Raising a wild garter and have questions.

[ConcinusMan]

All sounds fine. don't change a thing. Just keep in mind if the air temp is too cold, larger snakes have trouble raising their core temp and in an effort to do so, can burn themselves on surfaces that are too hot such as undertank heaters.

Try adding lots of fake plants for cover. He might feel safer and not burrow so much.

I use seedling heat mats myself. They're larger, cheaper, and don't get as hot, but hot enough.

HydroFarm MT10006 - 17W Seedling Heat Mat - 9x19.5 in.

[alihauck]

Thanks! Just found him burrowing again. I have noticed that since I moved him to the larger tank, he is more skittish, he takes off as soon as I enter the room the tank is in. He ate all of the minnows (6), isn't that a lot? He seems to be looking for more!

[ConcinusMan]

If he has a good bulge in his belly that's plenty. Some snakes do not like wide open enclosures because they feel exposed.. Adding plenty of plastic plants for cover helps them feel more secure. I get them at dollar tree.

[alihauck]

Ok, I do have some plant cover from my bearded dragon. I will bleach some of them before I put them in Slithers tank. Right now he's hiding out in the rock and peeking out at my son and I. He is quite shy and I'm hoping that he will become more social able after awhile with us.
Thanks ConcinnusMan! You have provided so much invaluable advice! I apreciate all the advice I have recieved while on this site!

[ConcinusMan]

He might. Small snakes tend to be shy because they're on the menu for just about anything bigger than them. They tend to get less nervous as they get bigger. It would help if you left him alone except to feed him, and feed him by hand or tongs when you do. Then he'll learn to associate human interaction with a positive thing: Getting fed.

That's what I do. Within a month or two, even WC snakes I have get hand tame and actually come to me instead of fleeing in fear. Once they get to that point, a little brief handling now and then can build trust. Just make sure to put them back in their tank the moment they start showing signs of not liking it. If you don't, they will learn to dread human interaction as a negative thing.

It's just the basic positive reinforcement principle.

[alihauck]

Thanks!

[ConcinusMan]

These snakes went from scared shitless to this in about 2 months of feeding them like this. It's hard at first. You gotta hold the food close to their head without them taking off but once they get the hang of it and know when I do that it's nothing to be scared of...

[ConcinusMan]

[sasmon]

All the videos say "private"

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah I know. Overhaul of my channel is in progress. Some stuff will eventually get the axe by the time I'm done but there will be lots of new content coming that was shot in the last year or two that I just haven't taken the time to edit or upload. Ive been using the channel as a dumping ground just so I can share a video real quick, for too long. Major maintenance/overhaul needed. It will take some time to complete.