Hellow and a few questions please.

[Lulu Bennett]

hi joy and welcome to the forum.
it already sounds like you have got alot of good advice off everyone. i assure you that a snake bite doesn't hurt.
when i was 4 my dad bought my older brother a snake (he was 10) whilst he was at school. i had gotten it out before he saw it for the first time and it bit my lip and hung there for a min. at this point my bro walked in and freeked because he saw it hanging and i was laughing. i am now addicted to snakes and my brother hates them lol work that one out lol. you need to be aware that it will bite him atleast once in his life, they are wild animals still. please dont let this put you off as this is normally an accident on the snakes behalf.

[BabelaJoy]

hi joy and welcome to the forum.
it already sounds like you have got alot of good advice off everyone. i assure you that a snake bite doesn't hurt.
when i was 4 my dad bought my older brother a snake (he was 10) whilst he was at school. i had gotten it out before he saw it for the first time and it bit my lip and hung there for a min. at this point my bro walked in and freeked because he saw it hanging and i was laughing. i am now addicted to snakes and my brother hates them lol work that one out lol. you need to be aware that it will bite him atleast once in his life, they are wild animals still. please dont let this put you off as this is normally an accident on the snakes behalf.

OMG, I honestly do not know how I would react if Sparky was hanging from one of the kids lips, but I know to not overreact in general with kids and injuries, so I guess I would try to be calm. Sounds absolutely scary for you as a child, surprised you like snakes now.

Hmm, your brother, probably some kind of big brother protector thing going on and that is why he doesn't like them now. Shrugs, who knows.

[BabelaJoy]

I give my long term captive king snake a kiss every once-in-awhile. I know it is gross, but she is so adorable. Probably not the best thing to do.

It's really cool that he is so into the snake. It serves as a great way to get the kid to be interested in reading and science.

I remember when I was about 9 (24 now)I got a ball python. I read so much about him and was fascinated by biology ever since. Yet, it was all that reading that probably compelled me to write for a living years later. In any event, it's an excellent hobby and one that promotes knowledge gathering. Welcome to the forum and enjoy the new snake.

My son is absolutely ape over animals, how they act, behave, mate, etc. Not just house pets, but things in the oceans, crocodiles, animals like insects, crickets, worms, ugh, sometimes the boy can drive me nutso. One of his heros was Steve Irwin, "Crocodile Hunter," and when he died, he watched the news reports and all that with me. I fear he thinks there are no fears to have with animals because of how easy Steve made it look, so I want him to have knowledge about what he can and cannot touch and how to do it safely.

Thanks again for the welcome.

[BabelaJoy]

hi joy what a nice thing to do for your child, my kids wanted a pet for eons but we rent so dog/cat is not an option, so a snake is great, remember to clean the tank often and always have fresh water on hand other than that please no huggin or kissing... heeeeeheeee bye
michelle

Well, we have no shortage of pets here. My mom was a pain in the butt with pets, never could have any, so I guess I go overboard. We have plenty to go around.

Is once a week a good timeframe to clean the cage, or should it be more often than that?

Don't worry, I won't be hugging or kissing the snake, my son kisses it but I told him to stop doing that.

[adamanteus]

Joy, please don't feed your Garter on Goldfish....they contain thiaminase, which destroys the B vitimins in the snakes diet, a deficiency of B vitamins prevents your snake from synthesising calcium. In short, Goldfish are toxic for your snake. Have a read through this article.
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...?title=Thiamin,

[BabelaJoy]

Joy, please don't feed your Garter on Goldfish....they contain thiaminase, which destroys the B vitimins in the snakes diet, a deficiency of B vitamins prevents your snake from synthesising calcium. In short, Goldfish are toxic for your snake. Have a read through this article.
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...title=Thiamin,

I know, and that is why I was so surprised the pet shop OWNER suggested I buy them. He also seemed to not know that they were not good for garter snakes as he looked at me like I had 2 heads when I told him. If I have gotten anything out of the past week and a half of research it is not to feed them goldfish.

[mikm]

Hey there Joy, Your snake is not a baby she's most likely an adult or sub-adult. Female garters are alot larger then their male counterparts. In regards to feeding, I have had garters refuse dead fish for awhile then not have a problem with it at all. I have also had them refuse trout strips but luv salmon strips ... I think it best to try and experiment with different things and perhaps change it up from time to time. I was recently surprised when canned salmon was a HUGE success. I now stock a few cans of salmon right beside the dog & cat food cans ....

Best,

[BabelaJoy]

Hey there Joy, Your snake is not a baby she's most likely an adult or sub-adult. Female garters are alot larger then their male counterparts. In regards to feeding, I have had garters refuse dead fish for awhile then not have a problem with it at all. I have also had them refuse trout strips but luv salmon strips ... I think it best to try and experiment with different things and perhaps change it up from time to time. I was recently surprised when canned salmon was a HUGE success. I now stock a few cans of salmon right beside the dog & cat food cans ....

Best,

Well, thanks. I am going to have to go shopping one of these days. I found out I have a Fish Hatchery 5 minutes from where I live, so thinking about this as an option, but only problem is they sell in smallest quantity of 100, and what in the world would I do with 100 fish?

Then, today, me and my son spent hours looking for worms. Again, I live in WV and they are far and few between. In about 3 hours we found 1 worm, and although we had accidentally killed it digging it up, we rinsed it off and put it in the snakes bowl to see if he would eat it. He ate the dead worm, so I am going to get some of these to change off with.

Gonna have to try canned salmon next.

My son was so proud that the snake ate the worm.

He loves this snake.

Thanks for your help.

Joy

[KITKAT]

...I found out I have a Fish Hatchery 5 minutes from where I live, so thinking about this as an option, but only problem is they sell in smallest quantity of 100, and what in the world would I do with 100 fish? ...

Freeze them and teach your snake to take them thawed. It's better for your snake anyway... kills some of the parasites in the fish.

[GrapefruiTgirl]

Hiya Joy although everyone has pretty much filled you in on the basics of keeping that cute little garter snake, I figured it wouldn't hurt to point out one other thing, regarding those bait-worms:
Make sure if possible that they are not the sort of worms that come from commercial compost depots, or otherwise gigantic compost heaps. Apparently these worms can be too acidic for garter snakes, and though they would probably eat them, they will make snakie sick.
Personally, I don't know how to identify these 'red-stripe' compost worms, because I have never seen them, but it might be something you should inquire of the seller.
Your son strikes me as a very inquisitive and bright kid and it's wonderful that he has such an interest in the natural world. Just great!
For the record, my snakie loves worms, salamanders, newts, and pinky or fuzzy mice. She does not seem to care for fish in any shape or form, fresh or frozen or live. But, garter snakes have been known to adjust their dietary preferences during their lifetimes, so who knows, your sons snake may one day like something it didn't before, or vice-versa.
Anyhow, welcome to the forum, to you, your son, and the very pretty garter snake you now have -- have fun!