Need very quick assistance...

[GRT]

Hello,

I just need some quick assistance. My neighbor found a garter snake in the backyard today and I took it in so it wouldn't get killed.

Although I'd like to, I can't keep the snake (and don't want to stress it out anyway by trying to hold it in captivity) so I want to release it into the wild. I don't want to let it go anywhere around here where people's backyards are cause someone will end up killing it.

I am thinking of releasing it into a forested area here, which is also used as a park here.

What would be a good place to release it in?

I want a good place so it minimizes it's chances of getting hurt and so it can find a place to hide/find food/whatever.

Thanks. I appreciate a quick response because I'm going to be going out to release it in a couple of hours. Meanwhile I have gotten a small rubbermaid type of box and cut some small holes in the top (that it can't go through) for air and put it in a quiet space, don't want to stress it out too much.

Thanks.

[infernalis]

It would be best to return it to as close as possible to where you found it.

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah it is too late in the season and it could end up getting confused and be unable to find a place to brumate

[jitami]

Yep, yep, yep... that's how I ended up keeping the girl we found in our driveway... don't know where she would have been better off, but at least now she gets a steady supply of food, lives in a climate controlled environment, and is completely safe from predators, cars, and my neighbors

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, GTR

[Zephyr]

If you DO release it, first check to make sure there are garters in the area, THEN also check for some sort of large stone pile or structure that they could use for brumation; it's late in the season, so he was probably looking for a place to overwinter.

[GRT]

Thanks for your assistance. I wanna keep the snake because I honestly don't know of a good place to release it and its getting real cold out here (50 degrees). It is ALL residential areas here so really, no real safe place for it here. It was actually found by a neighbor cleaning out his yard that has been untouched for most of the year so far, so perhaps it was hiding out in there.

I've tried to offer it food, bought a box of nightcrawlers from a pet store but when I opened it they were all dead. The snake showed no interest in the crawler I offered to it, so I removed it. I am guessing its because it wasn't alive and they looked pretty bad/damaged.

So far it has left urates and defecated in the cage and appears to be fine. I was told to give it some time to get used to the new environment so that's what I'm doing, trying not to disturb it unless cleaning for now. I will wait until the end of the week and will try to find some other worms to offer to it.

From what I read nightcrawlers are a good choice for food and convenient for me to get. I hope it eats because I dont want to do more harm than good by keeping it...then again it's so cold outside I cant imagine it surviving/finding a new place to hide on such short notice.

I've found another place to keep it in too, its a cage very similar to this one, if not identical,

I put in paper towels for substrate and a large water bowl that I keep with fresh water. I also made a hide out of cardboard and put it in but it wasn't using that at all, so I removed it because there is very little space. It's hiding under the towels right now, so I hope its fine.

I've checked it out and it looks healthy, clear eyes, clear vent, clear breathing as far as I can tell and clear skin w/no signs of retained shed or any other troubles. So it looks healthy and acts actively, flicks tongue etc. So I dont know why it didn't eat what I offered too...perhaps it needs more time to adjust so I'm not bothering it at all right now, unless absolutly necessary (replace water/clean up after).

Also, it doesn't have any heat, kept at room temperature but from I read, that should be fine. Was a bit cool to the touch this morning though when I cleaned its cage and I warmed it up in my hands before putting it back. Doesnt show any signs of agression, no biting, hissing, musking, nothing so I really hope its not stressed. I put the cage into a low traffic area where no one walks by often and cover the front part of the cage so as to minimize stress.

Any other ideas? I really hope it adjusts and starts eating because I cant see it surviving back outside.

If it was just in the woods or in the wild, I would've left it to it's own, but didn't want the neighbors killing it.

Thanks for the help.

[Zephyr]

Any pics so we can ID?

[GRT]

No sorry.

It has a very light pattern, kinda checkered but really light. No stripe like I see on some other garter snake pictures. I tried to measure it and its about 10 inches. Don't know how else to describe it, sorry for the lack of pictures, but I am pretty sure its a garter from what I've seen on how garters look in pet stores and on the web.

[Zephyr]

No sorry.

It has a very light pattern, kinda checkered but really light. No stripe like I see on some other garter snake pictures. I tried to measure it and its about 10 inches. Don't know how else to describe it, sorry for the lack of pictures, but I am pretty sure its a garter from what I've seen on how garters look in pet stores and on the web.

If you don't mind me asking, what state are you in?