No garters...

[Stefan-A]

I still want to emphasize that reliable distribution maps are damn difficult to find and that there are sources that mention Belgium as being part of N. tessellata's range.

[Kali]

Could very well be. Anyway I found out N. tesselata is on the Cites law and is protected, so can't keep him (if only it had been maura, then it would have been ok)
So I'll be bringing him to a rescue center, they'll know what steps have to be taken with him.

[Stefan-A]

Are you sure it's CITES listed? I can't find it in any of the appendices.

[Kali]

Well I admit I just supposed. I found on a Dutch website that there you can't keep them. It's mentioned in the BUDEP (not completely sure what that is ) as a species you're normally not allowed to keep (unless special approval), this because of CITES.
The law in the Netherlands and in Belgium is different concerning snakes, but CITES is the same, so I concluded the rest. Was I wrong?

Anyway I'll go and ask my curator (work in a zoo), he should have the nessecary sources to be sure about this.

[Kali]

Hi there,
I got this sweet email today wishing me a happy birthday from the garter snake forum. And I remembered I never updated this thread.

Apparantly I am allowed to keep a tesselate! Yay!
Laws here are so confusing and not always logical. I was told that in this part of Belgium, the only Natrix I cannot keep is Natrix natrix. It might be different in the southern part, as they have other laws. (For as small as we are, we are a federal state...)
The official range of tesselata might cross the borders here and there, but it's not considered to be a local species so there you go.

He has been eating very well. Live fish at first, dead fish after that, and this week he ate a fish scented fuzzy mouse. I heard that mice are a good food for them too, is that correct? It would be easier for me, as I breed my own mice for the other snakes, but if he needs stuff that's in fish and not in mice, I'll have to keep providing him fish of course. Just want to make sure here that I'm treating my little guy well here
Thanks for any answers!

[Charis]

That is one question you are likely to get different answers to. Some people do feed only mice and say they have more nutrition than just fish. Other people argue that garters naturally eat a more varied diet than other snakes and should be given a variety. I'm sure there is merit in both sides of the debate. So it's up to you to decide how much of what to feed, that and whatever the snake will eat, some of them can be picky.

[Stefan-A]

He has been eating very well. Live fish at first, dead fish after that, and this week he ate a fish scented fuzzy mouse. I heard that mice are a good food for them too, is that correct? It would be easier for me, as I breed my own mice for the other snakes, but if he needs stuff that's in fish and not in mice, I'll have to keep providing him fish of course. Just want to make sure here that I'm treating my little guy well here
Thanks for any answers!

I'd stick to (frozen/thawed) fish, but that's just how I would do it. I am suspicious when it comes to feeding animals things that they wouldn't normally eat. Natrix natrix would be a bit different, because rodents do make up a part of their diet, but N. tessellata and N. maura are primarily and almost exclusively fish eaters.

[Kali]

And if I feed him F/T fish, do I have to add a vitamin supplement? I heard that with frozen fish, some of the vitamins break down.

[Stefan-A]

It doesn't have much of an impact, but it doesn't hurt to use supplements.

[ConcinusMan]

But overuse (overdose) of some vitamins does cause harm. In some cases, overdose is more harmful than a mild deficiency. Supplements really aren't necessary if your snake takes a varied diet including whole fish and/or rodents.