Hi there. I'm new to the forum and recently new to keeping snakes. My brother kept a garter snake about 20 years ago so I have a little experience of keeping them...

At the start of the year, my young sons bought a garter snake for themselves. Here's some photos:

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Firstly, can anyone ID him for us? The pet shop were selling him as a garter snake.

When we first brought him home, he refused to eat. We were offering him a baby mouse defrosted with a smelt, which is what he had been eating in the pet shop. We kept in regular contact with the pet shop and after about 3 weeks of not eating, they asked us to take him back so they could try getting him to eat. Of course he ate immediately for them and fed about 3 or 4 times over a 3 week period.

When I went to collect him I was advised to fit a thermostat to the undertank pad heater. We did this and have it set to 28C with the probe situated in the orchid bark substrate beneath a piece of cork bark at the lighted (low enery bulb) of the tank. The air temperature recorded on the thermometer is 22C.

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He's been back around 3 weeks and after 3 attempts at feeding he had still refused the mouse and the fish and appeared scared of them when they were offered. I went to the pet shop and asked about trying other food such as earthworms and yesterday had a successful feeding of one small - medium worm. The boys were over the moon.

Could anyone suggest ways forward with this snake. Do we stick with earthworms for a while - and if so how many and how often? - When do we try mice - Do we try to scent them with earthworms?

Thanks,

Gershon