Hi!

[jitami]

Just a quick "Hi" and a couple of pictures of my garter. I think we decided that it's a T. e. elegans. First pic is from when we first got him in 2002, second one of his sheds from back then, then a current pic.

-Tami

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard, Tami. :) Yeah, it definitely wasn't a ribbon. ;)

[adamanteus]

Hi Tami, and welcome to the forum.:)

[Snaky]

Welcome to the forum and have fun here!
Nice garter :)

[drache]

welcome to the forum, Tami
nice snake

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum. Very nice looking Garter.

[count dewclaw]

Hi and welcome, Tami!

[enigma200316]

Hello and welcome, that is a very nice looking snake...............:)

[jitami]

Thanks guys! And Thanks Stefan for pointing me this direction. This little guy has been a huge learning experience and as a first time snake owner I look back and am amazed that he's been with us so long! Things were a little rough for him in the beginning. Wanna hear the condensed version?

Neighborhood kids found him in a greenbelt creek. I'm guessing he was a yearling at this point. It was March '02. The kids were passing him around, dropping him, basically inadvertently torturing him and trying to sell him to each other for $2. I felt sorry for the little guy and we had an extra little tank from a long gone pet tarantula so I agreed that we could keep him. Started reading and picking people's brains. Went and got a heat lamp(don't all snakes need heat lamps? lol)... yeah, with a small tank, too. Wow was he active... sigh... then noticed some scales looking dry and crinkly... poor baby. Ok, ditched the heat lamp, got a uth and a 20 gallon long tank. Much better. Somewhere in this process I realize he has mites. Didn't want to use poison so he got rubbed down with olive oil and rinsed off every other day. The pic above was of his fist "good" shed :) Thankfully he ate well from the beginning, devouring rosy reds & earthworms. He was easy to switch to f/t pinkies and other than a few minnows to chase now and then has done well on just pinkies. Being wild caught he does put himself in a light brumation every winter, but comes out active and ready to eat each spring. Since he's about 7 years old now I was really worried about losing him this past winter and it made me realize just how much I enjoy the little guy. The last two feedings have been fuzzies. The first was a struggle, but the second seemed to really agree with him. He's cruising the tank right now surely looking for more... either that or a girl! lol

Thanks for listening... feel like I'm bragging about one of my kids... who btw, even though they begged for the snake rarely do anything for or with it! It's mommy's snake now :)

[Lori P]

Hi Tami, and welcome! That's a great story-- seems like he's managed to train you just right. :-) He's a very handsome fella too!! Hope you enjoy it here!

[gregmonsta]

Enjoy the forum :)

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon. Tami :)

[anji1971]

Hello, and welcome! Nice looking snake!:)

[KITKAT]

It's nice to see him again, Tami. Sounds like you have done very well with him!;)

KITKAT


Thanks guys! And Thanks Stefan for pointing me this direction. This little guy has been a huge learning experience and as a first time snake owner I look back and am amazed that he's been with us so long! Things were a little rough for him in the beginning. Wanna hear the condensed version?

Neighborhood kids found him in a greenbelt creek. I'm guessing he was a yearling at this point. It was March '02. The kids were passing him around, dropping him, basically inadvertently torturing him and trying to sell him to each other for $2. I felt sorry for the little guy and we had an extra little tank from a long gone pet tarantula so I agreed that we could keep him. Started reading and picking people's brains. Went and got a heat lamp(don't all snakes need heat lamps? lol)... yeah, with a small tank, too. Wow was he active... sigh... then noticed some scales looking dry and crinkly... poor baby. Ok, ditched the heat lamp, got a uth and a 20 gallon long tank. Much better. Somewhere in this process I realize he has mites. Didn't want to use poison so he got rubbed down with olive oil and rinsed off every other day. The pic above was of his fist "good" shed :) Thankfully he ate well from the beginning, devouring rosy reds & earthworms. He was easy to switch to f/t pinkies and other than a few minnows to chase now and then has done well on just pinkies. Being wild caught he does put himself in a light brumation every winter, but comes out active and ready to eat each spring. Since he's about 7 years old now I was really worried about losing him this past winter and it made me realize just how much I enjoy the little guy. The last two feedings have been fuzzies. The first was a struggle, but the second seemed to really agree with him. He's cruising the tank right now surely looking for more... either that or a girl! lol

