rescued a Garter snake, need some advice!!

[mmoria00]

Long story short.
My dog got a hold of a Garter snake and did some damage to it. I found it and have been nursing it to health. There were many puncture wounds, but the worst of it was to his head. He lost an eye through it also. I did not think he was going to survive this traumatic event, but I have really been treating his wounds and cleaning him up good. He thankfully is healing nicely. He is not ready to be released, and I usually always release my injured critters that my house pets get a hold of, but I worry about this snake and his one eye. I just wanted some thoughts on this from someone who is familiar with Garter snakes. I am more than happy to keep him if need be. I teach 3rd grade and it would be a wonderful learning experience for them to educate my students on local reptiles. If I do keep him, what is the best way to take great care of him. I am not familiar with the Garter snake and need some educating myself! I have had other types of snakes, but nothing from my back yard. I visited many sites and they all say different things about the Garter care, so I figured if I join this forum, I could hear from someone who is an expert in Garters. Thank you!! Meghan

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family! The care sheet is a wonderful place to start. Also some pictures of your snake and the vent area would be helpful to tell just what kind of garter you have and what sex it is. Here are a couple links to get you started. Again, welcome! Also, depending on where you are from, it may be a little late in the season to release. They need to have time to get to their winter dens for brumation.
Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/bree...xing-pics.html

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for taking the time to help that injured snake.
The links provided will answer many of your question.
Feel free to post any aditional questions to the forum.

[Kantar]

You've come to the best possible place for learning garter snake care

I think that the snake without your care definately wouldn't make it back in the wild if you released now.

It needs a winter home and I think hopefully it has been found

[wolfpacksved]

Welcome aboard! Garter snakes are tough animals. Reptiles in general can recover from some nasty wounds. Tougher than humans by far

[dieselbaby]

Welcome to the forum, my dog injured a garter and thats what also brought me to the forum. I hope yours does alot better then mine did. My dog bit very hard and severed the spinal cord in my girl. The short time she was with me made me fall in love with garter snakes again, i loved them as a child, and now i've adopted two checkered garters from a great canadian breeder.

As was mentioned read the care sheet, it is a wealth of information, and every single person here on this forum is helpful, a pleasure to talk to and are just great people. You will love it here..and do post some pics of your garter we would love to see him or her. Even if she/he isnt so pretty just yet.

[infernalis]

Welcome and kudos for caring.

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

What a lucky snake to have been discovered by you Can't wait to see some photos. I hope s/he gets all healed up soon.

[jitami]

Welcome & thank you for taking care of the little guy/girl

[d_virginiana]

Hope it gets better. A one-eyed snake can survive in the wild, but its chances aren't as good. Also, a lot of snakes are already finding places to brumate, so it would probably be a good idea to keep him at least over the winter.