Greetings from Ohio

[gordonthegarter]

Hi, I'm Cara and today would be my second day as a garter snake owner. I've owned cats my whole life, birds for a very large chunk of it, dogs the past 8 years, and last year I finally got my first reptile - a green iguana named Iggy (short for Iguanadon)

A few years ago I tried to bring home a garter who lived in my grandma's backyard that her cat attacked and it was half paralyzed, but to no avail. Well yesterday we went on a hike (it was in the mid 50's yesterday) and while on the walk a snake darts past us on the path. I followed him and picked him up (and dropped him accidentally because he tried to bite but got him back and got him to calm down). We got some pictures of him and took him on our hike with us and along the way, bonded and ended up taking this brave little guy home.

I bought some crickets (since by the time I could get to the pet store they were closing in 10 minutes so I had to be quick!) so if he got hungry he could snack. Going to buy him some feeder minnows tomorrow and some nightcrawlers after work so he has something better to eat. He ignores his hidey log and slept using the edge of his water dish as a pillow. He was more than happy to come out and hang out with me today, and he's curled up on my chest in my shirt looking around as I type this. I love this little guy already and can't wait to find out more things about him!

I'm pretty sure it's a he after doing a lot of reading. He's skinnier, very active, and his body goes seemlessly to his tail. I'm also thinking he may be a wandering garter, but not 100% positive. My mom named him Gordon, or if he's really a she it's Gardenia.