Help!!

[xXMapanareXx]

I have no idea how to take care of the garter snake that I caught last Saturday. We looked on a bunch of websites to see what they eat, but he hasn't been eating what we're giving him/her...
Can anyone tell me what else to give the snake? So far, I've been giving it minnows, but it seems like the snake doesn't know what they are. Him/Her is small, less than two feet maybe a foot and few inches. I've never had a snake before, so I have no idea what I'm doing... I love it so much though, so if you can help me, that would be great. :) I've read that sometimes when you catch them you should let them go because it's not good for them, is this true...? :confused: I would like to keep it, but I'd rather do what's best for it, please help.

[Snake lover 3-25]

go to a pet store and get some of their dead minnows... you can try baby toads.... pieces of frozen or fresh talapia, salmon or trout... also try to get some baby mice.... gertie tried baby rabbit legs with great results...:D also try to increase the temp and humidity.... it gets them going.... how long has it been since it last ate???:D

[jeanette]

hey there and welcome, i'd try some earthworms just to get them going.

[Snake lover 3-25]

o lol wow how could i forget those????:confused:

[Garter_Gertie]

I see you're from CA. Do you know what type of garter you have? There are a couple in CA that are not allowed to be kept in captivity. Can you give us a picture; at the very least an excellent description?

[jeanette]

o lol wow how could i forget those????:confused:
lol its early in the week yet, im still suffering from the weekend :D

[crzy_kevo]

everything they have said is good to try and start them off especially the worms my garter gobbles them up quick

[Snake lover 3-25]

i think i'm still suffering from the 6 hrs i just worked... i'm not used to it yet.... 2 more hrs to go:(

BTW WELCOME to a WONDERFUL forum!!!:D you came to the right place!:D

[crzy_kevo]

oh geeze i forgot to welcome you
and this forum is the only place to go for garter snake enthusiasts

dont forget to post some pics of your new friend for us all to see

[adamanteus]

Hi Cecilia, and welcome to the forum.:)

Guys... can someone post the link to the Garter Snake Care Sheets? This hotel PC won't let me copy and paste!!:mad:

[xXMapanareXx]

I think I have a Northwestern garter. I have live and dead minnows, and I don't know the last time he/she ate because I caught it on Saturday afternoon. There were at least twenty snakes in the area where I caught it.
I've got a couple pictures, but I need to figure out how to post them. It is mostly brown, with a yellow stripe going straight down it's back and one on each side. In between the yellow, it has sort of a checkered pattern trading off between red and brown. Underneath its belly its sort of a milky blue with speckles of orange every now and then and some dark blue. Its tounge is red, but the fork is a dark blue color (almost black). She shed on Sunday night. The picture that is my Avatar is him/her, I don't know if you can see it, but that is her.

[crzy_kevo]

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Main_Page#General_Care_Sheets

thats the garter snake care sheet
stupid hotel computers eh james

[Snake lover 3-25]

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Main_Page#General_Care_Sheets

here you go!!!:D

[adamanteus]

Thanks, Guys!:D

[jitami]

Welcome Cecilia! I'm guessing your snake just needs some time to settle in and get used to being in captivity. I'd just leave the live minnows in a dish with the snake and not bother the snake too much for awhile. If the minnows die before being eaten remove them and wait a week or so and then offer some earth worms. What part of California are you in? I'm just outside of Sacramento and I know we have several other Ca members as well :)

[Garter_Gertie]

Welcome, Mapanarex! It sounds to me, but there are others here that are better than I am, you've caught a garter you can keep.

Not eating... Just shed... It doesn't look like, from what I can see, that it's a gravid female, but maybe the picture's too small.

[Garter_Gertie]

I think Tami's hit the nail on the head. Garters need time to settle in and get comfy.

[infernalis]

Welcome aboard.

What are you housing your garter in? And I have found that most wild caught need a little alone time at first to accept the new surroundings.

Stick around, you will be fine, and the snake will wind up spoiled rotten:D

[anji1971]

Hello, and welcome!:)
If you just found it on the weekend, then it could have eaten just before you caught it.
At any rate, they're usually pretty nervous and stressed out when first in captivity. Give the snake a comfy home with a good place to hide, and leave it be for a few days. At first, maybe even put a couple of worms( they almost always go for worms!) on a margarine tub lid, and step back. Snakie will most likely come out of hiding and eat by then.
If not, then you know where to find us for more help!;)

[xXMapanareXx]

Thanks guys.

Answering a bunch of your questions; I'm housing it in a ten gallon tank, with snake bedding, two water bowls (one to wallow in and one to eat from) a half a coconut for a hideout with a hole on the top (which he/she loves! and uses to scope the whole place :D) some small rocks to climb over and some plants (fake) to hide under.

I'll take out the dead minnows, and I'll leave her alone. I really hope this works.

Thank you guys for all of your help, and I'm definitely sticking around.

Oh! and I'm in San Francisco but I caught it in Humboldt County. :):):)

[Garter_Gertie]

Man, I can't see you're doing anything wrong but worrying. And that's not really "wrong," it's normal!

It should work out. Took Winnie (WC/Wild Caught) a good long time to come around and eat outta my hand - about nine months. Before that we never really knew if she was eating the meal worms I got her, but she lived from Oct/Nov or so until March or April being given only meal worms...

Now she eats bunny drumsticks, worms, minnows and fuzzies right outta my hand like she's always been mine! :D

Your snakey will come around, too.

