Hi, I'm new to this site and I'm new to owning a snake. I found a baby garter snake, about 8 inches long, on my sidewalk It looked like it had something under its skin; like maybe it had just eaten. The next day I came outside and the poor guy was sitting in the same place, only now he had a huge lump on his back with a wound near the bottom of the lump. It was about 40 degrees. He was so cold and figured he would die if I left him outside, so I brought him in and now I'm the proud owner of a garter snake. I cleaned his wound and put antibiotic cream on it. I took him to my exotic vet who sees a lot of snakes. He said the lump was not from broken ribs or from a broken spine. He can move his body, but he just lays in one place and I find him in the same postition I left him in. The vet thought he just needed to be warmed up. So I got a reptile heating pad, but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. He still doesn't move. I have been giving him drops of water from an eyedropper every couple of hours since he won't go to his water dish, or anywhere else for that matter. He drinks several drops of water, but so far he's refused food. Has anyone heard of this happening? Could the lump be from something he ate? It's now been close to a week that I've had him. The lump is getting a little smaller, but again, he's not moving around at all. I know this is probably a dumb question, but is it possible that his body was already slowing down in preperation for hiberntion? Maybe he's still trying to hibernate? I've grown rather attached to the little guy and I want him to have a normal life. Any advice or suggestions?