Thanks for listening... feel like I'm bragging about one of my kids... who btw, even though they begged for the snake rarely do anything for or with it! It's mommy's snake now :)

[jitami]

Thanks KitKat! KitKat helped me immensely with all of the typical new garter mom questions back in 2002. I was pleasantly surprised to see her screen name here and had to pm her to see if she was the same KitKat I remembered. Her signature suits her so perfectly :) Thanks again Kat!

[jeanette]

Hi jitami, welcome.
great little snake you have there :)

[jitami]

Wasn't quite sure where to put this sad little update, but since my sweet Sly was the one who brought me here I figured an ending to this intro would be reasonable... I'm very sad to report that we lost Sly today. He was wild caught in 2002, so by all accounts he had a great run with us. He was the absolute cutest & sweetest boy, retaining that big eyed baby snake look until the end. My heart is broken right now and I know you guys understand. RIP sweet boy. Love you.

I know I haven't been active at all in recent years so for those who don't remember me, here's a page with all of my scaly kids - http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/4091-tamis-kids.html Everyone else is doing great - Hissy Fit is still a brat ;)

[Zdravko092368]

Already looked to be over a year old when you got him in 2002 and he died just now? That's a great run of 14 years! Remarkable age for a thamnophis you obviously took great care of him. Sorry for your loss.

[Tommytradix]

thats so awesome that he lived that long great job! and welcome to the forum!

[slipknot711]

sorry for your loss. what a cutie he was. and a nice long life! especially from WC to pet.

[guidofatherof5]

R.I.P. Sly

[jitami]

Thank you all. And, yes, it had to be at least his second year when he was found in March of '02. He was a little guy then, but babies aren't born here until June or July so my best guess was he was a yearling at that point, putting him at 14 when he died.

[Albert Clark]

Thank you all. And, yes, it had to be at least his second year when he was found in March of '02. He was a little guy then, but babies aren't born here until June or July so my best guess was he was a yearling at that point, putting him at 14 when he died.
Wow, I am new to the forum but was touched by the story of SLY. He obviously was a lucky garter to have had you as his caregiver. Too bad you didn't get a chance to breed him and holdback 1 or 2 of his offspring. He still has a great legacy. Stay in peace and not pieces. A.C.

[Albert Clark]

Thank you all. And, yes, it had to be at least his second year when he was found in March of '02. He was a little guy then, but babies aren't born here until June or July so my best guess was he was a yearling at that point, putting him at 14 when he died. Thank you for sharing your "Tami's kids" stories from 2008 forward. It was clear that they all meant so much to you and the forum. Welcome back again!

[jitami]

Wow, I am new to the forum but was touched by the story of SLY. He obviously was a lucky garter to have had you as his caregiver. Too bad you didn't get a chance to breed him and holdback 1 or 2 of his offspring. He still has a great legacy. Stay in peace and not pieces. A.C.

Thank you Albert. We actually had an accidental breeding between him and my other elegans, our big girl Ella. Accidental might be a poor choice of words. We knew it was a possibility, of course, but after being housed together for 4 years and with no brumation the little squiggles still came as a huge surprise! Don from this forum took a couple and the rest were placed as pets locally. I haven't heard from Don in ages, but there are little Sly babies out there somewhere.

And yes, the garters are a much cherished part of our family <3

[Albert Clark]

Thank you Albert. We actually had an accidental breeding between him and my other elegans, our big girl Ella. Accidental might be a poor choice of words. We knew it was a possibility, of course, but after being housed together for 4 years and with no brumation the little squiggles still came as a huge surprise! Don from this forum took a couple and the rest were placed as pets locally. I haven't heard from Don in ages, but there are little Sly babies out there somewhere.

And yes, the garters are a much cherished part of our family <3 Wow, fantastic then! Maybe you should give Don a surprise call? Possibly consider taking in 1 or 2 of Sly's living legacies? Good luck ! :)