Im in need of some help!

[Zonnk]

So my friend, while on his camping trip brought home a Garter snake, later that day he said he couldn't care for it, so I adopted it as my own.
Im fairly clueless although many of the threads here are helping me greatly!
I just have a few questions :]
The snake is Thamnophis radix as far as I can tell, and from what I have read im thinking its a female. (I will refer to it as bunny, since thats his/her name)
as well Bunny is about 2 feet long
Any idea how old Bunny might be?

Im working on a budget right now but I want to make the little fella happy as can be, what are some good for now mandatory things I should look for while putting together it's habitat, then for later what are some things to go get or upgrade on to make sure the environment is stable. and Finally for the habitat what are some not so much mandatory but recommended additions that would make this snake a happy camper! (I read they enjoy plains, meadows and marsh type environments)

Second im curious about the food, my friend said crickets but I was thinking about that and I have never heard of a snake eating crickets, so im thinking some small feeder fish or some worms? I believe I read earth worms and small guppies, but I can't go get those till tomorrow. Any handy at home things that may do the trick? P.S my house is VERY fish friendly so we always have cooked and raw fish. What do you find is the preferred diet?

and last I was thinking about making a marsh type environment since it was caught in the woods near a pond, according to my friend so I figured some swimming water and some branches would be fun for the snake to climb on, but im worried it will get very hot or moist in the makeshift tank (until I can fully upgrade). Should I be to concerned? will the moist heat make Bunny happy, sad or just like....wag her tail at me and say...your crazy boy.

I know I should release it but its real home is a bit of a ways away and I have grown attached to the cutie :] So im looking for your expert advice, and im very glad I stumbled onto this forum As well im reading page after page on this snake and the environments they say it thrives in, but that's alot of ground to cover so any help is loved.
Thanks in advance!

[Stefan-A]

What they need is a safe substrate, somewhere to hide, a water bowl and a heat gradient. Everything else is non-essential.

No crickets, fish and earthworms are okay. Also pinkie mice.

[kibakiba]

Fillet of trout, salmon and tilapia are the best as far as, well, fillets go. Guppies, and silversides are also good.

Don't spend a ton of money on tank items, all they really need is some bedding, a few fake plants from the dollar store, a little hide, which can be as plain boxes if you wanted them to be, water dish and heat, like Stefan said.

Edit:
Keep the substrate dry, do not make it damp at all. It can harm Bunny and give her scale rot. Use a bedding like carefresh, shredded aspen, or something close and she'll be fine.

[Zonnk]

Thanks a bunch!
well I wasn't going to be spending a fortune but I at least wanted the zone to look nice :]
Guess im off to go dig for worms to see if she will eat, and then dig up some old newspapers.

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome to the forum.
Craigslist is a great place to pickup bargain reptile supplies.
If you can tell us where(State or City) the snake was found, it may help identify your snake.
Here's a link to the care sheet which may answer many of your questions. Feel free to post any other questions you may have.
Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

[Zonnk]

Welcome to the forum.
Craigslist is a great place to pickup bargain reptile supplies.
If you can tell us where(State or City) the snake was found, it may help identify your snake.
Here's a link to the care sheet which may answer many of your questions. Feel free to post any other questions you may have.
Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

I read the care sheet :]
I live in Washington, Seattle area.
I did not even think about craigslist...thanks for the reminder!
and thanks for the welcome!

[Zonnk]

Welcome to the forum.
Craigslist is a great place to pickup bargain reptile supplies.
If you can tell us where(State or City) the snake was found, it may help identify your snake.
Here's a link to the care sheet which may answer many of your questions. Feel free to post any other questions you may have.
Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

I read on the care sheet about food types but not the frequency with your feeding, is it like with traditional pets and you feed them everyday or is it really just when you see the food is gone from the snake? I know they take a bit to digest and can survive a while without food but better safe then sorry ^_^ thanks again for the help.

as well in the event she does not eat, whats some good ways to force feed (considering I can't find why she won't eat) I read a few things about putting the food near the snakes head but again im trying to saturate with info here.
I don't think there will be a eating problem because she is very friendly as far as I can tell, she shy's away when you first touch her but then she likes to slither up and around the arms and etc. Doesn't really run away.
Very active snake and I feel like she is very comfortable already or at least not feeling stressed anymore, big change from when I got her.

[Zonnk]

Fillet of trout, salmon and tilapia are the best as far as, well, fillets go. Guppies, and silversides are also good.

Don't spend a ton of money on tank items, all they really need is some bedding, a few fake plants from the dollar store, a little hide, which can be as plain boxes if you wanted them to be, water dish and heat, like Stefan said.

Edit:
Keep the substrate dry, do not make it damp at all. It can harm Bunny and give her scale rot. Use a bedding like carefresh, shredded aspen, or something close and she'll be fine.

Thanks! and you to Stefan. How does newspaper work for the bedding? I have a water bowl in their and its almost as long as half her length, I know they like to swim sometimes so I figured some stretching room would be good. Should I change that? As for heat im looking around for a lamp verse a pad, but I think I have some semi heat lamps (they produce alot of heat but I don't believe are made for this purpose!) any specific type of bulb I should avoid till I get a good heat source?

[kibakiba]

I bought my lamps from home depot, 8 dollars each and have lasted through overactive twin toddlers. News paper can work fine, just make sure she has a lot of places to hide and feel safe. Some snakes don't like to swim, I know my northwestern, Runt will do anything in her power to stay out of water.

There should not be a reason, at all to force feed her. Garter snakes are hardy and can last a couple months without food if they are healthy. That's not to say that they should, but if she doesn't eat the first few times, do not, I repeat, do not try to force her to. She's in a new area, and likely needs time to get used to her surroundings before she eats. I feed my snakes one a week- once a week and a half if they eat mice, or every few days for more watery food. Of course, all of my snakes eat mostly mice.

[Zonnk]

Okay, that makes sense. I was just think along the lines of if she wouldn't eat for a few weeks because i think she is still digesting something right now, im not very good at noticing tings though since im new to reptiles (excluding turtles)
Ill go get some earthworms and some of our fish and alternate between food choices till she eats and I find out what she likes. Guess im stopping by home depot today then :]

I think she enjoys water, I see her dipping in it every now and then but not really swimming or going fully in, maybe a smaller one is in order. Test by trial and error.

Thanks again. if time allows today ill post some pictures of her to help make sure I have her gender right, I glanced at some diagrams and noticed the tail was a bit blunt or straight then narrow but again I don't have the trained eye. any Idea on the age by the way? im positive she is around 2-2.5 feet and about 3/4th to 1 inch thick at he thickest part half inch thick mostly everywhere else though. Really appreciating the help!