Pregnant wild checkered? What to do....

[confused]

Caught a very very very fat female who seems ready to lay babies any second. She's not trying to escape at all. Just burrowed into the paper towels and slept.

Any advice? Third snake I've caught this month in my bedroom. One I couldn't save, a lot of snakes seem to die in my house so I tend to try to rehab the ones I catch with something going on. Caught a milksnake that seems to be my pet after I got her fat again. This one seems healthy. I have no idea if I'm supposed to feed her etc. I have no idea what to do with babies. I will let her go after she lays her kids is the plan as of this moment, but I caught her like 5 minutes ago. Just the current thoughts.

Thanks!

I'll take photo's when she has some time to unfreak out.

[kibakiba]

Garter snakes don't lay actual eggs. The babies are born in thin membranes and come out after they're born.

[confused]

Ha you caught me before the edit. Forgot about that for a sec. I only rehab snakes really.

Any certain way to tell shes pregnant? I've never seen such a small fat snake.

[kibakiba]

any way you could post a picture? If she's just eaten she'd look slightly fat, but usually when they're really fat looking from the midsection down, they're pregnant/gravid.

[confused]

Absolutely. Let me give her a few more to calm down. Thanks for the help.

[guidofatherof5]

You said you rehab snakes. Is she injured?
Babies are a big responsibility. If she isn't injured why not release her back to the wild?

[confused]

I'm not sure whats up with her besides if shes gravid it looks any second, I've never seen a snake not run. I am planning on letting her go, but since shes not running shes kinda a sitting target right now.

That's the third snake this month same room. I have enough snakes apparently.

I only rehab the snakes my house injures, the one I lost tore itself open a a piece of tape it ran into and couldnt get off. I used to work wild animal rehab and in animal labs so I'm not entirely clueless. Don't worry. I also apparently have many many snakes living in my house. Three species so far.

[guidofatherof5]

You are right, she many be getting ready to have her babies.
All the more reason for her to be back in the wild as long as nothing wrong with her.
Keeping her stress down is important if she is about to give birth.
Just my opinion.;)

[confused]

You certainly know best.... however I bet you'd keep the babies!

I won't do much tonight. I don't know a good spot and I don't want to re release her on my property. Pretty sure I saw her in the front yard last week. Wonder if I am going to wake up to babies. If I do?

[kibakiba]

I'd let them go asap, so they can get used to living in the wild from the time they're born. I don't believe snakes ever lose their instincts, but it would be best for the babies to be put outside.

[d_virginiana]

If you wake up to babies, then it'd be better to release them asap, especially since you don't want to keep them as long term pets. The sooner they're out in the wild the more likely it is that they'll do well. Any reason you don't want to release them on your property? Something was brought up on here awhile back about relocated snakes not doing well, but I don't remember the particulars of it...

[confused]

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n91/nich0lai/photo4.jpg

I don't want to release her here for two reasons, one we are catching several snakes inside the house a week lately. The second reason is the state decided to do some work on my land on something and they paved and cleared a huge area, probably driving the natives towards the house, not to mention being a bit of a danger to the snakes that live down there (I've seen tons). Lots of heavy equipment. Plus, I've seen multiple dead snakes in the lawn after the landlord mowed, this is not a safe environment.

Any advice for relocating is appreciated. I don't know of any other dens besides my house. :cool:
I'm in NY adjacent to a gorge, a creek and a lake, lots of open areas, you name it. I did see a mean water snake in the creek last week, sucker stared us down!

[guidofatherof5]

She looks large in all the right places. Probably gravid.
That's a tough call but it does sound like there is some good habitat available for a release.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

She does look gravid! I thought I should point out that that is an eastern garter and not a checkered :) she is gorgeous!

[ConcinusMan]

yeah, eastern garter. personally, if I had snakes showing up in my house, I would just escort them right outside and let them go.

