Wild caught YOUNG Garter snake, any advice please.

[doomkitty]

Hi,
I am sure you get many posts on this topic. My daughter brought home a very young garter snake yesterday and we would like to keep it. I have experience in juvenile/ adult reptiles that are established in their eating habits, but I have never had to start so young.
This baby is a common brown Garter (attempting to attach a picture), about 6 inches long, and I am assuming it wasn't that long ago it hatched. When can I expect it to eat and what should I look for as signs of hunger? Do they do better if you move their food? Do I need to make the food warmer?
What do I feed it? I do have trout (frozen, caught earlier this summer) that I can offer it but I am not sure if that is substantial enough for this baby to thrive on.
It is fairly active right now, mobility is smooth and it is tasting the air as it should be.
I am going to be picking up a 10 gallon tank later today to house it in. I live in Oregon where the last few days have been finger numbing cold, baby's natural environment is a chilly one. What are opinions on a constant heat source, or is room temperature ok?
I would like to get baby off to the best start possible, so any other advice is greatly appreciated.photo.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

Looks like a T. ordinoides - Northwestern garter. Appears to opaque (shed cycle) and female. The eyes look cloudy blue. It might not eat until it sheds.
Northwestern are cold tolerant. I do offer a warm spot for mine and they use it very often.
Slugs and earth worms/night crawlers are on the menu.
A nice under tail photo would be nice to nail the sex down.
Here's a link to the care sheet.
http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet

[Stefan-A]

Looks like Thamnophis ordinoides to me. Invertebrate specialists (slugs, worms and leeches).
Garter snakes are live-bearers.
It can take a couple of weeks or more before they start eating.
Unless you're feeding whole trout, you'll need to supplement it with multivitamin + calcium.
Room temperature is okay as ambient temperature, but it will need a hotspot in the enclosure that has a significantly higher temperature. Snakes need to be able to thermoregulate, or they can end up with all sorts of problems from calcium deficiency to dehydration and if the temperature is wrong, the physical stress can make it more susceptible to diseases.
As for the enclosure, I hope it's escape proof. If there's any gap that's small enough for it to fit through, it will find it and use it. The rule of thumb I use is that no gap can be wider than half the height of the head.

[doomkitty]

Currently it is a Lego tub with a click down lid. I will be getting a 10g tank today, and after reading about the body temp will invest in a small under tank warming spot. How old do you think baby is? How do I feed a snake so small, or does instinct take over when they are hungry?

So I checked on baby again and there was a very small amount of feces in the enclosure. I am assuming this is a good thing? Also should food be warmed? My daughter is going to go on a worm hunt later.

[Stefan-A]

Difficult to say how old it is.
You feed it by leaving the food in the enclosure on an appropriate dish, at least for now. You can try feeding it from tweezers or tongs once it's actually eating regularly.
The food doesn't need to be warmed.
Feces are a good sign.

[SD Reptiles]

A nice earthworm can do it to let him eat ;-)

[doomkitty]

Ok, earthworms in hand. Can I just leave the worm in a food dish in the enclosure, live? Got a 10g tank with an under tank heat source. The tank came with a green felt bottom, is this ok to use or should I just use paper towels? Baby is very active in the container it was in. I will post a belly pic soon, trying to limit handling it too much right now while it is adjusting.

[Stefan-A]

Either substrate will work for the time being.
You can leave the worm in a food dish. Personally, I like to place a paper towel under the dish when I feed worms, because I noticed that it tends to keep them in the dish.

[ConcinusMan]

Looks like Thamnophis ordinoides to me. Invertebrate specialists (slugs, worms and leeches).
Garter snakes are live-bearers.
It can take a couple of weeks or more before they start eating.
Unless you're feeding whole trout, you'll need to supplement it with multivitamin + calcium.
Room temperature is okay as ambient temperature, but it will need a hotspot in the enclosure that has a significantly higher temperature. Snakes need to be able to thermoregulate, or they can end up with all sorts of problems from calcium deficiency to dehydration and if the temperature is wrong, the physical stress can make it more susceptible to diseases.
As for the enclosure, I hope it's escape proof. If there's any gap that's small enough for it to fit through, it will find it and use it. The rule of thumb I use is that no gap can be wider than half the height of the head.

Everything Steve and Stefan said is sound advice. This species was my first garter way back in 1977 and I've been keeping them off and on ever since. They can be quite sweet and tame pets but some just don't adapt well and remain nervous, shy, or won't eat so be prepared for the possibility that this particular individual might not make a suitable captive. Most do just fine though.

I want to add to what Stefan said about escape proofing. Many people make the mistake of thinking they can't climb a high glass wall. But with water available at all times as it should be, they can get wet and use the surface tension to climb right up the glass. A tight fitting screen made for turning glass aquariums into a reptile enclosure is necessary and you'll need clips to hold it securely in place.

Aspen bedding, plenty of hides (just toilet paper tubes and pieces of cardboard work just fine) and maybe some plastic plants will make her feel more secure. After a week or two I would try offering a chopped worm on a dish then back off and see if it disappears. It could take weeks to a month or two before she'll eat. Unless she's visibly losing weight and getting thin you don't need to worry about her not eating. She looks like she was likely born this summer, probably early to mid July. Some northwestern babies hold out until spring to eat so if she doesn't eat in a month or so you might have to cool her down into the 50's for a couple of months, then warm her back up.

I know it's hard to resist but for the first month or so it's not a good idea to disturb or handle her much. This can stress her out and make her refuse food. She needs to feel safe and comfortable first. Once you get her eating you can get into handling her a bit and getting her used to you. Right now making her comfortable and getting her eating is more important. Handling can come later.

[ConcinusMan]