[xXMapanareXx]

Tankie guys, again. I've got one more question for ya'll -^^- Can anyone tell me how to put pictures on here? I've tried copy and paste, but it doesn't work, I'm on a Mac so I don't know what I'm doing, and the uploading isn't working either, and ideas? Sorry I'm kinda slow when it comes to a lot of things.... :o

[xXMapanareXx]

Nevermind, I think I figured it out -^^-

[jitami]

That picture worked :) Beautiful Snake!

[ssssnakeluvr]

can't quite tell species from the pics....need full body shots with no obstructions. also, if you just caught it, it needs a week or two to adjust of captivity.

[xXMapanareXx]

Kinda hard to get a great picture, I don't know how to use my mom's camera, and mine is sucky.... So, thats the best I can give you now, sorry. Late response too, and again, thank you guys for helping me, I'm really glad I found this, I don't know where I'd be. Drowning in worry probably, :D Well Tankie again.

[crzy_kevo]

thats what we are here for
to share our experiences with our snakes

[Sid]

Nice looking Garter. Were in the US was it caught? That will narrow which species it could be down dramatically. Welcome to the forum.

[beaniesmommy]

Just another thing in addition to everyone elses helpful suggestions... This is what I did (I am pretty new to this too) wait a week then get a live pinkie (baby mouse) and a goldfish from the pet store. Rub the live goldfish all over the pinkie then set aside. Put the snake in another seperate container with lid for feeding, so they don't think your hand is food when you reach in... I always seperate my snakes from there home when I feed them. Then add the scented pinkie in there. I bet he will like it... I didn't have any problems with my garter eating this right up. But I did have to wait a bit for him to settle in before he would eat.

Welcome and good luck! Keep us posted.

[xXMapanareXx]

Oh, I never thought of that, that sounds good, thanks! Umm I caught it in Humboldt County, and I think its a Northwestern Garter snake.:D:D

[Garter_Gertie]

Good luck with the 'live' bit. Make sure you're WAY outta the house and FAR away from where ever you've got your snakey. I've read on here ittiz NOT PLEASANT listening to the wee one... Ah... Ah... Getting ingested.

Just me. I couldn't do it. Talk to Lori.

I'd get the f/t (frozen/thawed) wee mousies and do what Andrea said. May not work as well, but I could never go live. (shudder)

[infernalis]

Steve at Humboldt herps would know, and he is right there..

Just a thought..

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

Huh? Who said what? HumboldtHerps? Oh!

Hi Cecilia! And welcome!

I, of course, am always very interested in the well-being of our northwestern Californian snakes! I live in Humboldt County and am familiar with most of the specific ranges of the local species and subspecies of garters.

I suspect that the snake is one of two possible species.

My first question is where exactly did you find the snake? (Name the closest city, town, or river). This might be enough to pinpoint an ID. The Northwestern Garter (T. ordinoides) has a limited range in Humboldt County.

The other suspect would be the Coast Garter (T. e. terrestris), which is found throughout the western portions of Humboldt.

Both species may have light to heavy red flecking dorsally, dorso-laterally, and/or ventrally. Both come in a variety of colors and patterns.

Things to do:

Count the upper labial scales - please see: Thamnophis 3 (http://www.humboldtherps.com/thamnophis_3.html))

Compare colors and patterns at California Reptiles and Amphibians (http://www.californiaherps.com/) or Thamnophis 2 (http://www.humboldtherps.com/thamnophis_2.html) incomplete - for additional color morphs among species and subspecies see Thamnophis - Sightings (http://www.humboldtherps.com/thamnophis_sightings1.html)

You may also use the Peterson's guide to count scale rows (at neck, mid-body, and caudal region).

If you could get a macro shot of the head (top and lateral) and one of the belly, that might help me zoom in on an answer as well.

For now, know that Northwesterns will take earthworms, slugs, tadpoles, young frogs, small salamanders, and possibly small fish. They are a bit trickier than most garters (being one of the smallest). Coast Garters are opportunists, and although they may take amphibians and fish, they are a subspecies (that subspecific status may have been lost) of the Western Terrestrial Garter and, true to their namesake, relish lizards, small snakes (occasional cannibalism), small rodents, and occasionally small birds (possibly eggs).

I have one of each species. My Northwestern currently feeds on earthworms and tadpoles. Note: WC tadpoles may carry pathogens.
My Coast took small pinkie mice right away and continues to do so...

Hope all this helps.

Steven

[Loren]

Hi Cecilia, pretty much every thing Steven said, and I will tell you that my northwestern garters love slugs. They also will eat pinky mice that are generously rubbed with slug slime. Make sure you get slugs and worms only from pesticide/herbicide free areas too.
Heres another link on I.D. Key to California Gartersnakes (http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/gartersnakeskey.html)
Look this over and you should be able to verify the species. It might take a while if the little guy is squirmy though.
The peterson field guide(to western reptiles and amphibians, by Robert C. Stebbins) Steven mentioned is a must (in my opinion) for anyone in the western U.S. who catches wild reptiles and amphibians. Its available through book stores and amazon.com. I believe 2003 is the latest edition.
Californiaherps.com (run by Gary Nafis) is basically the online equivelant to this book in my opinion. And that humbolt herps site looks pretty cool too. :)

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Cecilia :)

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard, Cecilia. :)

[xXMapanareXx]

Thanks you guys for everything, you've been a great help!!!

[bio6464]

Welcome...always nice to see new members join the club! :D