This is a checkered garter BTW.

http://images.onset.freedom.com/odessa/lip0ix-lip0et0327checkeredgarterweb.jpg

http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/renderImage.image?imageName=1086La.jpg&width=325&height=325&padding=0

[sirtalis01]

Confused i am lol that is Def an eastern NOT a checkerd...if i was you ill let her go before she gives birth.

[RedSidedSPR]

I dont see a reason to keep her either. Probably best to let her have her babies out there, than in here.

[confused]

Sigh. I know it's an eastern, lol, look at my old posts. I keep catching them here. I forget I'm on a board full of specialists. I was just describing her. Checkereds don't even range to NY do they?

I've never said once I was keeping her. I was just asking for baby care and a suitable new habitat to drop her in away from my house. I have way too many snakes living in my walls. She didn't get released today, she has no interest in doing anything but staying in a ball, not to mention reading up on it it seems mortality is through the roof if you release farther than 500 ft from where you caught them. Since that's my bedroom.... I'm not dumping a mother and 20-80 babies back into the house. I'm already catching three a week or so inside.

Any advice on how to safely get her out of here. I'm half debating whether to let her go in the basement and take the babies elsewhere.

Shame I don't need a ton of pets. =)

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think a basement is a suitable place to release her.
The chances of finding food/water are slim to none.
Just my opinion.

[RedSidedSPR]

No, I wouldn't do that either.

[confused]

Theyt seem to love the basement, theres a den down there and it holds water at one spot, I have seen over 10 down there, but sure. Well, the yards fine but the mortality rate is pretty high out there. I'm guessing I see 5 dead snakes a year minimum out there. I still don't want to dump a ton of babies next to my house..... I really have too many snakes, it's not up to the famous house yet but its getting there. I'd say me and Steve are about tying these days.

Is it safe to seperate mothers and babies? I could care less about one more snake in my house (they come in and out at will if I let her go in the yard she will be back, Ive watched them slither in the front door) but a whole new brood living here?

[RedSidedSPR]

... would actually be kinda cool :D

[kibakiba]

You can separate the mom and babies right when they're born. They don't have a relationship, its pretty much "out and your on your own"

[RedSidedSPR]

Yeah they have no relationship with the parents.

[confused]

I'm a bit torn as what to do. I love snakes around the house, but not everyone (my girlfriend) is as happy to run into them everywhere as I am. Hopefully tomorrow is cool and she is a little active. It seems obvious (to an ignorant human) she chose the warmest spot in the house to nest up. She doesn't want to move. I didn't even need to catch her, I just picked up what she seemed to be nesting in and put it in a bin. I'm fully confident she would still be in the little "nest" I found her in if I hadn't found her, shame it was my bedroom.

I wish I knew more of a safe place to let her go. Only snakes I've seen in the area are my property. I will release her as soon as she seems like she wants to move at all. She seems too weighed down to do much?


http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n91/nich0lai/snakey2.jpg

Caught her/him last month same room (warmest in house). About a two foot milk snake. Skinny as hell (not anymore). Just sitting on the floor looking at me when I set down a cage of someones crested gecko I was watching. I was on the phone, I just reached down, picked up the skinny thing (i fattened her way up, at least 10 mice so far) and kept talking on the phone. I put her in an empty clothes bin, came back 5 minutes later she crawled out and was just staring at me from on top of a box. Picked her up again, her skin was so loose it was kind of scary so I've been her pet ever since, shes never bit, musked or pooped (on me). I swear shes tame. Only minor scare was she bit her cage for a few days last week but seems to have stopped. I have plans to release her this week (or next, she kind of looks sheddy, she shed once three days after I founds her, few mice and poof), was brilliantly colored, pretty dull again) but my girlfriend (who I should mention works with animals, dolphins to mice, behavioral stuff, surgery etc) swears shes too stupid to make it on her own and is trying to convince me to just keep her. Shes a horrible hunter. Takes ten minutes to find a dead mouse in her cage hunting for it frantically, and when she finds it she pokes it with her nose for 5 minutes first before eating it. Never seen her strike at anything. Bad strategy, but I've never met a more docile snake. Tempting to just keep her, she seems happy again. Sleeps all day in the open until she wants a mouse than gets a bit active.

