First Snake - Wild Caught

[Kembial]

We were out looking over our relatively small apartment garden, and I turned around to notice this little guy slipping through the grass. Well, I'd seen one quite similar to it, just before winter set in, and that had gotten me amped up to try and catch one.

I gently pinned him down, since the pre-winter fellow managed to just slip away from me and go free, and picked him up. He was relatively calm and if he got an idea to leave my hand, we was happy enough to curl up again once I had him in the other hand.

Having a few interested kids around, I fetched the little baby-guppy-tank, and my girlfriend tossed in some "natural surroundings" so he'd be somewhat comfortable until we could get around to showing him off a little (although, no kids touching allowed!).

Well, the question obviously came up: if we're keeping him comfortable, what if he's hungry?... And what does he eat? My first guess was bugs, since there's an abundant supply of them out there. And I was actually a bit surprised to find the answer. Worms and slugs, easy enough with the garden. Fish, sure, if we got the guppy-breeding back in motion.

So, me and the boy went out back for some worm digging. Couldn't really go digging huge holes in the newly planted garden, but luckily there's a nice little patch of wild foresty dirt right at the edge of the cliff (yeah... there's a cliff right out our back door...). I didn't find as many as I'd expected, but I did get more than enough for a few days of feed.

I'm still considering keeping him. The girlfriend's not too hot on the idea of snakes, period. The kids would think it's cool, but the 12 year-old would lose interest soon, because it's not a "trick" pet, and the 4 year-old... well, just can't be trusted to handle something this delicate. That, and as escape artists, if he gets out, the cat's likely to find out about it...

Although, being in the guppy-tank, one of the least escape-proof containers I have around, he'll only come out if I leave it sitting with the top open, so who knows?

I can do it, can make it work, but... I just haven't committed to it, yet.

He's approximately 5 inches long. I'm assuming it's a he, as there's the slight bulge right before the vent. The vent is also situated about an inch forward of the tail tip. The underbelly is pale, and his upper markings are shown in the photo below. That's camera-glare on the "facial" area, just in case it's not obvious.

http://a585.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/48/l_6ce0751b0b848311d84754b8c34361c0.jpg

It's still getting cold here at nights, so I packed him and his worms (kept in a separate container) in a box with some insulation. It was at this time when I feared he'd escaped! Taking a quick look inside, there was no snake in sight. With some relief, I found him burrowed in the dirt.

Today, once the sun was out, I brought him out briefly and held him in my hand for a quick-start thermal charge, and then set his tank in the sunlight. Feeding didn't work out as well as I'd hoped, at first. Put him and an active worm in a deli-cup for a while. Sat quietly, reading these forums and keeping a peeking eye in the cup. At one point, he showed some interest, but obviously decided now wasn't the time. Before long the kitty came sniffing. And, well... two squirmies in a bowl are just too much for a cat's curiosity and she just wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So, I had to abort the feeding attempt. Not wanting the worm to go to waste, but a little annoyed at the cat's antics, I dumped the worm in with the snake into the guppy-tank. I'd previously dumped all the extra dirt and what-not out, leaving two mossy clumps of dirt for the snake to shelter under, without providing a worm enough to dig into.

When I came back, later, to move the tank from sun to shadow, I belatedly realized there's no worm! So, unless that worm was a better escapist than the snake, this garter's just enjoyed his first captive-assisted meal.

I haven't really pin-pointed it's subspecies, and probably won't be able to, on my own. I'm in Oregon, WA, just minutes away from the Puget Sound.

[adamanteus]

Hi Kembial, and welcome to the forum.

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

That's a nice looking snake, hope your girlfriend changes her mind. :) Since the snake is just 5 inches long, I wouldn't apply the purely visual sexing methods, they are a bit unreliable when it comes to young snakes.

[Serpentine99]

Hey Kembial, welcome to this great forum! If you have any questions, the people and the care sheets should be more then enough to answer it. we have a link to a snake finder sight which shows you were the individual sub-species of each snake live on a map.

Here's the sight:snake finder (http://www.gartersnake.de/snakefinder/snakefinder.html)

Convenient isn't it.:)

[adamanteus]

Kembial, if you decide to keep the snake this link should provide you with all the hints and tips you need to get started. Good luck.

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet

[Kembial]

Well, since it seems to have eaten one worm, should I toss in a second (or even third if it comes to that)? There's no visible bulging or plumping in the snake. I like to think the snake ate it, but it's possible that by some miracle, the worm escaped where the snake couldn't.

