HELP - Pregnant Pudget Sound Gater Beginner

[lysol]

I live in Washington state just north of Seattle and my son caught what appears to be a Pudget Sound Garter (Thamnophis sirtalis similis??) as pictured below.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7ySLpwr8l98/THgbidjJjrI/AAAAAAAAAMw/8s0KOpWpxmQ/s1600/DSCF1019.JPG

She seemed really big compared to any snake I have ever seen in this area and we have come to find out she is pregnant. My son was showing her to all the kids that live close by and I think they were a little rough playing with her because a dead baby came out of her.....

Since that has happened we have kept the snake away from the kids and have tried feeding her worms and feeder fish unsuccessfully. My son has become really attached and wants to keep her as a pet but I am not sure how we should care for her now knowing that she is pregnant. We brought her to a pet store and they thought the birth was most likely stress related.

If she birthed one dead baby is there a chance the rest of the litter will survive? Can anyone give me tips on how to care for her so she can have her babies and be a good pet to my boy?

Any info will help.

Thanks!

[kibakiba]

She might not give birth at all if you stress her out. She could hold the babies in side of her until they literally rot. It would be best if you just let her go, imho. You cant just take a snake out of the wild, stress it out and expect it to have really healthy babies. Handling her and "playing rough" will likely cause her to become too stressed out enough that she wont eat.
You aren't supposed to handle a new snake until they are used to their surroundings and new home. Even then handling should be kept at a bare minimum.

[d_virginiana]

I agree. In this situation, I think it would be best for the snake if you let her go. It takes a long time for a lot of snakes to adjust to captivity, and if she's close enough to having the babies that one already came out, I don't think she'd be able to adjust quickly enough to have a healthy litter.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice to have you on the forum.
Beautiful snake.
Looking at the photo you posted I don't see the usual scale spread seen on gravid snakes.
It might be possible the baby delivered was the last of the litter and that she delivered before she was caught.
Here's a link to the care sheet. Baby care is the same as adult care with a few exceptions. Babies require much smaller food and should be fed more often.
A good shallow water supply is needed as babies can dehydrate easily.
Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets (http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet)

Any questions not answered in the care sheet can be posted to the forum.

[RedSidedSPR]

Looking at the photo you posted I don't see the usual scale spread seen on gravid snakes.

I don't think that's his picture. It looks like Dons. I think he's just using that as an example...

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think that's his picture. It looks like Dons. I think he's just using that as an example...

Missed that part of the post. My apologizes.

[RedSidedSPR]

Well, he didn't say it, but I'm just guessing.

[ssssnakeluvr]

yep, thats my male puget.... here's a link to the photo... index_6 (http://www.donsgartersnakes.net/index_6.htm)

and pugets are thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii =)

[ConcinusMan]

Seems a bit late for pugets in the wild to be giving birth, (July or early August is more typical) but I suppose it's possible.

Read the care sheets carefully. You want to avoid stress as much as possible at this time. That means making her comfortable (again, see the care sheets on how to do that) and letting her be. No handling or disturbing. In time, she just might have some live babies and settle in enough that she'll want to eat. They generally do not eat in the late stages of pregnancy so I wouldn't worry about feeding her at all right now. Give her a couple of weeks to have those babies and/or settle in. The babies won't really require any special care (we can get into baby raising tips later) just make sure they have easy access to water because they dehydrate easily. Separate any live babies from mom so she won't accidentally hurt them.

The reason you think that she's much bigger than most snakes you see around there is that you're probably seeing mostly northwestern garter snakes, which are a much smaller species. One of the smallest in fact.

Pugets are T. sirtalis subspecies, and sirtalis' as adults can be 2.5 ft to over 3.5 ft. Northwesterns are usually around 18-24 inches as adults.

Good luck with her and do come back and keep us up to date.

[katach]

Exactly what I was thinking about the size difference Richard.

[ConcinusMan]

When I first saw that pic, I was like "that aint gravid" and I was also thinking it would be quite unusual to find one so blue, that far north but then I realized that's not the snake.

[RedSidedSPR]

I noticed first.:D

It's Don's. I recognized the snake, but also the setting.