A little nervous

[olive oil]

My son brought in a baby Garter he found outside and I have found out some people think this is a no no. It's hard to say no when he has wanted a snake for a while. He is 8 and was wanting a Ball Python so I feel pretty lucky to have our cute little baby. I don't know the sex but I call her a girl because it makes me less scared of her lol. She is eating earthworms well but would not eat a pinky. It looked pretty big compared to her. I might try again in a few weeks. I have fallen in love with her and love to hold her but I don't know if she enjoys it. Her name is Olive Oil. Any info on handling and feeding would be great. I have enjoyed looking around at all you guy's pictures. I will see if I can get one of her up soon so youall can tell me what she is.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Olive Oil :)

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard. :)

The first thing we usually do, is to point newcomers towards our care sheet.
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet
It's a bit messy, but I guess nobody has had time to clean it up and expand on it. There are also a lot that you can find if you search the forum.

But as a general rule, you can feed it the right kind of fish and the right kind of worms. It probably won't take mice at the moment, but you can try splitting the pinky down the middle to make it small enough for it to eat, and then rub fish or worms over it to give it a different scent. A mixed diet consisting of fish, mice and worms would probably be best. I recommend handling the snake as little as possible, or at least no more than necessay.

[infernalis]

Hello and welcome.

No need to be overly concerned about catching your new friend, I believe almost all of our US and Canadian members have a WC (Wild Caught) pet.

Looking forward to your pictures:D

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum.:)

[Lori P]

Welcome, sounds like Olive Oil has a nice new home. :-) We can't wait to see pics!!!

[Odie]

Don’t worry if Olive Oil doesn’t not eat for 2-3 weeks most need some time to settle in :)

[drache]

welcome to the forum
glad you made it here

[Aundrea]

Hi and welcome to the forum!!! I cant wait to see pics of your new snake :D

[jitami]

Welcome! That's exactly how I ended up with my Sly :) My boys, now teens, have not shown much interest in years, but I've come to love garters :) Have fun with Olive Oil... love her name!

[olive oil]

Really, I shouldn't hold it? That will be hard! I thought it would stay wild if I didn't hold it.

[olive oil]

Thank you, I have a feeling the same will happen to me. He has also caught us a baby yellow bellied slider which I take care of also. He is so much fun to watch. He actually gets excited to see me. Do snakes ever show any kind of affection or are they mainly just to look at?

[richard f.]

Never lose your doubts, that's what tempers us. Two babies, one ate from day two, the other not so sure. Welcome from Nova Scotia

[reptile3]

Hello:) & Welcome.... can't wait to see pictures of Olive Oil !!!

What a cute name!!:)

[jitami]

I think it's ok to hold them, but depending on how old Olive Oil is it may be more important to make sure she's eating well and comfortable before worrying about "taming" her. Garter snakes are typically pretty easy to handle even if you find them as adults. I feed my babies every other day. I handle them before I feed them, give them a day to rest, handle before feeding.... repeat :) If Olive is older she may only need to eat once or twice a week which leaves plenty of time for handling :)

[olive oil]

Hey Tami thank's for the advice. She is eating earthworms. I have been feeding her Like 3 times a week. I hope she is comfortable. I have her in a 55 gallon tank. Some of the time when I go to her tank to find her I see a little head poking out from somewhere. I don't know how old she is, but she is like maybe 11 inches long.

[jitami]

She's probably fairly young... likely born this summer or last. It sounds like you're doing great. If she's eating she's probably comfortable :) Earthworms digest rather quickly so 3 times a week sounds perfect :)