Cuddles!

[acovert]

I've handled a lot of wild garters and they all hated me xD
Not one ever tried to bite, me though, so I figure that's a good sign in some way or another.

We get a lot of injured/unhealthy garters around here because we're right in the middle of the city, but also near a nature preserve on a butte. We didn't get them at my old house because we were basically on an island of concrete and there was no way for garters to get there alive. But at my grandma's, where there's lots of construction and predatory animals (cats, dogs, raccoons, rats, possums) as well as lawn mowers and cars, we used to find a lot of small injured ones in our yard. The one with the deformity was the worst I ever saw. I think they also like our yard for the earthworms and all the places to hide xD

I knew a guy who got bit on the nose by a wild garter. They had caught it and kept it (I think it was near the coast) and it managed to bite him. I thought it was hilarious.

[EasternGirl]

I have seen some decent bite pics on here. Cee Cee has nipped at me a few times but she hasn't gotten me yet...operative word here being "yet". Seeley has never even tried. He's just a sweet little timid thing though. I have had big garters in my basement strike and bite at me when I was trying to relocate them outside. Poor things were just scared though. I have to give Cee Cee a shot tomorrow...we will see if I can still say that she hasn't bitten me after that!

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a full mouth bite my Gabby took when she was 10 (12 now).
Looks much worse then it is. Tiny little teeth.

[acovert]

Ouch! I think I'll try to avoid those teeth as much as possible
Hopefully if I can handle cat, dog, and horse bites then I won't freak out to much if Cuddles ever bites me xD
Though, I have to say that it would be really fun to go somewhere with a bit pattern like that and have someone ask me what happened. "Oh, my snake bit me. Nothing too serious."

[PINJOHN]

If it makes you feel any better, I have surgery in April and the male doctor gets to cut out some of my female parts...not exactly looking forward to that...

when skimming through the posts trying to catch up i went back to this one, wasn't sure exactly why, then it hit me, when read in conjunction with my new signature they dovetail perfectly....no pun intended

[EasternGirl]

Lol, John. Yeah...Steve...that actually looks like it hurt!

[acovert]

I've been toying with a few ideas tonight since I can't sleep, and I think I might be able to figure something out to solve my tank problems. It would ultimately have to be a temporary fix, but at the very least I can get it secure until I can either find a replacement lid that works or a new tank.

If I'm going to make the tank secure then i need to build my own lid. My room came with this nifty piece of wood that is supposed to be used as a lock for my window (the real lock is broken, but so is the window so locking it doesn't make much sense). If I can cut it a little shorter then it can close up the gap in the tank. That alone would be a good enough fix, as I could set my mesh lid on top of it and then weigh it down and the gaps would be gone. However, I might take it a step farther and attempt to attach this piece of wood to something else - like a sturdy piece of cardboard - with some holes in it for air circulation. If I can get something that is the right size then I can build it so that it slides on in a similar way that the old lid did, though I wouldn't be able to make it clip on.

I dunno. It might be too complicated. But at the very least I know that I can make it secure now. It's just a matter of finding the time and the supplies to do it (I know we have them, but making someone tell me where they are might be difficult).

Hah. If I wanted to get complicated I could build a wooden frame with mesh on top. If it were just the right size and shape then it could slide in perfectly and fill the gaps...maybe I will see if my friend can help me with that. Her family used to do all their own work on their house - deck building and such.

[EasternGirl]

That is what Steve had originally suggested I do when I was having problems with one of my tank lids...he builds all of his own custom stuff. He might be able to tell you how to do it...although it may be easier to have someone, like your friend...who is there with you to help you do it.

[acovert]

Even if my friend can't help me, I think I can figure it out enough to make it secure at the very least. It might look ridiculous, but that's not really important. I was looking through the garage and we have a lot of interesting random things sitting around that might help me. And I can always have my mom ask her husband for help. He doesn't like the snake, so I'm sure he would like the cage to be more secure.

Today's project is fixing Cuddles' lamp. Unfortunately, I haven't found the pair of pliers that I need. So I must continue my search of the garage.

[EasternGirl]

Good luck!