(s/o who has wild caught) Identify that snake!

[d_virginiana]

if she refuses food, should i brumate her?

Brumation can be tricky, especially if this is your first snake. I think you'd have better luck getting a heat pad or lamp and keeping her awake during the winter.

[snakemommy]

great! just keep trying to offer food?

[SD Reptiles]

Just leave her in a box in a unheated room for about a week or 3 and than give her a baskingspot in a heated room and wait until she's going lay under it.
Than you can try to feed again.

[ConcinusMan]

. i got to thinking that may be too cold though?

Snakes wouldn't be eating this time of year anyway. But yeah there's no heat? I mean the snake needs to be able to regulate it's own temperature between about 70 F - 88 F. No garter is going to eat or even be able to digest at just room temperature. Read the care sheet and get him warmed up or you could have a sick snake on your hands (respiratory infection) pretty fast and even if it somehow managed to not get sick it probably won't eat without some heat. If the snake continues to lose weight and still won't eat then you really don't have many options except to release when it's not freezing outside or brumate, which as was mentioned, is tricky mainly because they need to stay at 48-52 F with little or no fluctuation. A regular fridge is too cold. They need a dedicated one with the door cracked and set up ahead of time to make sure it's staying at the right temp. I don't recommend beginners try to brumate.

great! just keep trying to offer food?

No. There's no point unless you set up the temperature gradient mentioned in the care sheet and the snake has had time to settle in. This could take a couple of weeks. The snake flat out isn't going to eat until the environment is right and it feels comfortable with it's surroundings. Even under those circumstances it's going to take time. If a snake refuses to eat, don't offer again for a week and you need to correct the environment. Room temp isn't going to cut it.

You got this snake at a time when they are supposed to be brumating so that's part of the problem I'm sure.

[snakemommy]

She has an under tank heater but I feel like she needs a light, probably the tortoise momma in me. I was worried about humidity so I bought a tank with better airflow too.

[ConcinusMan]

light is less important but I use small florescent tubes to light some 20 L and 10 gallon tanks. I seem to get more natural activity levels if I simulate natural daylight and provide "sunny" basking areas.




Amazon.com: GE 16466 18-Inch Basic Fluorescent Light Fixture: Home Improvement

[snakemommy]

Okay I have some spare fixtures and can get her hooked up today. She is really settling down while being handled and is becoming much easier to pick up. I love walking by and seeing her little head poked up out of the substrate or her all draped over a branch.

[guidofatherof5]

Okay I have some spare fixtures and can get her hooked up today. She is really settling down while being handled and is becoming much easier to pick up. I love walking by and seeing her little head poked up out of the substrate or her all draped over a branch.

You are experiencing the best part of the Thamnophis species. They are active and alert and in time most will trust. They want to know what's going on and take a great interest in their surroundings. Once they trust they will come out to beg for food or to simply be interacted with. These kind of traits set them apart from most other snakes. They each have their on personalities, likes and dislikes.
They are the best kept secret in the snake hobby. Many snake fans are not garter fans.
We are the few that see them for what they really are.

[ConcinusMan]

Okay I have some spare fixtures and can get her hooked up today. She is really settling down while being handled and is becoming much easier to pick up. I love walking by and seeing her little head poked up out of the substrate or her all draped over a branch.

If you're talking about the standard socket type lamp, any will do if you're going to use a compact florescent for light. But for an incandescent bulb for heat/basking, only use reflector type bulbs such as a household flood lamp, and only use a fixture that has a ceramic socket and ONLY with the dome in place. DO NOT exceed the recommended wattage. I've seen all too often people trying to save a buck by using a cheap $5-$10 fixture with a plastic socket, ignoring the wattage, and end up starting a fire or creating a very dangerous situation. For incandescent bulbs, not just any fixture or bulb will do. The fixture I'm using here has a CERAMIC socket and the bulb is a only a 60 watt FLOOD lamp.

[snakemommy]

We have some extra UVB lights from some sulcata hatchlings we had a few years back. I was just going to go ahead and use one of those with one of the reflective cone type fixtures. We've used those for almost seven years with great success with our other reptile babies. I have read garters can benefit a little from uvb. We have it rigged so she can't get near the light and is still secure. (There was a lady admin who posted pics of her half aquatic habitat. Looks like I have the same type of container she did so we just cut a rectangle in the top and secured a screen over the hole with the lamp on the screen and a basking rock below the lamp. Still hasn't eaten, pet shop was out of earth worms and night crawlers [!?] Hopefully they will get more in this week. Slim pickings on leopard slugs and earthworms with this nasty weather.)
And I know Steve! I couldn't believe how curious and friendly they are. I've gotten a few disappointed, "oh" response when asked what type of snake I have. Psh, people don't know. I sure didn't!"