newb no newt

[gelshark]

So, yeah ....
I used to catch garters as a kid, they would always escape within a few days - I think my mom was glad about that. I never had a proper container for them. Some were nice and some were mean.

I have a couple of corn snakes and they are great, but...
I really wanted a garter snake (prolly for nostalgia). I mentioned to a co-worker (who always finds them in his yard) that next time he found one to bring it to me. He said that he would keep an eye out for me but that it has been a few weeks since he had seen any while mowing (seasons starting to change makes sense). Well three years ago he caught one and his kids wanted to keep it, and he relented and let them have it. His wife never cared for it and the kids lost interest in it. He was thinking about letting it go back into the wild but his kids were concerned that it might not do so well. So after my request for him to catch one for me, he mentions it to his wife and she says to give me Worf (their garter). The kids agree to let me have it, so he brought it to me.

Now i have a garter snake!

He thinks it's a male but not sure as he's just guessing that, and I am guessing that it's a plains garter. Anyone can correct me if they know better, I won't take offence.

So my goals with Worf are to
1. Tame it down a bit - it's a bit more skittish then my corns and it pooped on me yesterday (not sure if it was trying to get put down or it just needed to go #2) and
2. Get it to eat mice, he had always fed it fish and worms, and I am going to try to add mice to the diet (although today's attempt was unsuccessful). I will try scenting it next time and see if that helps.

If anyone has any helpful suggestions let me know and thanks for all the welcomes I am going to hopefully receive.

[bsol]

As soon as a few people see your snake they wont have any trouble identifying it!
It sure is a nice looking garter though!

[Lori P]

Beautiful garter!!! Scenting the mice should work well for you, it just may take a while. If you're feeding live fish, you can put some pinkies in with the fish, and often the snake will grab for a fish, hit a pink instead, and down it. But give him some time to settle in, he may have had a traumatic couple of weeks if he was handled too much by kids.

Here's a general care sheet if you need a refresher...
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...ake_Care_Sheet

Keep us posted!!

[Stefan-A]

That's a nice Plains garter. Could be male. If it's more than 3 years old, then it probably is, judging by the size.

Oh and welcome aboard.

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum and nice radix.

[infernalis]

Welcome and enjoy

[gelshark]

if he was handled too much by kids.

hasn't been handled by kids yet - although that makes my 2 1/2 yr old upset.

[jitami]

Welcome

[Garter_Gertie]

Welcome. Is you snake getting ready to shed? Or has it and retained an eye cap? Or is that just from the picture?

To me, looks like a retained eye cap.

Very pretty snake. Nice size!

It should settle down as it gets used to you. It musked you - that poop. A garter's main defense.

We caught a garter and she began eating pinkies like she had all her life, and for all I know she had been! LOL!

Nice to have you with us!

[gelshark]

garter gertie
yes i was musked - although it didn't smell as bad as when the ones i caught when i was a kid did
the eyes are fine - i think it was just the flash or the lighting that made it look a little off in the pic
when you feed pinkies - do you use live of F/T?