wild garter snake rehab in Oregon

[dune rider rem]

tails is a girl? You can tell that from a photo, im inpressed! And oops for calling her a boy all this time...

Below the injury, She is moving very little, like moves skin slowly away at a light touch, and her tail moves very slow but will rap around a finger layed beside it. I'd like to note that if I touch her lightly above the injury she is very skittish and jerks away from the touch.

And no bird looking poop stuff either

[d_virginiana]

I can't tell 100% from the photo, but the head shape looks female to me.

If she's got some feeling and movement below the injury I think she might have a chance to recover at least partially, or at least lead a healthy life as a pet. Are you willing to keep her? I honestly doubt she'll improve enough to go back to the wild.

How are you offering the food? Like, on a dish? I'd go by the petstore and pick up a pair of feeding tongs. Just makes everything a lot easier. In addition to nightcrawlers, you can offer fish (frozen silversides are in most petco/petsmart freezer sections) just be careful to try and stay away from rosy red minnows or goldfish as a feeder as they can cause serious vitamin deficiencies. Look up 'thiaminase' using the search function on here and you'll find dozens of threads about it. They can be used temporarily if they won't take other feeders though. You can also try frozen pinkie mice (also in the petco/petsmart freezers).

Also, the more fake vines and plants you can give her, the more secure she'll feel and more likely she'll eat. I get them from Walmart, just wipe them down with a wet paper towel before putting them in to get the perfume the stores sometimes put on them off.

Let us know what you decide on and keep us updated on how she's doing!

[Albert Clark]

One other note is wild garters can and do harbor heavy parasitic loads and this could be part of the problem. Anytime you have a snake that wont eat suspect parasites. Especially in wild specimens! Actually, a specific parasite known as the nematode thrives in wild garters and migrates to the tail and wreaks havoc to the garter at the tail. Most garters that are infected show visible tail shortening and possibly swelling and edema of the tail. The infection takes hold when a amphibian is ingested and the larvae of the nematode travel to the tail of the garter and set up to thrive there. Thus, the tail is the main site of where the larvae begin to do their damage. So, there is a good possibility "Tails " may be infected with the nematode parasite and possibly other parasites. Thus her non feeding. All just possibilities though. IMO, I would treat her as suspicious until proven otherwise. Stay in peace and not pieces.

[dune rider rem]

Update on Tails: we have found someone to take her on as a pet! This person has previous experience with snakes and will do their best to give her a shot at a new but diffrent life!

I would like to note that this experience has given my family and I the chance to get to know and learn about an animal that we had mostly over looked until now... Thank you everyone for your help, knowledge, and support on helping Tails!

[dune rider rem]

A photo of Tails new home. We wish he the best of luck!

[Eddie]

Tails might be gravid