Wild Garter -- Care Suggestions

[gwynhwyfar]

*makes a note not to handle the trout with my fingers, not wanting a snake attached to said fingers* She's bitten me once (I startled her when she was hiding under the bedding and in shed the first time, so I consider that a justifiable attack on her part) and while it didn't exactly hurt (I have parrots, so pain from bites is definitely relative) that doesn't mean I want to do it again.

It's time for a feeding so I'll look for trout/salmon while I'm out and see what I can come up with. Certainly in the spring/summer, trout is in abundance here. Is perch a safe fish for them? When we fish over the summer, we end up with more white perch than any sane person needs, and if they're safe, I can piece them up and freeze them for her even after we hit the 'okay, I don't personally want more perch than that to eat' stage. I doubt that she's going to particularly care about freezer-burn in her fish, will she?

At this point, I'd be very concerned about releasing her, because she doesn't doesn't have a lot of real fear of me.

And thank you for the welcome back.

Glad to hear that she's settling in so well, Jennifer. Trout is certainly a good, safe, cheap, readily available option, and it can be cut into suitable sized pieces and frozen. Once she's accepting trout pieces it will be easier to convince her to accept other food items, such as frozen/thawed pink mice. Trout is a very strong smelling fish, so the scent transfers well onto other things (especially fingers!)

Welcome back, after your short involuntary absence!!!!

[Lori P]

Hi Jennifer, I'm so glad to hear that she's doing so well for you! You'll have to keep us updated as you progress with her. :-)

I found that my guys got less interested in the frozen salmon as it aged in the freezer and got some freezer burn... I think it got too stale.

[anji1971]

Deejay didn't go for the old freezer-burnt salmon as much either.
Fortunately by the time it got to that point we were ready for a new batch anyway. This time I wrapped in in a couple sheets of foil before putting it in a freezer bag; hopefully this will keep it all fresh for the whole time I'm using it!

[gwynhwyfar]

She's so confused ... she's in her feeding tank and she knows the routine -- she keeps going to the lid where the pieces of cut up salmon are and nosing at it like she's trying to get through it (since she gets into the water dish with the living fish). And then I get a look like 'what's going on here??'

I partially covered the cage so that she had some privacy but I could still monitor her, but I feel bad for the poor confused Snakey.

I'm also stressing that the pieces are too big/too small/otherwise defective, but the biggest isn't any thicker than the largest of the minnows that she's eaten, so I think I'm just having mommy issues. *grins wryly*

[adamanteus]

Sounds like 'Mom issues' to me, Jennifer. Be patient, she'll soon get the idea!

[gwynhwyfar]

Sounds like 'Mom issues' to me, Jennifer. Be patient, she'll soon get the idea!

If she isn't eating the fish pieces, how long can I safely leave them in her cage in the hopes that she gets the idea? I tried to feed her a piece with the tongs, but she's so irritated and stressed, that she was striking at the tongs, so I stopped.

[Snake lover 3-25]

hi try rubbing the fish on the mouse and i would recomend hybernation, especialy if you are going to release her, if it still doesnt eat the mouse go to a pet store and buy reptivite... it keeps them healthy even with the worst diets. Good Luck!!!

[GartersRock]

You might try pinkies. I have 4 wild caught checkered garters that instantly took to frozen thawed pinkies. =) As well as some wild caught tx rat snakes that took to frozen thawed mice.

[Snake lover 3-25]

that's what mine did too but it may have been because she was pregnant when i caught her...

Gosh i love that pic of them...

[gwynhwyfar]

That is an awesome picture. Baby snakes are so adorable -- though now I understand why all my attempts as a child to catch baby garters failed. I wasn't looking for something that tiny!!

Snakey just had her fourth shed since I acquired her in November. She's put on about 8" or so and seems to be doing well. I've had to help her with the last inch or so of her tail to get all the shed skin off and she doesn't exactly like the help, but I can live with being musked to save her tail.

She's being stubborn about the fish -- I'm going to try a frozen mouse (well, thawed, when I give it to her!) along with a couple out-of-water rosy reds to see what happens.

I don't think I'll be releasing her. I kinda got attached. Whoops. *giggles*