Unexpect Snake Babies--Need Help

[Brunok9]

Hi, you guys might remember me from before. My wild caught garter snake just had babies. When I woke up this morning a saw their heads popping out at me. I had no idea that she was even pregnant. I'm not sure what to do..if I should keep the mother and let the babies go or try and raise the babies and let the wc mother go.

Are they hard to take care of? I know its diffcult but will they all die on me? What would you do?

I need help making a descion and all advce would be very, very appreciated!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

which ever ones you want to keep is up to you.....if she was eating than she would do fine. the babies will not feed for a couple days. you can start them on guppies and tiny worms. use a small flat clear water dish so they can see the fish. make sure to separate the mom from the babies....cannibalism is rare, but no sense taking any chances. if they are fed together make sure to watch them as food fights can be fatal...they can latch on to a head and swallow another baby and they can be suffocated. oh, and if you have any pics, we would love to see them!! :cool:

[Brunok9]

I have videos up on youtube..none of the babies, but of the mother when she was gravid.

We are thinking we are going to keep the babies. The mother is really too wild, and to raise babies would be better for both sides, we believe.

Will they all die though? Or do you have to be negligent?

Thanks for the quick reply!

[jitami]

Nice surprise :) You've gotten some great advice above. I just wanted to reiterate that we'd love to see pictures :)

[jitami]

Once you get the babies eating it should be smooth sailing from there. They need to eat more often than mom did, and of course their food needs to be smaller, but other than that it shouldn't be that different than caring for mom.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

taking care of the babies is exactly the same as taking care of their mother... only in miniature! Smaller cage, smaller water bowl... smaller food items... smaller poo's!

The only difference is that I would feed them every 3 or 4 days.

They are not going to all die on you unless you are extremely negligent. You may lose one or two... don't feel bad if that happens. Snakes have many babies for a reason: not all of them are meant to survive.

[Brunok9]

Thanks. We let the mother go a few hours ago. Your words that they all won't die are comforting, especially since me and my brother have spent many hours caring for them. I've just spent hours cleaning and assmebling a new cage for them.

Is early handling good for the snakes, or should we wait?

[ssssnakeluvr]

I would keep handling to a minimum for now...let them get some size before any handling

[anji1971]

Congratulations! How many babies did you end up with?:)

Handle the babies only as needed for feeding and cleaning, until they are a bit bigger. They seem to grow better without the added stress of excessive handling. There's plenty of time to get them used to being picked up when they're bigger.
As others have already stated, the care is pretty much the same as for the mother. Just be very careful with the enclosure, they can escape through much smaller spaces. And when you feed them, try to feed them each individually, to avoid food fights, and to better judge who's getting what!
You'll do just fine, and we're all here to help.............best wishes!

[infernalis]

Remain calm, your doing fine, and with the panel of experts around here, you will be raising up some healthy happy snakies!:D