i finally found a baby garter!! story+pics

[FitnessFreak]

hey guys i finally found 1!
i was thinking theyd be out mid may to early june so i decided yesterday that today i would go looking for them. well today it was freezing cold out so i was bummed because i knew(or thought i did!) that they wouldn't be out today.

so i went with a friend to my scrt garter spot and we find nothing.. about to pack up and go home my fgriend saw something moving under a blanket thing that covers some rocks there

we lift it up and whoah! a 3 ft garter is there i caught it just for fun to hold it for a while when something caught my eye-a little 18 incher that i thought was a baby from last year.

i picked it up and a piece of its tale was missing but i was thinking of keeping it because it was still a baby only from last year, well it musked me so i went to wash my hands off in the river and told my friend to keep looking for them.

couple mins later hes like "MIKE GET OVER HERE!" and i come running up and look- i saw nothing, but sure enough there was the tinniest garter i have ever seen!

i named him Nano, because i'm a badminton fan and i have a Nanospeed 7700 racket =p

i uploaded the pics to my computer now i need to figure out how to post them!

im so happy!!!!

[FitnessFreak]

ok i uploaded them
the last 2 pics are of its enclosure! it went straight into the little rock hide when i put him in there!

[WBR]

Mike,
That is a sweet looking little baby - give him/her a year or two and it will be wolfing down small dogs and little old ladies !!!
Of course you now need a mate for it, and then there will be no stopping you as you establish a dynasty that generates dozens every breeding season !!
Bask in your success and have a great evening !
Cheers,
Brian.
P.S. Where abouts in Canada are you, my daughter (and soon to be grand-child) are in Medicine Hat ?

[FitnessFreak]

Mike,
That is a sweet looking little baby - give him/her a year or two and it will be wolfing down small dogs and little old ladies !!!
Of course you now need a mate for it, and then there will be no stopping you as you establish a dynasty that generates dozens every breeding season !!
Bask in your success and have a great evening !
Cheers,
Brian.
P.S. Where abouts in Canada are you, my daughter (and soon to be grand-child) are in Medicine Hat ?

thanks, i am in calgary-alberta as well :P

i have a question guys, as you can see he's really skinny so i tried to feed him but it's like he doesn't even notice the food.

and he keeps going up against the glass trying to get out even though he's been in there for 8-10 hours already, well i'm not sure if he's been doing it the whole time it looks like he is settling down alot so far so thats good.


i have a question though-


tomorrow i am leaving to my cabin and won't be home till monday and no1 can look after nano is it ok if i fill his water bowl up that day and leave him till monday? would he starve to death???

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nope...takes snakes a long time to starve. That looks like a juvenile wandering garter. It usually takes them a week or 2 to get accustomed to captivity. He will be fine. You can start with small worms and rosies or feeder guppies next week.

[adamanteus]

I uploaded the pics to my computer now I need to figure out how to post them!

Try this thread, it should help you to load pics straight into your posts.


http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site...t=Posting+pics

[duh duh duh]

Garter Snake Care - gartersnake.info

this website is the best site for an "all in" garter care site that I have seen. He has tips for feeding young snakes on there as well.

Give the little guy some time and he'll adjust. I remember as a kid we had to try a whole wack of stuff with 2 wild caught we had for the summer (out by Turner Valley, and returned them further down the river in late August). No fish, no mice, no crickets (which I have never actually seen a garter eat so I think it is a wive's tale) but finally they got into the earthworms. It was like they were gorging on spaghetti when we finally found something they would eat.

Wait for a bit for him to calm down, and be prepared to try a few things out. Whatever he gets going on you can handle with supplements or treating the food if necessary.

Good luck and keep us informed!

[Odie]

Way cool man

[FitnessFreak]

ok thanks guys, so on tuesday i will try feeding him a worm!

should i feed it after that 1 worm every 2 days?

[Snaky]

A nice catch, good luck with it. Like others said, give him some time and he'll eat. It's no problem to leave him a few days alone, but give him water for those days.

I feed my little one's every 3 days, but it all depends on how much and what kind of food you give hime. Try to switch to fish or pinkies, they contain more nutrients. Worms are fine sometimes to get him eat and to give him some variety, but they don't contain much calcium if I remember well. Also, don't give him red earthworms, they are poisonous.

Interesting article about which fish to give:
article