Beginning the learning process

[fish_4_all]

Well kinda anyway. I have been reading up on caring for Garters for months. Too much reading possibly as I think I have started to forget things, age I would suspect. anyway, here is my snake, my 6 year old daughter named it but it fits.

I don't know the species for certain, I am leaning toward common northwestern garter but it is only an educated guess. Maybe someone will be able to identify her, again an educated guess, from the pictures.



Coloring is only starting to come in true. It, (she), is only 6 inches long so still very young. I know the bedding is probably not the best but I didn't know better, so I guess I will be looking for something to replace the corn cob soon. I don't let her eat on the bedding if I can help it, so far no ingestion of the cob.

I will have tons of questions, I ask if I don't know and can't find anything I trust searching the web.

Before I ask too much a positive ID will be needed so take a look and let me know. I would guess It prefers aquatic as it was found over a drainage ditch on a culvert. It spends a lot of time in the water container I have for it. I have coconut coir fiber and peat moss on hand. Still a lot of stuff to get it as far as proper lighting and a heated something but that is another topic in another forum.

[Stefan-A]

Looks like an ordinoides to me. A scale count (labial scales, dorsal scales) could confirm it.

[kibakiba]

That definitely looks like an ordinoides (northwestern). They are sweet little garters, they don't get too big and they are beautiful.
I have 5 of them.

[gregmonsta]

Pretty little thing

[fish_4_all]

Oh and the snakes name is Jitty Jippers. My 6 year old daighter thought of the name and it fits. Now I just have to remember it.

I did replace the Cob with that paper stuff. At least I don't have to worry about the snake dying from eating that, aty least not as easily.

[RedSidedSPR]

She definitely looks like a northwestern. I know my snakes, I'm just new to keeping them.

[fish_4_all]

Well her color has changed some so here are some new pictures. Becoming a very colorful snake from the bland colorless look she had before.

[kibakiba]

Very beautiful! Looks like it's going to be white or tan.

[ssssnakeluvr]

definitely northwestern!!! got a group of them myself.

[ConcinusMan]

Northwestern for sure. Thamnophis ordinoides. You can rule out any other garter snake that might be found near the Washington coast, simply by color, even though northwestern's are highly variable. Here's a few that I have, or had this year: (and yes, babies which are just a few inches long, sometimes change color, as they get older. The baby at bottom didn't have red in his stripe at birth)







Yours looks to be very well fed and healthy.

Even though they can, and are, usually found near water like most garters, northwesterns can, and are, found far from water unlike most other garters in WA.

A lot of heat or special lighting is not necessary with these. A warm area of 75-85 is plenty during the day provided there's a cooler end to the tank, but they can be kept even cooler than 80 and be fine. They can be active at 55 degrees and can even survive a brief freezing. You can, and should turn off the heat entirely for 8-12 hours a night. Young one's especially, do prefer some moist hides and/or daily misting. Yours might be in the water a lot because the humidity is too low perhaps. Worms and slugs are their favorite but some, like the litters I had born this year, also eat fish and pinky parts.

It is better to error on the cool moist side than it is to keep them too warm and dry but these are a very hardy species. You almost can't screw it up.