My thumb is dinner...

[Mommy2many]

I just have a question for everyone out there. We have a newly acquired garter, about 16 inches long that my daughter caught on Sunday. Today, I took her out of the terrarium and put her in a rubbermaid tote with her own supply of worms and tilapia pieces to see if she was interested. No food was consumed, however, when I took her back out, I waited for her to climb up to the top before slowly grasping her, all was well for about 3 seconds. Then she twisted what she could of her head around and bit me on the thumb. I was waiting for her to let go, which she did, only to re-position herself in a full, open mouth bite that sort of looked like chewing.:p

I told her that that wasn't very nice, waited for her to let go and released her back into her new home with Stewie. Does everyone else get chomped on as often? Or do I just taste good to garter snakes?:confused:

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like you have a snake with an attitude there. That will probably stop after she gets to know you better and trust you more. Then again, she may stay that way to keep you in line and to let you know that you're not the boss.:D

Only time will tell. You might have to get used to it.

[Mommy2many]

Good thing I have a tough thumb...

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nikki and I get chomped on a regular basis....got a few nasty garters with attitudes

[adamanteus]

I haven't been bitten for ages. I guess all my Garters are big softies!:D

[Stefan-A]

I haven't been bitten for ages. I guess all my Garters are big softies!:D
Me neither, but that's just because I try to avoid it. ;)

[drache]

well, if your new garter is ready to eat thumb, it oughtn't be hard to get her to eat pinky

[Mommy2many]

You would think she would be up to just about anything...
I'll keep trying the different food choices. I had 2 fish and 2 pinkies in there the other day. Both fish were gone, Stewie ate 1 pinkie and I didn't see who ate the other. I have a strange feeling Stewie was a great big piggy!

I put in some tilapia yesterday & they bath have stuck their noses up at that.:)

Fresh worms today caught their interest, though not enough to eat one yet. Maybe they like the thrill of the hunt? Or maybe they are waiting for my thumb again...:o

[Millinex]

In my 13 years of keeping garters, I am proud to say I have NEVER been bitten. Even as a really young 6 year old kid who just ran up and grab them, I only had one actually coil up and try to strike me, but I didn't try to catch it...

[Mommy2many]

It's an interesting experience to say the least. They don't hurt and those little teeth can be sharp! But it was kinda funny to watch her re-position herself to actually chew! Guess she had had enough of me that day. We'll try again, she is new to people so I'll cut some slack;)

[DrKate]

But it was kinda funny to watch her re-position herself to actually chew!
Slight digression... Because these guys don't have hollow or grooved fangs, that "chewing" is how they get their venom in. Despite being considered generally harmless, I've heard that some people can in fact have a reaction (usually local and very mild) to garter venom.

Just wondering if any of you folks that have been thoroughly chewed on have ever had a reaction...

[Mommy2many]

My experiences, besides a little bleeding, has been nothing else. Though I do have a couple marks from yesterday's chomp fest! (almost gone)

[guidofatherof5]

Just wondering if any of you folks that have been thoroughly chewed on have ever had a reaction...

Lost track of the number of times I've been bitten. I've had a number of them chew with no adverse reactions from me. A little blood but no swelling or other reactions. By the next day it's basically hard to find the bite marks.

By the way, the snakes all lived:D

[drache]

never been chewed on, but Whizzy, my big parietalis, once bit me with so much conviction that two of the bites were visible for a couple of days, and one of those for about week - she really ripped into me; it was that same incident when she lost her tail - harder for her
to those of you who don't remember: she shot at me out of her tank when I opened the sliding door, and I literally grabbed her while she was launching through the air, biting and whipping about

[Mommy2many]

That sounds kinda scary...