One thing you wish you had known..

[misskris]

I'm curious what is something you wish you had known before getting your first snake?

[Stefan-A]

Nothing really came as a surprise, but there were and still are a lot of things I wish I knew.

[jitami]

What a great topic :)

Hmmm... That captive bred garter snakes are out there and available for relatively little money and seem to make much better pets than their wild caught cousins. Other than that, they've been relatively easy to care for. A little common sense and a forum to come to for support are always helpful :)

[jitami]

Nothing really came as a surprise, but there were and still are a lot of things I wish I knew.

Such as...?

[adamanteus]

I was a child when I kept my first snake...... I wish I'd known my arse from my elbow!:D
As Tami says, with this forum as your support and some preliminary reading from our care sheets etc. you'll learn everything you need to be a good Garter keeper as you go along.
I guess the first thing to know is that your set-up is correct before you put the new snake into it. Setting up is well described in the care sheets.

[Sputnik]

I wish I'd known how much fun they are so I could have gotten them earlier but I also wish I'd known they are such amazing escape artists.

[Stefan-A]

Such as...?
I wouldn't know where to begin.

[gregmonsta]

How addictive they are!!! :D

[infernalis]

What I was denying myself every time I put one back down for the 30+ years before I kept my first one.

The day this forum first went live....

and more than I could ever list here:eek:

[olive oil]

Like Greg, how addictive they are!!! :D

[Snake lover 3-25]

well....

how addictive they are...
that corns don't like to be housed together...
how wonderful and fun they are....
how good at escaping....

yup that's pretty much it:D

[mtolypetsupply]

That goldfish were toxic.

RIP Euripides:(

[reptile3]

how addicting they are, & when I got my first bp - I never thought about looking online for forums - for help or advice. RIP-Simba

[Sid]

I have learned a great deal here, but the thing I really wish I had known would be how bad too many frogs can be for Garters. I lost 3 nice females due to that lack of knowledge:(

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

1) that goldfish were very bad for my garter snakes from my younger years. :(

2) that they were SO FREAKING ADDICTING! to the point where I would have a snake ROOM instead of a snake IN my room!

3) One thing I really wish I had known when I got my first snake Bandit, was that they would completely change my lifestyle and the way I see/do everything from that day forward!

[Lori P]

Well, I have to say it too: that they are SO addicting, and that I would spend SO MUCH time thinking about them... planning their new homes... dreaming of ones yet to come... it's CRAZY how much time they spend in my thoughts!!!

And Shannon is right: snakes have changed my life in so many ways. I would never have believed that I could one day feed any mice, even f/t, to something... then sometimes have to feed live.... then actually breed my own.

And, indirectly, that my love affair with snakes would lead me down other paths-- like the path to owning big f-ing cockroaches for pets!!!!!

[Seere121]

Really, like everybody else said, how addicting they are.

[Jack Neary]

THis has to be the BEST question of the year on this forum!
I started in early June with ONE WC Feamle Eastern, which was gravid... Then I caught a Female Butler, which was also gravid....
Now... I'm the proud caretaker of....
- 12 Butlers
- 10 Easterns
- 2 Similis (lost 2 probobly due to feeding rosy reds(?)
- 4 Pugets (My favorite!)
- 1 wife who does NOT like snakes (regardless how cute or cool I say they are)
And coming next week...
- 2 Oregon Red Spots
- 1 Male Puget

Best piece of advice received....
From Wayne... suggesting I place 2 pinkies in the water bowl with a minnow to help get my garters to start taking pinkies!
What a FANTASTIC forum with VERY knowledgeable people and so anxious to help anyone and everyone!

Still.... much, much, much to learn.... and remember!
Thanks everyone!
Jack

[infernalis]

THis has to be the BEST question of the year on this forum!
I started in early June with ONE WC Feamle Eastern, which was gravid... Then I caught a Female Butler, which was also gravid....
Now... I'm the proud caretaker of....
- 12 Butlers
- 10 Easterns
- 2 Similis (lost 2 probobly due to feeding rosy reds(?)
- 4 Pugets (My favorite!)
- 1 wife who does NOT like snakes (regardless how cute or cool I say they are)
And coming next week...
- 2 Oregon Red Spots
- 1 Male Puget

Best piece of advice received....
From Wayne... suggesting I place 2 pinkies in the water bowl with a minnow to help get my garters to start taking pinkies!
What a FANTASTIC forum with VERY knowledgeable people and so anxious to help anyone and everyone!

Still.... much, much, much to learn.... and remember!
Thanks everyone!
Jack


Thanks Jack:D

[guidofatherof5]

The more time I spend with them the more I feel their is much more going on in there little heads than just the basics(instinct) of life. They grow on you and seem to really like the interaction you give them. Mine are so trusting and curious. My expirence is with Radixs.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I wish there had been more books on reptiles....I read every on in town....which wasn't much...I lived in a small town in Idaho.

[GartersRock]

That even thought the adults where fine. That goldfish would kill my first litter of 12... :(:(

[infernalis]

That all the stupid stories I had been taught to believe about "Spotted Adders" were totally false!!

Even my mother who was very fond of garter snakes used to get all riled up at the sight of an Eastern Milk snake, "They are poison, If it bites you it will kill you"

Because of this false information, I spent most of my life afraid of picking one up:eek: And when I did, I always wore gloves, threw them into a bucket as quick as I could and relocated it.

Even though I was not about to handle or touch one, I always chose to move them instead of letting the neighbors chop them up with a shovel...

Then I learned that they were harmless, Was no longer afraid of them, I started looking for one, and it was like they all vanished!

Maybe thats why I love my Carmella so damn much.. She is the sweetest most docile milk snake I have ever encountered, and her babies are too.

She has never offered to bite me, even when I pick at her bad sheds!

Repeat all of that with Water snakes (Nerodia) as well, I was always told they were a dangerous species...