Wild taken eggs

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

well, the only way would be very hard. I suggest just buying a baby one from a breeder for cheap prices. IN the US, they usually selll garters for like 10 dollars.

that would depend largely on species/subspecies! I price my babies anywhere from $15 to $100 at the moment, $10 is a bit low for me... a lot of work goes into raising and feeding the little buggers. next year I will have some higher end stuff that will sell for more than that.

[Stefan-A]

True... but i just found out that it's illegal to sell native animals in a store though... so yeah but I really wouldn't buy one from a pet store, most are inbred and some are taken away from the wild.

In that case, try to find a local breeder, or select a non-native species. As for the inbreeding part, it's often exaggerated. There are a few lines that are inbred, but for the most part, we're talking about animals that are a generation or two removed from the wild population.

[SNAKEKEEPER]

well, the only way would be very hard. I suggest just buying a baby one from a breeder for cheap prices. IN the US, they usually selll garters for like 10 dollars.

I live in canada

[SNAKEKEEPER]

If you know where any garters can be found, my suggestion would be to build yourself a trap. I have a thread where I show how to build one.

However, you may want to check local wildlife regulations to see what you can and cannot do for catching snakes. For example, in my native Georgia, it is illegal to capture, keep, transport, buy, or sell Thamnophis sirtalis without a license. So if I ever needed to go back home for some reason, I'd have to do something with my snakes. Probably find a science teacher or snake lover who would take them off my hands.

But like Thunder Girl says, your best bet might be to find someone on this forum who is willing to part with some of their babies.

How do you build a trap for a garter..... I live in canada, ottawa and i am not sure of whtch breeds there are pleas help.

[Didymus20X6]

Follow these simple step-by-step instructions.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/encl...nake-trap.html

A bit of advice: you don't really need to screen the top (it makes a mess when it rains anyway). Just drill a bunch of holes near the bottom.

[SNAKEKEEPER]

Thanks all

[GarterGeek]

If you want to find wild garters, visit a junkyard! Turn over tarps and boards until you find one. It will be impossible to catch a garter at this time of the year, but during late spring and summer you're very likely to succeed.

Good luck!

[snakecharmer]

I remember when I was a kid and I got a garter as my first reptile, they were nearly all wild caught. I was concerned about this and had asked the shop owner about getting a captive bred one and he assured me they were, but I'm pretty convinced I was sold a wil caught one as she was so nervous, had a parasite problem, took ages to feed properly, musked, the whole works. she tamed up eventually but never seemed that happy. I would always choose captive bred over wild caught as you are pretty much guaranteed for the animal to have a full bill of health, be a good feeder etc. Plus, just look at what over harvesting has done to so many animals, including reptiles and certain garter subspecies!
I can't imaging tacking down a captive breeder near you would be any more costly than building a trap and then if you catch a snake having to put the extra time and effort in to tame it etc.

[ConcinusMan]

I have never purchased a garter snake. They are just to darn abundant around here, with several species to choose from. Sirtalis (concinnus) is my fav though. If any of them had parasites, I was blissfully ignorant of it. They settled right in, eating from my hand within a couple of weeks, and lived many years in good health, and even ate goldfish fairly often with no ill effects. Of course, I can afford to be very selective of which one's make the grade to spend their lives with me, only choosing the healthiest, most attractive and personable individuals.

The only snakes I've ever seen with nasty parasite problems were captive bred!

Anyway, I take it that the OP must know where to find reptile eggs of some kind, in order to make such a suggestion. Disturbing nests is a bad idea, unless you are saving them from certain destruction, and you intend to take ALL of them to be incubated.

I've only found reptile eggs once buried a pile of rotting leaf litter. Not hard to identify the reptile since Coluber constrictor mormon is the only egg laying reptile living in my area.

[stripe&houdini]

I always catch Garters in swamps. Swamp Garters can be picky, though.