A tale of many snakes

[Stefan-A]

Why?

[guidofatherof5]

Why? Dairy products would not be an appropriate food item. I don't think their systems are built to digest it.
I don't know if it would harm them but what might be good for us doesn't always translate into them.
I'm sure if I scented apples or oranges I could get my snakes to eat them but that doesn't mean it's good for them.
I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Just trying to assist you with making a healthy, safe environment for your snakes.

[guidofatherof5]

The forum care sheet is always a good way to learn about these wonderful snakes.
Much of what needs to be done for them is duplicating a wild environment for them only on a much smaller scale.
Not only in food but the enclosure they live in.
I would not recommend a heat rock. One problem is the cord if you have to run it out the top of the enclosure. Second is, as a rule the heat can't be regulated and the chance of a snake being burned greatly increases.

Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets

[Skulexander]

I put the bowl of warm milk on the floor in my room to lure the snake that got out of its tank out of hiding, if he's still around, because someone posted that they've seen other people do that. I was just taking someone's advice to get my lost snake back. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But if it does, then great!

[d_virginiana]

Yeah, you need to put water out (I think I mentioned that in my first post?). They won't drink the milk, and they can get dehydrated really quickly. You'd be surprised how much they get around, so it's not far-fetched to think he'd end up on the second floor, especially if there's a heat mat there. Though if there's a place in your house you think he'd be more likely to show up, you can put some water/heat there as well.

They won't drink the milk, but on occasions when my family members and neighbors have had wild snakes in their houses, they will put out a dish of something sweet like warm milk, and the snakes will end up going to investigate the new smell. It's just a folk remedy sort of thing, but when you're trying to find a lost pet, you might was well try everything. I've even seen someone do it with a chocolate pie once She put it in a random kitchen cabinet and left the door open. In about an hour she found the ratsnake that had been loose in her house for a week going in to check it out so she closed it up and got someone to come take it outside.

[d_virginiana]

Heat mats on the sides of tanks are okay, since you can regulate them and they are built to disperse the heat, but not the rocks. I'm actually wondering if that could be a fire hazard to just sit out somewhere now that I think about it.. Heck, *I've* been seriously burned by heat rocks before. They're not great for pets.

[Skulexander]

I'll keep that in mind.
The tank that the snake was in was on the second floor, so he started out on the second floor. I was wondering if he would migrate to the basement maybe or to the warmest part of the house? What would be most likely?

[Skulexander]

Oh, and I put a small bowl of water out for him too now. I hope I find him.

[guidofatherof5]

Good deal.

[Skulexander]

I've attached a couple photos. The first is of Casey (my brother's snake; he named her). She's about one and a half feet long, I think. The second is of her terrarium, which is a 30-gallon. She has a heat rock, which I've never had problems with before. The temperature is always in the mid-seventies (F), so getting too cold is not a problem for her. I don't know what kind of substrate that is. All I know is that it's some special snake bedding I bought at the pet store. She seems to love it as she's always burrowing in it. My brother feeds her nightcrawlers everyday. He even tries to feed her when she's clearly not hungry. lol

EDIT: I forgot to mention that she's a Butler's garter snake, Thamnophis butleri