2-ft Adult Garter Drowned in Shallow Water Dish w/Ramp

[Tzacol]

I found him coiled in the bottom this morning. I have no idea how or why he drowned himself, the water level is 2 inches high, there's even a ramp leading out of it for my 2 little garters. The little garters have no issues at all getting out. Any ideas?

[snakegirl909]

Sorry about your loss!
Guessing he didn't drown. Garter snakes are great swimmers.
It was most likely from something else. from what, I don't know. Was this animal wild caught?

[d_virginiana]

Definitely didn't drown... Or if he did drown, it's because he had a heart attack or seizure while in the water dish. There's no way a healthy adult would drown in that much water. Nothing wrong with the dish setup you described.

[Tzacol]

Yeah, my garters are all wild caught. I've never had one do this though. Can it be prevented in the future?

[snakegirl909]

It really could be anything. Wild caught garters always have some sort of parasite, but I doubt that would kill him. Was probably a problem he had before you got him.

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry for your loss. I agree, some other issue caused the death. Probably went to the water for comfort.

[Tzacol]

Thanks for the answers. I've still got my favorite garter though so I'm happy I didn't lose him. He has a different pattern than most of the garters I see, instead of being black with a yellow stripe, he's brown with black spots and a faint yellow stripe.

[snakegirl909]

Off topic I know, but I would love to see a picture

[slipknot711]

id like pictures too!

[Tzacol]

Took a while to figure out how to get a photo off my iPod, but here it is.

IMG_6647.jpg