New, with first Garter!

[Topaz]

Hey everyone. I'm very new to the forum, but I've been lurking for some time now. I bought a baby garter (I think it's female,) from a new "breeder" last week. I do have a few questions, as this is the first garter I've had since 4th grade (I'm now 21.) Looking back, we didn't take the best of care of the garter in school, and I want to do everything right for my girl. I had named "her" Jareth when I thought it was a boy.Thanks to sexing threads on here, I need a new name for HER. Anyways, a few photos before my questions:







First question: Is the paper towel substrate fine for her? She's almost 4 weeks old (according to the "breeder,") and it's what we use for our leos. In time I want to switch to aspen, just thought the towels would be best at this age.

So far she's eaten 2 chopped up earthwrms (one worm every 2 days.) Am I feeding too much? Too little? And how long should I wait to handle her after she eats to prevent regurg. (We have 2 ball pythons, and wait 48 hours after they eat.)

I noticed that garter bellies are supposed to be a light yellowish color. This baby has an almost black belly. Does this mean she'll be shedding soon, or is it an illness?

I think that's all for right now. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[infernalis]

Welcome to the forum!!

That is a very nice baby garter snake you have.

We have kept all of our newborn garters in aspen from birth without any problems.

It would be best to keep handling of your new friend to a real minimum, Neonate (baby) garters do not accept handling well.

Every other day is fine for feeding, I would recommend getting some small feeder guppies to add to the snakes diet.

I noticed that garter bellies are supposed to be a light yellowish color. This baby has an almost black belly. Does this mean she'll be shedding soon, or is it an illness?

Garter snake bellies vary in colour, so the darkness is not an indication of illness


The enclosure looks really good. Nice Job

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard. Nice snake.

[Aundrea]

Welcome to the Forum!!! You have a cute little Garter there and a very nice set up for her

[GartersRock]

What a pretty little girl!!
Paper towels are fine, esp when you have those nice fake plants to hide and climb in!
Aspen is great to as long as you feed in a seperate container so there is no risk of impaction.

[Tori]

I usually keep my newborns on paper towels just so that I can see at a glance if they are having bowel movements. I also feed them as much as they will eat every other day until they reach 10 or 12 inches and then go down to every 3rd day. It sounds like you have been doing your homework. If you do use fish, remember to not feed just fish even if it is easier ( I learned that the hard way) as this can lead to serious health problems. Good luck with the new baby. And welcome aboard!

[crzy_kevo]

welcome to the forum

[GartersRock]

Hey Kevie... Look at my post count!

[Topaz]

Thanks everyone for your welcomes and advice. Tomorrow I'll get some feeder guppies as well. I liked the paper towels because then I could see if there were droppings easier than aspen. (our BPs are on aspen.)

And thank you so much on the advice on handling. I was completely unsure on handling babies, as it seems to vary with the species.

Another question I had has to deal with communal housing. I've read that babies do best when kept together as opposed to being single. Would my baby still be fine kept alone or is it a requirement for them to be together? My main worry is feeding time for 2 in the same enclosure (that, and I just don't think I'm ready for another one yet.)

[lestat]

Wellcome. Nice set up and a very nice snake.