hey guys new here-and i need help!

[FitnessFreak]

Hey guys I am new to this forum and i live in calgary alberta canada
i am 15 and going to be getting a baby garter in 2-3 months!!

i have a few questions i would like to ask before i get it though lol

1.aquarium size

2.what to put in the aquarium(trees rocks moss sticks????? helppp)

3.is regular tap water ok to put in a pool i will build for it to bask in/drink?or shud i get river water from the bow and put that in the pool??

4.how often to feed it earthworms?(when its a baby)-im not sure if one earthworm a day is good or 2 or 1 a week-helpppp

5.how often to feed it crickets?(when it gets bigger)

6.how to feed it? i heard you need to force feed some baby garters???

7. what to name it????


thanks guys i really appreciate the help!!!!!

awsome forum too! really glad i registered

[FitnessFreak]

oh ya and how much would they cost?

theres a place about 25minute bike ride form my house that no1 around here knows about-but theres thousands of wandering garter snakes, just pick up a stone and theres tons

so i can either wait till like june? and catch a baby

or i can go to petland a try and buy one... but would they have babies? and how much would the babies cost?

oh also-can i feed it minnows i catch in the river?

and are heat lamps necessary if my house is pretty warm?

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet

Plus there are discussion threads on every relevant subject.


1. About the same length as the snake. Bigger is better.

2. A couple of hides and maybe a something to climb on. Fake plants if you feel like it, it's all the same to the snake as long as there are hides available.

3. Regular tap water is fine.

4. Worms should only be given on occasion. Fish and mice is the best alternative. How often depends on what and how much you are feeding it.

5. Never. Fish and mice.

6. It's rare and you shouldn't try to force feed it unless you know how to do it correctly and even then only if it's absolutely necessary.

7. That's something you have to figure out for yourself. Some don't name their snakes at all and others (like me) don't even use the names they give their snakes.

[FitnessFreak]

Welcome aboard.

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet

1. About the same length as the snake. Bigger is better.

2. A couple of hides and maybe a something to climb on. Fake plants if you feel like it, it's all the same to the snake as long as there are hides available.

3. Regular tap water is fine.

4. Worms should only be given on occasion. Fish and mice is the best alternative. How often depends on what and how much you are feeding it.

5. Never. Fish and mice.

6. It's rare and you shouldn't try to force feed it unless you know how to do it correctly and even then only if it's absolutely necessary.

7. That's something you have to figure out for yourself. Some don't name their snakes at all and others (like me) don't even use the names they give their snakes.

ok thanks man!
so if i went and bought some minnows from petland and fed a baby garter 1 a day, would that be good??

[adamanteus]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. You haven't got your Garter Snakes yet? Spend some time reading through the care sheets section on the forum, and follow some of the threads, you'll find all you need to know right here.

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum. I feed my adult Garters once a week. Young and /or juviniles, I feed smaller amounts and feed every 3 to 4 days.

Sid

[FitnessFreak]

Welcome to the forum. I feed my adult Garters once a week. Young and /or juviniles, I feed smaller amounts and feed every 3 to 4 days.

Sid

ok, so how much do you feed the small onse every 3-4days?

if i put in say 2 minnows in my lil pool and just leave them there and every 3 days add another 2 is that good?

will a baby be able to catch a minnow lol??

oh and they don't need the lamps right? my house is pretty hot so is that good enough?

and you can start finding the babies around june at fish creek park right?



ty for th ehelp guys!

[drache]

Hi there and welcome here

[drache]

oops
I meant to add to that

the smaller they are, the more frequently they need to be feed
- and smaller prey
minnows might be too big

it's better to get temperature readings a bit more exact and to get your enclosure to have a gradient - low at one end of the enclosure, higher at the other end, so that the snake can choose what it needs
Also - the temp should go down at night
if the snake is too hot all the time, it will become stressed and ill

I don't know about fish creek park, lol

[Cazador]

Hi Mike, and welcome to the forum.

#3. I'd suggest that tap water is probably even better for the snake than river water. If you've ever looked under a microscope at river water, you've probably seen the amoeba and protists swimming around. That's something you want to try to avoid with captive snakes.

There have been some members on here who have had very bad experiences with water that is left unchanged in their snake pen for long periods of time. Just to be totally clear, you want to be able to remove and clean the water container periodically. One of the members here (boeh) has a really horrifying tale to tell because cryptosporidium colonized the standing water. The entire collection was lost, and it was a very impressive collection. As I recall, Fons (Thamnophis) also has either had, or know people who have had, bad experiences after making non-removable pools and not cleaning them regularly .

It's also not a great idea to leave fish in the water bowl indefinitely. If they start to develop "ick," they'll pass the fungi on to the snake. Also, it can be quite a challenge for babies to catch live fish if the water is fairly deep.

I'd offer a second opinion on feeding frequency for baby snakes, though there's nothing wrong with feeding them at three-day intervals. I'd suggest feeding every other day for the first month or so. Then switch to every 3 days. I like to feed newborns small portions, but more often. There isn't a real rule, so have fun. It's hard to overfeed a newborn.

Definitely stay away from crickets, and finally, I like to name all of my snakes "Rick's the man #1, #2, #3, etc." Pretty catchy, eh?

Rick