Please help me with my garter snake!

[amcutem]

Here....

Man im tired of bring this Aquarium in and out of the house...Im sweating now...But I did it.. Here's the pics

[J@50n]

I'm not to sure about the roks being in there? Anyone wanna add anything to that?

If I were you I would take EVERYTHING out.

Take 6 sheets of plain old white paper towels, fold them up all neatly so they fit into the bottom of the tank and WALAH! A substrate!

As for the worms, alive are always better... and if you have the paper towel substrate they will not be able to burrow so he can find them easier. Something that helped my Char eat was getting a food dish, putting a TINY bit of water in the bottom (so the worms don't dry up) cut one worm into 3 pieces or more and dropping them into the water. The more guts and blood sadly, the better :/

Next I think the snake would LOVE it if you had some foliage in there. Go to a dollar tree and buy some fake plants for him/her (S)he'll love you for it! OR if you don't want to spend the money go find some sticks in a forest or park! Heat up your oven to 220F and bake them to kill all the "things" that may be in/on them.

Also as for the cardboard box, it would be better for crickets... Try using a plastic bottle, glass jar, etc. Or even better is a piece of large PVC pipe cut in half .

And I said before about the small rocks and the substrate. Find a BIG rock. Not overly huge, just a nice sized big rock. Place it in there for him to climb on, lean some sticks up against it, I think that the bigger rocks give them a nice out-doors and natural habitat feel now that they are in a tank And it's a plus if he begins shedding and needs one!

Good luck I hoped I helped some :/

[J@50n]

Or to go with the rock thing at the end, get a few rocks (5 or so) and pile them up, my Char really loved when I did that, all the exploring of the tunnels and everything entertained him

[kibakiba]

You want to be careful about piling rocks up. It can crush your snake.

[guidofatherof5]

Good advice Chantel.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, I wouldn't use rocks in that manner. Most of us have learned the lesson the tragic way. Now, I've used them singly, placed directly on the bottom (not on top of substrate) to give the enclosure a more natural landscaped look but that's about all it's safe to use them for. Snakes are stronger than they look and can move very heavy objects. I'll post pics later but maybe other members can show pics of well designed enclosures for you to see as examples.

I know we keep criticizing what you are doing and using but we only want to help you to not make common mistakes. Stick around and take advice and before you know it, you'll be a pro garter keeper.

[J@50n]

Very true, I should have been more clear I guess -.- I meant spread amongst half a tank side... Two stones high would work though as long as they are sturdy and supported on all sides... I'm having trouble with explaining this one... I have a picture in my mind if you could only see it

[d_virginiana]

Like Jason said, some fake plants from walmart or something would make your snake feel safer and be more active and interesting for you to watch, and the rocks don't need to take up that much of the tank. Paper towel or a substrate like reptibark, aspen, or carefresh would be better. The paper towels are certainly easier to clean, but some snakes enjoy burrowing, which is easier with the other substrates.

You want to be careful about piling rocks up. It can crush your snake.

Gorilla Glue If you let it set properly, you should be able to make small structures that you can't even break apart yourself. Just make sure they've set well and can't be torn apart at all when you put them into the enclosure.

[J@50n]

Don't ut it in while it's still wet or poor snakie won't have a good day :P

[kibakiba]

Well, yes, if you glue them it should be fine, if it cant tip over, but just stacking will be extremely unstable.