Babies!!!!

[GarterGeek]

The eastern female garter I rescued from my friend's yard about two months ago delivered today! I was wondering if she was pregnant...I guess I can stop wondering now. :):rolleyes:Anyhow, there were three jellybeans and 13 healthy little ones. No kinks or deformities. They've all already shed and I've split them into 6 containers. The mama looks like she's doing alright too. I definitely saw her breeding with one of my males last week...Not sure what that was about. I don't think it was successful as I didn't see cloacas touch. I haven't tried feeding them yet but am going to try guppies and worms later today. This is my first time with newborns but I've studied and learned a lot from this forum so I'm prepared. :D

I'm interested in popping them - Does anybody have tips on that?

I'll post pictures later. My camera's batteries died...and I can't upload photos without first resizing. :rolleyes::( I'll post them soon though.

Thank you! I'm just thrilled. All of the babies are frisky and adorable!

[Charis]

Good for you! Babies garters are so cute, can't wait 'til you are able to post pics!

[ssssnakeluvr]

awesome! give them a day or 2 before popping. gotta be real careful popping...gently squeeze below the cloaca and if it's a male, the hemipenes will pop out, if nothing, it's a female.
as for resizing...you can go to photobucket and get a free account, just download the pics there and they will automatically be resized and can copy links to post on here...I do it all the time.

[jitami]

Congrats on the little ones! I use photobucket, too. Super easy :)

[Mommy2many]

Congratulations on the new wee ones! Can't wait to see the pictures!

[guidofatherof5]

Congrats on the little scrubs.
Can't wait to see some pics.

[GarterGeek]

I don't have photobucket, but I have adobe photoshop! Some of the photo quality was lost during upload and resizing, but the cuteness is still obvious

First is a picture of pregnant mama, about a month or so before popping.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//655/medium/100_1383.gif

All thirteen sloughing.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//655/medium/100_2077.gif

One still in an eggsack and a jellybean.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//655/medium/100_2069.gif

This is my current set-up for them. I've poked holes in their containers for air. I have two snakes in each container,except for one that has three.
Each container is labeled with a number so I can keep track of who's eating. The white is tissue paper.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2086.gif

Now for the indisbutable cuteness!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2128.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2131.gif

[GarterGeek]

More adorability!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2089.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2088.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2110.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2133.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2102.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2111.gif

[GarterGeek]

The cuteness continues...

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2118.gif

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/100_2098.gif

[jitami]

Look how tiny... soooo cute :) Congrats again :)

[Charis]

Your making me really want some of my own! Possibly will be getting a 1.1. pair of Puget Sound babies in the near future, it's going to be hard waiting!

[guidofatherof5]

Great looking little scrubs. I don't have any Eastern on the Ranch:rolleyes:

[Didymus20X6]

I don't have photobucket, but I have adobe photoshop! Some of the photo quality was lost during upload and resizing, but the cuteness is still obvious
Might I ask, why are you saving them as gifs? Gifs are great for animated pics and simple graphics, like cartoons, but they're horrible for photos. Jpegs and 24-bit pngs are much better quality.

[Didymus20X6]

Actually, for photos, use Jpeg format, set somewhere between 80% and 90% compression quality.

[GarterGeek]

Might I ask, why are you saving them as gifs? Gifs are great for animated pics and simple graphics, like cartoons, but they're horrible for photos. Jpegs and 24-bit pngs are much better quality.

I used the "save for web" option to resize, and it wouldn't let me save it in any other format. Thanks though, I didn't know that the poor quality was because of the Gifs. I'll try something different next time. :)

[GarterGeek]

Okay now, how do I get the little guys to eat!? :confused: I've gotten 2 out of 13 to take worm bits, but that is it. How long can they go without food at this point? I know it's only been a day, but they're so tiny I feel like they could drop dead any second. I have guppies but don't know how to offer them. Should I just leave a shallow dish with water and a couple? Does it matter if the dish is not transparent? What is the standard time for them to start eating?

I've already become attached to every single one of these guys. It would be terrible if I lost them to starvation. :( HELP, please.

[Charis]

My experiance is over 12yrs old & the young garters were older & never had a problem eating, so this may or may not apply. We would take a snake in our hand one at a time & with the other hand offer it a guppie in a small plastic measuring cup. Would do that a few times until they had eaten 3 or 4 each.

[guidofatherof5]

Okay now, how do I get the little guys to eat!? :confused: I've gotten 2 out of 13 to take worm bits, but that is it. How long can they go without food at this point? I know it's only been a day, but they're so tiny I feel like they could drop dead any second. I have guppies but don't know how to offer them. Should I just leave a shallow dish with water and a couple? Does it matter if the dish is not transparent? What is the standard time for them to start eating?

I've already become attached to every single one of these guys. It would be terrible if I lost them to starvation. :( HELP, please.

You've got guppies you're almost home-free.
This is what I do when feeding guppies to newborns. I put 3-4 non-eaters in a ziplock container. I get 10 or more guppies, no water and toss them into the container. The flopping, flipping guppies will stimulate a feeding response in some of them immediately. Others will need some time. Once, one of the little scrubs has eaten 3 or 4 I remove them and put in another non-eater. This works really well for me and I hope it works for you.

[Mom2Four]

Awwww how cute.. ADORABLE