larger and more active. :D This seems especially likely if she's more active in the summer when she's living with someone who isn't a slightly psychotic pre-teen. (I teach 9th graders -- they're all nuts!!!)

My garter's second favorite hide is a plastic container large enough for her to get her whole self into with a bit of moss. Her first favorite is the aspen chips that I use for substrate. But then you really wouldn't see the ribbon -- that also might be an issue because you'd have to move her to another container to feed her to make sure she doesn't ingest any of the aspen chips.

[zooplan]

Long time bathing could be a sign for mites.
have you checked that?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

its funny how snakes know to soak when they have mites.

I can just picture them sitting there thinking "just you wait Im gonna drown you sorry suckers!"