hey guys new here-and i need help!

[ssssnakeluvr]

yea, avoid crickets....garters won't eat them, also, if the crickets get hungry at night, they might nibble on the little snakes tails! Garter snakes water dishes need frequent changing.....y ou may not have noticed yet...but the love to poop in the water dishes!!!!!

[adamanteus]

I once had a small Gecko that was killed and partially eaten by crickets during the night. They weren't big either, just bite size.

[FitnessFreak]

THANKS SO MUCH!! that helped tons!!

ok today i bought a(guessing) 6 inch by 4 inch neat looking water bowl(about 2.5inches deep)
so i will take it out and srub it every morning and rinse it then refill it with new water


i will do the every other day feeding you sugested, one day i will feed it a minnow in shallow water so the baby can catch it, the next feeding day i will feed it a worm and just put it on a rock in the tererrium or somethin

the terrerium i bought is about oooo i'd say 2.2-2.8 feet and about 1.5 ft high-is this good for a baby?its a pretty large terrerium like 50 gallons i think?

will it be ok for the baby garter, and as it grows bigger?

oh i'll tell you about what i put in it now,

i got the wood chip floor and 1 log hiding place, and 1 rock cave hiding place,i got that 6 by 4 inch 2.5inch deep fish catching/pool i told you about and another little pool that i will put at the other end of the terrerium. i got some fake moss i think not sure, and some fake plants/vines and some fake trees/sticks so it can climb


sighhhhh now i just gotta wait until mid june before the garters at fish creek have babies lol -.-
at least i will be well prepared though!
lol nice snake names
kk ty every1!!!

Hi Mike, and welcome to the forum.

#3. I'd suggest that tap water is probably even better for the snake than river water. If you've ever looked under a microscope at river water, you've probably seen the amoeba and protists swimming around. That's something you want to try to avoid with captive snakes.

There have been some members on here who have had very bad experiences with water that is left unchanged in their snake pen for long periods of time. Just to be totally clear, you want to be able to remove and clean the water container periodically. One of the members here (boeh) has a really horrifying tale to tell because cryptosporidium colonized the standing water. The entire collection was lost, and it was a very impressive collection. As I recall, Fons (Thamnophis) also has either had, or know people who have had, bad experiences after making non-removable pools and not cleaning them regularly .

It's also not a great idea to leave fish in the water bowl indefinitely. If they start to develop "ick," they'll pass the fungi on to the snake. Also, it can be quite a challenge for babies to catch live fish if the water is fairly deep.

I'd offer a second opinion on feeding frequency for baby snakes, though there's nothing wrong with feeding them at three-day intervals. I'd suggest feeding every other day for the first month or so. Then switch to every 3 days. I like to feed newborns small portions, but more often. There isn't a real rule, so have fun. It's hard to overfeed a newborn.

Definitely stay away from crickets, and finally, I like to name all of my snakes "Rick's the man #1, #2, #3, etc." Pretty catchy, eh?

Rick

[adamanteus]

Sounds like a pretty good sized terrarium you have there. It should last you a good long while. It's really good that you have got everything set up before you get your snake. That's a lesson I could do with learning myself!

[FitnessFreak]

ya, i think this whole waiting 2-3 months thing is guno kill me tho lol!
ah well it'll be worth it!

Sounds like a pretty good sized terrarium you have there. It should last you a good long while. It's really good that you have got everything set up before you get your snake. That's a lesson I could do with learning myself!

[adamanteus]

Yeah, the wait won't be easy, but by the time you get the snake you'll know exactly what you're doing, without having to resort to "trial and error". Good for you. Probably a good idea to start planning more vivs....Garter Snakes are addictive!

[FitnessFreak]

Yeah, the wait won't be easy, but by the time you get the snake you'll know exactly what you're doing, without having to resort to "trial and error". Good for you. Probably a good idea to start planning more vivs....Garter Snakes are addictive!

haha my mom would murder me!

i hope it likes its home, and i cant wait to say it own up a minnow lol

man the babies r cute lol will i miss it being so small when it gets big? lol

[Nova89]

ya, i think this whole waiting 2-3 months thing is guno kill me tho lol!
ah well it'll be worth it!

Question, why do u have to wait so long? And 50 gallons is a good sized tank. I did hear though that baby snakes should not be housed in big enclosures because they may feel insecure. As long as you have a tight hiding spot that should be fine though.

[FitnessFreak]

Question, why do u have to wait so long? And 50 gallons is a good sized tank. I did hear though that baby snakes should not be housed in big enclosures because they may feel insecure. As long as you have a tight hiding spot that should be fine though.

ya i have a bunch of hiding spots for it, uhh don't the snakes have babies in like june?

and calgary is pretty cold, its been hot mostly, but then it has random patches where it snows for 1-3days then gets hot again, so not sure how that effects it..

so i guess i needa wait till june before they have babies so i can go catch 1

[Cazador]

Probably a good idea to start planning more vivs....Garter Snakes are addictive!

Ditto on James' comments. The rotten thing about keeping garters is that even though you set up an enclosure that you really like, you (or at least I) always seem to keep one eye looking out for something cooler and am always fiddling around with their enclosures. One snake leads to two, and on and on and on...

P.S. Your enthusiasm is really contagious .