(s/o who has wild caught) Identify that snake!

[snakemommy]

i had posted asking about who has wild caught garters, but when i put up pictures of mine, that i (maybe incorrectly) assumed was an eastern garter, some people mentioned butler like i had initially suspected until i read that they aren't really in my area- north eastern ohio.

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the last two are taken with the flash on. sorry for my camera quality- also i'm still trying to not mess with her too much, this is her third day with us.

[paulh]

I've seen my share of wild-caught garter snakes, but not Butler's garters.

From what is on the web, Ohio has three species of garters -- eastern garter, plains garter, and Butler's garter.
May 2002 - Ohio Reptiles - Snakes

As far as I can tell, your snake's lateral stripe is on scale rows 2 and 3. That rules out the plains garter, which has the stripe on rows 3 and 4 and black vertical bars along the edges of the lip scales. I can't rule out Butler's garter because the picture quality is not good enough. But the odds are that you have an eastern garter, especially if your snake is over 24 inches long.

[wolfpacksved]

tham sirtalis, no doubt.

[snakemommy]

she is about 11", no spots on her head or anything

[guidofatherof5]

Your camera might do better with some natural light instead of flash. Any chance for a couple outside photos in the sunlight?

[snakemommy]

it's 25 degrees and snowing so i would worry to take her outside. this is why she was brought home with my bf and son, they were worried with the incoming snow and freezing temps. she has been left to her own devices almost three days since her arrival here with the platy, which she has not touched. she is quite jumpy and very active in the day, very curious. my bf is on his way home with some night crawlers for us to quarter for her to hopefully get some food in her belly. once i can get her to eat and handle her, i will try for some better pics, yet.
she has a dish of water where the platy is chilling, she swims right by him, uninterested. is he too big for her? she has an UTH, paper pulp substrate, a washed out ketchup bottle hide, and some sticks to explore. is there anything else i can do to make her more comfortable?

[guidofatherof5]

A good, secure lid.
Does she use the hide? I know that some plastics can retain odor from their content. Cardboard is always a good hide.

[snakemommy]

got the secure lid covered, one of the rubbermaid snap tops with several holes. she has a couple times, it's glass. i got to thinking that may be too cold though?

[ConcinusMan]

. i got to thinking that may be too cold though?

Snakes wouldn't be eating this time of year anyway. But yeah there's no heat? I mean the snake needs to be able to regulate it's own temperature between about 70 F - 88 F. No garter is going to eat or even be able to digest at just room temperature. Read the care sheet and get him warmed up or you could have a sick snake on your hands (respiratory infection) pretty fast and even if it somehow managed to not get sick it probably won't eat without some heat. If the snake continues to lose weight and still won't eat then you really don't have many options except to release when it's not freezing outside or brumate, which as was mentioned, is tricky mainly because they need to stay at 48-52 F with little or no fluctuation. A regular fridge is too cold. They need a dedicated one with the door cracked and set up ahead of time to make sure it's staying at the right temp. I don't recommend beginners try to brumate.

great! just keep trying to offer food?

No. There's no point unless you set up the temperature gradient mentioned in the care sheet and the snake has had time to settle in. This could take a couple of weeks. The snake flat out isn't going to eat until the environment is right and it feels comfortable with it's surroundings. Even under those circumstances it's going to take time. If a snake refuses to eat, don't offer again for a week and you need to correct the environment. Room temp isn't going to cut it.

You got this snake at a time when they are supposed to be brumating so that's part of the problem I'm sure.

[chris-uk]

Don't expect her to eat at this time of year. If she's been gearing up for the winter she's quite likely to refuse food until things warm up in the Spring. She may eat over the winter in a heated enclosure, but if she doesn't you shouldn't stress until she still refuses to eat in several months time.

All of my garters love cardboard tubes.