And, if kept and cared for, about how big should I expect it to get? And, can I expect it to be calm enough to sit around the house and just hold it? I'm allergic to my cat, so while I enjoy lounging with her, I tend to pay for it, later. And the hamster isn't really the calmest critter in the house. As for the fish... well, yeah.

I understand each snake is individual in it's personality, but a general, on-average answer is good enough for me.

Once I figure out how to really use my camera, I'll come up with some more pics.

PS: Connection went down right as I was about to post this, so I decided to take a little walk down the trail. No snakes, and really not much wildlife to be seen, except for the abundant flying bugs. Checking likely snake-hides, I did, however, pick up a nice appropriately sized slug. We'll see how he does with that.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Kembial

[adamanteus]

If the snake will take a second or third worm, then let it! It's good if your new snake is willing to eat in captivity so quickly. Be sure to check out the info in the link I posted earlier though, to ensure you're offering as wide a variety of food items as possible.

[Kembial]

Thanks, adamanteus. Yeah, as soon as I come in contact with or even consider any type of non-dog/cat pet, I hit the web, HARD. I don't take my animal "projects" lightly. I don't even consider petstore employees or their care-sheets as reliable sources of information.

So, I spent the entirety of yesterday researching the garter snake. I won't hit too in-depth things like thiamanase (or rather, the major details pertaining to it) unless I make the final decision to commit to having it as a pet.

While I'd never claim to be anywhere near expert, I consider myself read-up enough to cover the basics.

[Kembial]

Okay, now for an update. My girlfriend kind've made the commitment for me. While we were out for groceries, she asked if I wanted to stop somewhere and look for some stuff for the snake. Well, if SHE thought I was keeping it, I couldn't really say no, could I?

Picked up a used 10-gal tank. Had a watering bowl and a nice little wood hidey/sunner, both excess from the last used tank we got for the hamster. A small used desk lamp with a 100-watt bulb, all we had, at the moment. And, to complete the garter food triad, a gallon reptile tank and some feeder guppies for breeding/feeding purposes.

So, garter's in the "fish" tank, and fish are in the "snake" tank. Heh. Which goes to show why I wouldn't take the advice of the average pet store employee... What reptile could be expected to be comfortable, much less live out it's life in one gallon's space?

So, I missed the first hour or so of the snake's life in his new home. I was busy cleaning out the other two tanks that would now be devoted to the guppies. Girlfriend said it went immediately to the water and started drinking (his original container was too small to accommodate a sturdy water-bowl, and I knew if my decision was to release it, it would be well before dehydration was a threat). The next 4 or so hours were devoted to exploration. I realized too late we were plump out of paper-towels, and since we don't subscribe to a daily newspaper, I made do with the periodicals from the mail. While they weren't the glossy ads, they were still smoother than the snake expected, and he had to adopt a sort of sidewinder or a kind of pushing slither until he adapted. ASAP better substrate will be provided.

I was concerned that the 100-watt would be too hot, but happily, after getting used to the new home, it crawled up onto the designated sunning spot and stayed there straight until 10, when I finally remembered to turn off the light.

So, a relatively good "first" day.

One guppy's ready to pop, and about five more females are lined up behind her. So, a slow but definitely steady fish supply is standing at the ready. And the garden and trail down the cliff are proving to be ample worm and slug sources, (I hit the slug jackpot, and found the cause of some suffering bean sprouts, under one of my pots, today).

[adamanteus]

It sounds like you've got yourself pretty well started there. If you read through some of the other threads you'll be able to pick up all sorts of other useful hints and tips. I think you'll enjoy it here.

[Snaky]

Welcome from Belgium, enjoy your first snake. Feel free to ask any questions and have fun here :)

[adamanteus]

Incidentally, I may be wrong but he looks like a T. ordinoides to me. Do you know how to take a scale count, Kembial?

[ssssnakeluvr]

judging by the rows of spots along the stripes, I'd say it's a northwetern garter, t ordinoides, also by the area.... Visual sexing doesn't work on babies..gotta be probed or "popped" to be sure on sex. Northwesterns tend to specialize in feeding on worms and slugs...they will need to be fed more often if they eat only worms and will need a little vitamin supplementation. If you can get them eating fish that would be good!

[Kembial]

I've seen a bit on the subject of scale counting, but didn't go in-depth.

And it seems the majority of the worms I'm pulling up are at least as big as the snake. But, I've got a stock of plenty of slugs that are sized appropriately. And the first guppy fry(s) popped out, today. Having feed available isn't much of an issue, yet. It's getting the snake to take an interest. I'm not expecting wonders, since it's only the second day in this new home. It showed interest in the worm, but not enough to eat.