Cuddles!

[EasternGirl]

Thanks for the update, Ashley. Looking forward to seeing the pics. Hope you are doing well also!

[acovert]

It took me longer to find my charger than I would have liked. It was being guarded by a particularly nasty looking spider that took up residence in my closet. He seems to be gone now, and I have pictures at last.

I took 34 pictures of him and I couldn't figure out which 5 were my favorite, so this photo session has it's own album on my photobucket account.

http://photobucket.com/shed3

There are a lot of pictures of his head because he likes to stick his head up to the camera every time I try to take a picture.

[kibakiba]

I love picture 26. Cuddles is a fiiiine looking little snake.

[EasternGirl]

He's such a handsome little fellow. Love those speckles on his face. Like the pic with his tail curled too. He's too adorable!

[acovert]

Just a quick update on Cuddles...
He's been a pain in the butt lately and hasn't been eating quite as much. He's due for another feeding tomorrow or on Thursday, when I have less to take care of during the day. No signs of a fourth shed yet; I think it will be longer before he sheds this time since he isn't eating quite as much. I estimate that he is up to nine inches in length today. He's been a bit of a recluse, never coming out of his cave for anything. I've seen him out once, climbing in his tree and watching me. But he still likes to be held, when I manage to get him out.

I have a question concerning substrate. The local Petco is selling a substrate made out of cypress bark, and it says it is good for snakes. However, I remember reading somewhere that cypress may not be safe for garters, though I can't remember. Is it safe, or not? Also, would reptibark be a suitable substrate for a garter, or should I just stick with the aspen snake bedding that I've been using since I adopted him?

On another note, I saw my first wild garter of the year today. It looked small, fast, and thin so I am assuming that it was male, though I wasn't able to catch it so I can't be sure. He was a fine black snake, longer than Cuddles, with a nice yellow stripe down his back. I don't have a picture, but does anyone have an idea about what kind of garter it might have been? I don't know much, but I'm assuming most of the garters around here are northwestern like Cuddles.

[kibakiba]

Small, black and yellow in Oregon sounds like a northestern. But, red spotteds also have a yellow stripe sometimes. I know when Snap would slither really fast, you couldn't see her red spots.

[ConcinusMan]

I have a question concerning substrate. The local Petco is selling a substrate made out of cypress bark, and it says it is good for snakes. However, I remember reading somewhere that cypress may not be safe for garters, though I can't remember. Is it safe, or not? Also, would reptibark be a suitable substrate for a garter, or should I just stick with the aspen snake bedding that I've been using since I adopted him?

On another note, I saw my first wild garter of the year today. It looked small, fast, and thin so I am assuming that it was male, though I wasn't able to catch it so I can't be sure. He was a fine black snake, longer than Cuddles, with a nice yellow stripe down his back. I don't have a picture, but does anyone have an idea about what kind of garter it might have been? I don't know much, but I'm assuming most of the garters around here are northwestern like Cuddles.

cypress bark tends to be splintery. For snakes that like to root around in it, sometimes it can get caught under their "lips" and cause an infection. Also, if ingested, can be fatal.

Same with the reptibark. Ingested, it can be fatal so great care is needed to ensure that doesn't happen. I have used it though. It looks and smells great but its expensive. If you dont mind the expense, and want a natural look, a mixture of reptibark (douglas fir bark) and ecoearth (finely ground coconut fiber) is a good choice. petco's prices are ridiculous and if you can buy it online at say, Amazon, you'll save money, even after paying shipping.


If it were me, I'd stick with the aspen. (shavings, not shredded) If you have a walmart around, they sell it at about 1/4 the price petco charges.
The snake you saw was most likely another northwestern. I have to say, I see so many of them I hardly take notice, but if i saw one like cuddles, thats a keeper!

[acovert]

I might stick with the aspen, then. It seems safest. Petco's prices are pretty bad, but the amount of gas it takes to get to Walmart makes it just as expensive to buy it there. Cuddles doesn't go through bedding too fast, so I'm not so worried about the price. I did want a more natural look, but I would much rather have a safe snake than a pretty tank.

The snake I saw was a handsome fellow. I'm really glad I forced my boyfriend to go with me to the nature area down the street. I've been hoping to see a wild garter for a while...and if it weren't for some thorns I might have caught that one and got a closer look at him. But he sat still long enough for me to get a good look (my boyfriend wasn't quick enough, so all he saw was the grass moving xD). Pretty sure it was a northwestern. Didn't look like a spotted one to me. Around here we call them red or yellow racers based on their stripes, though I feel as though that is an inaccurate label. Cuddles would be a red racer, the one I saw today was a yellow racer, which is more typical in this area.

I'll definitely be making more trips to the nature area....and not just for the garters. There's nowhere else to see deer and rabbits in the middle of Portland, and I don't mind hearing the coyotes either.

[kibakiba]

They call them white, yellow, green, red and orange racers here too. I grew up with them being called (colour) racer garter snakes.

[EasternGirl]

Ashley...glad to hear that Cuddles is still around...no escaping anyway! The hiding is probably because he is getting ready to shed. Also, if you are busy and not around a lot...he may be responding to that. Try to take him out and spend time with him as much as you can...I know you are very busy right now and it's tough...but the more you take him out and handle him, the more social he will be. I have been using reptibark and I haven't had any problems with it...I do not feed my snakes on it, however. I take them out and feed them in a separate tank on paper towels. I have noticed that when I have to dig around in it, I get splinters. I have thought about switching back to aspen or carefresh for that reason. But if you don't feed Cuddles on it, it should be fine. If he likes to burrow however...be aware that he won't be able to burrow in it. You may want to try looking at Petco and places like that in the small animal bedding section...they have some nice beddings that work well for garters that aren't as expensive as Carefresh...Boxo is one. Look for beddings made out of paper shreds...with nothing added to them. Some of those work nicely for garters...they are safe and garters can burrow in them. They don't look natural like wood...but garters love to burrow in them and they are very safe in terms of splinters and things like that.