Please help me with my garter snake!

[amcutem]

So i guess thats it. He is a Nwestern and his a full grown adult that wont get any bigger.

He's sill beautiful.

[ConcinusMan]

I wouldn't say it won't get any bigger. And I still don't know if it's a northwestern either. I caught a 2.5 ft female last summer.

[kibakiba]

He can get bigger, but not by much. They continue growing throughout their lives. Snakey grows about an inch a year now. Mama, too. She seems to grow a bit more than he does.

[amcutem]

So I got the substrate, Kitty litter, from Wallmart. It was only $5.

Is this a little better now compared to the soil??

I also took pictures of the fishes that im trying to feed him with. I don't know what kind of fish it is, but thats what I bought....

Also, It seems that all the worms I got are dead. They don't move at all...Does it matter? Should I make sure they're alive next time? I also took pictures of the worm so you guys can tell me if it is a nightcrawler..


Oh yeah, I captured couple of photographs of his tail end but don't understand how to figure it out..

[ConcinusMan]

I don't mean to pick. I only want to let you know what's good for your garter and what could harm it but...

Kitty litter is even worse than soil. Didn't you read the care sheets? Get rid of the kitty litter asap before it causes a problem.

At this point, you're better off lining the tank with newspaper or paper towels until you can something better. Those worms look terrible. The right kind but are they dead? They're all mangled.

Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

That is a male northwestern you got there.

[kibakiba]

Buy carefresh, aspen or reptibark.

Richard, I already said it was a male NW. A couple pages ago I believe.

[amcutem]

I don't mean to pick. I only want to let you know what's good for your garter and what could harm it but...

Kitty litter is even worse than soil. Didn't you read the care sheets? Get rid of the kitty litter asap before it causes a problem.

At this point, you're better off lining the tank with newspaper or paper towels until you can something better. Those worms look terrible. The right kind but are they dead? They're all mangled.

Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

That is a male northwestern you got there.

I guess I miss that part.. But Im pretty sure someone here advice me to get kitty litter and mix it with something to create something that looks like soil..

I took the kitty litter out asap.. I saw another substrate there. I think it was made of corn....Corn cobs if im correct... How about that? Can I use that?

[amcutem]

Buy carefresh, aspen or reptibark.

Richard, I already said it was a male NW. A couple pages ago I believe.

Do they have this at Wallmart?

[kibakiba]

I've seen carefresh and aspen at walmart, you could check in their pet section. Carefresh is used for many different animals.

[guidofatherof5]

From the care sheet.

Substrate

Substrate is the material that is used to cover the floor of your cage. There are a wide variety of substrates to choose from, but some are better than others and some should be avoided at all costs. Your substrate, whatever the choice, should be kept dry. Prolonged exposure to a moist substrate will surely cause blisters on your snake, making him sick and even possibly killing him.
Substrates to avoid:
Sand of any kind - it irritates the snake's scales, eyes, sticks to food, and if ingested in can readily cause impaction.
clay cat litter of any kind- for the same reasons as sand, not to mention its extremely dusty and would irritate their respiratory tract
Cedar shavings, pine shavings, sawdust -both cedar and pine are very bad for a snake's respiratory tract
Gravel - Gravel is non-absorbent and is a very bad choice for snakes. It traps urine and feces, and does not soak them up and will breed heavy amounts of bacteria, causing your cage to turn into a cesspool.
Corn Cob -it's easily accidentally swallowed during feeding, and will not soften or break down. Baby snakes are especially at risk and are practically guaranteed death if they ingest even a single piece of corn cob.
Dirt- plain dirt dug from outside. Contains mold spores, organisms, and microorganisms that while outside can be fine. But indoors can mold, bacteria populations can explode. Bottom line is, dirt is dirty. Best to avoid it.

Substrates that are O.K.
Newspaper- Newspapers are cheap if not free and readily available, it is also fairly useful if you need a simple setup, (in the case of monitoring a sick snake, or constant substrate changes to clear mites etc. ) It's not the most aesthetically pleasing covering, and also not the most natural for your snake. Take care that it does not get too wet, paper is fairly absorbent, but care must be taken to not let it get moist as this can cause blistering on your snake. Newspaper is very inconvenient if you own many snakes because the entire cage must be taken apart every time the snake soils it so that you may replace it with fresh. It cannot be spot cleaned.
Paper Towels- Very similar to newspaper, an ideal substrate for monitoring a sick snake (looking for mites, colour of feces etc.) again though not that aesthetically pleasing, great absorption rates, but can get 'mushy' if too wet. Always replace if wet. Again it is easy to get hold of, cheap and easy to use. It's great to use if you need a sterile environment for an injured snake.
Cage Carpet- strongly resembling felt, it looks nicer than paper towels or newspaper. It comes in a variety of colors (red, blue, green, black) and can complement your snake's coloration. It's easy to see when snakes have defecated, but thoroughly cleaning it without removing it is practically impossible. It is not absorbant, so liquid and smaller waste products filter down through the astroturf and often lie on the bottom of the enclosure. The obvious presence of feces causes the owner to remove the cage carpet and clean the snake's enclosure more often than might occur using more natural substrates. The sheets are easily removed and replaced, so it's more convenient to have at least two pre-cut sheets of astroturf for each cage. One replaces the other when it's being cleaned. After one sheet has been removed, it's easy to clean the remaining waste products from the bottom of the enclosure with a mild bleach solution. If it isn't precisely cut to fit the enclosure, garter snakes will get underneath it and disappear from view. This can be annoying. For snakes that poop as much as garters do, cage carpet may work but is not the best option.
Aspen Shavings- Aspen is the safe alternative to cedar and pine shavings. It's not harmful to the respiratory tract and has a pleasant sweet smell. It's absorbant and inexpensive. One downside to aspen is that it sticks very readily to anything wet, and since garter snakes eat mostly wet and sticky things such as worms, fish, and thawed mice, care must be taken that it is not ingested during feeding.