Garage Monster!

[Quibble]

I found this gimpy little thing trying to claim my garage as its mansion. i almost ran over it with my truck! its really fat, and has lost a section of its tail... could it be a gravid female? its very well manered, and lazy...

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMAG0019.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMAG0022.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMAG0021.JPG
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMAG0020.JPG

[Zephyr]

Wow.
That is a fine looking female butler's garter.

[Quibble]

she is very pretty, despite her scars. could she be gravid though? even this early in the season?

[Sid]

Nice Garter. She could very well be gravid. They often mate as soon as they come out of burmation.

[gregmonsta]

She looks happy despite her stump :D

[guidofatherof5]

She looks beautiful. If you keep her, keep her away from everyone else. Check the care sheet on the home page for the length of quarentine. Good luck and great save. It would have been a shame to run over such a fine looking snake.

[MasSalvaje]

Nice find! It reminds me of a T. e. vagrans that I found with a stub tail and some pretty bad scarring, she was definately a trooper. I have seen her every spring for the last few years, and is now known as Big Bertha.

-Thomas

[anji1971]

Very nice! Looks like she's had a rough go of it out there.
Good thing she didn't have to add being run over to the list!:D

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nice Butler's!!! she could be gravid, probably too early to tell tho...snakes are just coming out of brumation....takes a while before they start to show

[jitami]

Aw poor punkin... do you plan on keeping her?

[Quibble]

Yes i do plan on keeping her! i dont think shell fare well sleeping in garages, especialy when people around here use rat poison... but she seems to be in good health, and im keeping a close eye on her. she hasnt eaten anything yet though, im offering her worms once a day but they dont seem to spark any interest. maybe with some time to settle into her new surroundings shell get an appetite.

i think ima call her Gimpie, cause stubby tail!

[Snake lover 3-25]

neat snake! you should try a pinky mouse or maybe some fish fillet:)

[Quibble]

i have a question, is she really a butlers garter?
after reading the thread "shoot..." debating about cross-bred snakes, and another article stating that it is common for butlers and easterns in michigan to get mixed in the genepool, i wonder if she really is a pure butlers garter.

on top of that, if she is gravid, her babies could have been fathered by an eastern or eastern/butler hybrid.

how can you tell the difference between these kinds of hybrids and non-hybrids?
what characteristics should i look for?