Newbie found gravid(?) garter

[patcuz]

Greetings to All-

My yorkies found a very large, fat garter this past weekend. They molested it pretty good before I could scoop her up. I released the snake in my garden, away from any predators. I'm in CT, and Saturday was rather chilly. I was quite surprised when I found her all curled up under a shrub a good 6 hrs later- I anticipated she would have found a proper home by then. So, went up in the attic & I got a tank set-up w/ heat rock and some feeder goldfish, as I thought perhaps she was gravid & needed an appropriate setting to have her babies. She is quite happy in this situation right now- but could someone please give me guidance? If she is released again- would it be a reasonable expectation that I haven't disrupted anything? I'm not too crazy about keeping a snake on my kitchen counter, but I'm trying to do the most humane thing. Obviously I will need to post a photo in order to get any educated opinions about her gravid status. How long before she pops these guys out and I can send her & the babies on their merry way?
I am not a "snake" person, but my son was as a youth. He had garters, boas, etc- so I'm not completely ignorant. But, he never bred.
Thanks in advance for any input!
-Patti

[guidofatherof5]

Nice to have you with us. Great save! and you say you're not a snake person You haven't disrupted anything. Was the snake injured by the dog? If it warms up you should be able to just release it. It made it this far and should do very well on its own. Post a photo if you can.
Watch the heat rock. Snakes get burns from those.
Depending on how long you think you'll be keeping her you might want to dig a few worm for her rather than feed her goldfish. Goldfish are not good for Garters. Take a look at the care sheet on the home page of the forum.
I hope I've been helpful.
Once again, Welcome.

[gregmonsta]

Welcome ... and yeah ... definately forget about goldfish.

[drache]

welcome to the forum, Patti
I second Wayne's advice

[patcuz]

OK- Bear with me, guys- I THINK I figured out the picture thing...I'm not as computer saavy as I thought I was.
Your opinion if I've got a preggers, please!

I tried picking her up, and she was very skittish. So, I tried taking the photos through the tank.

[patcuz]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. OK- I'll nix the goldfish, but she didn't like the worm I dug up. I'll figure something out. I will amend her tank setup per the "care of" guide. Now, I just have to figure out how to upload a picture!

[KITKAT]

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. OK- I'll nix the goldfish, but she didn't like the worm I dug up. I'll figure something out. I will amend her tank setup per the "care of" guide. Now, I just have to figure out how to upload a picture!

Try one of the following fish from the grocery store... these are safe species to feed garters:

Salmon
Trout
Tilapia

These should be cut into strips that are not wider than 3/4 of the width of the snake's head, and lengths that make swallowing quick and easy.

Some species of garters are more heavily fish eaters, while other species prefer worms. If she is a fish eater, you can take a small amount of salmon, mince it very small, and take other food items, such as pinkie mice, strips of beef heart, and other assorted, and stir them around in a container of the minced salmon. This is called "scenting" food, and most fish lovers will learn to eat items that are scented.

Garters do best with a variety of foods, so you can fish scent all the different items you want to feed, and rotate the items to get variety of nutrition for your snake.

If you search the archives, you will find other posts about food items that work, and how to present them.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Trout is without a doubt, the all time favorite fish of my garters. They are just so much more enthusiastic when they eat it! and that's saying a lot cause my garters are all pretty darned enthusiastic

[TwistidMutations]

Trout is without a doubt, the all time favorite fish of my garters. They are just so much more enthusiastic when they eat it! and that's saying a lot cause my garters are all pretty darned enthusiastic

Like shannon said trout is a great food source for garters.I know my garters are a ***** for trout.

[Snake lover 3-25]

nice save! welcome to the forum!