My ordinoides

[andyoconnor83]

Sorry to those who may think all of my pictures are as good as what i have posted previously, these were taken quickly in my room, with little thought to photo quality. here is a group shot of the 5 or so recent snakes.



and here are the 3 that i hope are gravid females. I am pretty confident about 2 of them.
the first 2 shots are the orange striped, she's in shed, but she still let me take a couple shots...



this one is a mixed middle stripe with 2 yellow ventral strips I am pretty sure about this one being female too, both this and the above are around 30 inches, so by size alone I am confident they're female...


this is not the tail of the above snake, it's the other yellow stripe in the bunched up group, I think it could be a large male.

this 3rd snake is the one I am not sure about, it's the 3rd largest snake and is the one in the water in the group photo

[beaniesmommy]

Wow Andy,

That is a big family of snakes! Very nice. As I replyed to another post... I have a Wandering Garter (Thamnophis elegans vagrans). I would love to have a buddy for it.

Where do you live? I know in this area right?

[Stefan-A]

Be careful or it might end up as a snack for that vagrans.

Oh and nice snakes, Andy.

[andyoconnor83]

I am in Bothell. Yeah I would be careful, ordinoides end up being the snacks of the snake world a lot of the time, I would definitely be ok with gifting one to you, not seen in the photos is the infant I found, I am releasing him due to lack of food items...



Anyways, I am trying to narrow down how many I have there, so I think I am just going to hang onto the two that are surely female and take the rest back to a wildlife spot very near where they were rescued from. I have a bunch of worms and slugs in there but haven't noticed a decline in their numbers, or fatter bellies, so i am afraid they are a bit shocked from the trauma and aren't eating. Are Thamnophis like some other snakes that go off feeding for any term of pregnancy?

[beaniesmommy]

Andy, you have WC garters... What do you feed them in the beginning when you first get them? I have done pinkies, worms, trout & salmon = no luck. He did eat a fish but I was told they are bad, all of them. What do I do? I don't want to starve him he is out looking for food... He just got done shedding.


Stefan - A
My skake eats other Garters? Well, I guess I would only want a buddy if you rescue the same kind from someone. If the won't eat there own kind?

[Zephyr]

Are Thamnophis like some other snakes that go off feeding for any term of pregnancy?

Yes, some people report their snakes going off feed for a few weeks before giving birth; some females will eat right up to giving birth.

[Stefan-A]

Stefan - A
My skake eats other Garters? Well, I guess I would only want a buddy if you rescue the same kind from someone. If the won't eat there own kind?

Yeah, vagrans is notorious for eating other snakes, including members of its own (sub)species.

[Zephyr]

He did eat a fish but I was told they are bad, all of them. What do I do? I don't want to starve him he is out looking for food... He just got done shedding.

Rosy reds and other fish are not bad when used as scenting items or to entice a snake into eating before gaffing (sp?) another item in. *Gaffing or posting is allowing the snake to get a preferred food item inside its mouth, then inserting, carefully, a food item you want it to eat, such as a pinky or fish fillet. It's a good way to get reluctant feeders to switch to a new food.* However, the fish ARE bad when it's the only food you're feeding with.

[beaniesmommy]

Well maybe I should get another snake then because I can't get it to eat anything else.

[Zephyr]

Well maybe I should get another snake then because I can't get it to eat anything else.

Try this: Allow the feeder item, I guess you could use a large-er feeder GOLDFISH, to be caught by the snake. Once she's got it about 3/4 of the way down and her mouth is still open, coax the tip of a pinky/fuzzy nose into her mouth. If she tries to rub it off or move away, persist unless she really frustrated. It may help to wipe the goldfish on the pinky's nose a bit first too.