[confused]

I made a brief attempt at release, hoping she might be more active at night. She doesn't want to move. Is totally alert, moves her head, but refuses to move an inch. I can just touch her and she doesn't even flinch. She is going to sit wherever I put her it seems. Um.

Should I attempt to feed her?

[ConcinusMan]

I don't know but what does this milk snake have to do with garters or wild checkered garters?

[confused]

Caught her in the same "sealed" room with another eastern who didn't make it (euthanized by an animal keeper), had ripped itself open on tape that was in my closet.

Sadly thats the third snake to die on tape here. I'm an artist, i used to use it for everything, but after killing a few I'm trying other ways. I'm tired of finding dead/dying snakes on my work i have to try to save, poor things. I imagine there's a den pretty close. I'm drowning in snakes. Mods feel free to delete I could care less, thought you guys liked snakes.

[ConcinusMan]

I like a lot of things they don't want discussed here. Not really my rules. I really couldn't care less.

[confused]

That strict these days? Was here a few years ago, things change or just did I never notice....

[ConcinusMan]

Yes, things changed. The forum was getting cluttered up with non-garter stuff. They want to get back to focusing on garters.

There's only two places on the forum where they tolerate non-garter talk now.

Specifically for non-garter pets:

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/167-other-pets-non-garters.html

For talking about any random thing at all:

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/1293-its-oh-so-quiet-shh-shh.html

Every other catagory on the forum is for dealing with garter snakes specifically. That includes enclosures, husbandry, urgent care, etc.

Wayne Harvey (infernalis) has his own forum that's much more tolerant of a wide range of subjects/critters, tolerates more adult conversations/subjects/language, and has sections for all kinds of things, including an extensive section for garter snakes specifically. PM him if you want to join that forum. He can tell you where to sign up.

[confused]

Thanks for the heads up.

[ConcinusMan]

No problem. Just figured I would say something before you have to hear it from Stefan.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site-news/5067-new-site-rules.html

[confused]

Well, she might be a rehab after all. Finally got her to drink some water and she's waking up moved about 6 inches. Makes sense, no h20 near bedroom. I'll give her 24 more hours of care see what happens. Maybe try a mouse, shes skinny, if I can get her moving shes free. She wasn't able to lift her head into the water bowl at first, i kind of had to hand feed her water, little piles in front of her to drink, which she hoovered up like a vacuum cleaner. They eat at all while pregnant? This lethargic behavior normal?
Thanks.

Milks asleep in my lap. Blue eyes. Nice to get one right occasionally.

Read the new rules, I appreciate the forums desire to keep things more focused, I run a few myself, but on the other snake boards you just don't find the same level of knowledge/willingness to share you used to find here. 4 pages of comments on just a pregnant garter, whereas on snakes I think I've gotten two comments, no advice, not that it's a common problem..... I post about my milk elsewhere looking for advice and it's like nice milk snake!!! Grr. I don't want to keep the darn things I just want to keep them safe.... lol.

Again, I wasn't clear, I grew up working in animal rehab. Whatever I'm doing now is just what I find in my house sick. Otherwise they go out or get ignored or shoed towards a door.

[kibakiba]

They do eat while they're pregnant, but keep it soft. Things like worms, slugs (no yellow slime!), and f/t fish fillet is good stuff to feed.

Mama got a bit lethargic while she was pregnant, but not enough to keep her from drinking her water normally.

[confused]

Thanks for the help. She's active. Soon as it cools down (assuming no babies still) a bit later today shes going free. If I don't see you guys for a bit, I'm down to a corn snake, lol. I'll be back next garter. =)