In Memory Of"

[guidofatherof5]

I thought it would be nice to have a place we could share some stories about those special garters that have come into our live but are now passed.

I'll start things off with this. My Boy Scar(T. radix).

I found him out in the back yard. His appearance was terrible and he was an old snake. He was covered with scars, had a stub tail and what appeared to be healed puncture wounds all over. Life had been very tough on him. I felt it was time for him to live the easy life so took him in. The first 6 months were very trying. Scar wouldn't eat with me in the room and every time I went near his enclosure he flipped out, went crazy and wouldn't stop until I left. Over the next 6 months I slowly gained his trust but it was very small steps. Eventually he accepted me and would even come out to see me. The first time he did that I about cried. I would say we became friends. Scar father a number of litters for me and was a joy to be around. Scar escaped his enclosure(my fault) and I felt terrible. The following Fall he was found under a hide outside. I'm sure he did some more breeding while he was out there.
Scar lived another breeding season but then I saw old age taking its toll on him. The classic eating all he could get but gaining no weight. Then going off food and wasting away. He passed in my hands as I said good bye to my friend.

[Tommytradix]

Very touching story steve.

[rickymar81]

Sounds like you and scar had a great bond.

[AntTheDestroyer]

First I have Xiuhcoatl or Shy as we called him. You either know the story or it can be found on the forum so I will not replay it. He was my pride and joy and would have been a stunning adult. I loved him no matter how hard he tried to flee me. Sleep well little one. DSCN1083[1].jpgDSCN1078[1].jpg

Next I have the little guy we named Draco. I received him on the mistake of a large online snake distributer. He was a very friendly and inquisitive little bugger. I almost kept even though he was not what I had paid for, but he got sick a few days after I received him. The company insisted I send him back even against my best judgment and warnings. I have never shipped anything live before so I figured they knew better than me. Turns out he never made it to them alive, he died because of human stupidity. I feel he deserves to be remembered.
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Thanks for the thread Guido it was quite therapeutic as I still have some guilt about these two. Scar seemed like a special snake and he was lucky to find you.

[guidofatherof5]

Many years ago my young daughter Gabby came in the house and told me there was a big garter snake in the garden that was dead. Being late in Nov. I thought it was probably true as the temps were barely reaching above freezing during the night. She took me out to the garter and showed me the back half of a large female T. radix sticking out from under some leaves. Much to my surprise this big girl wasn't dead but certainly wasn't going to live much longer in these temps. My guess is her time had come and this would be her last Fall.
I picked he up and took her inside. After a couple hours of warming up I checked on her. She was certainly old but was reactive and mobile. I offered her a few worms and she readily took them. It was rather funny because she came out to me to get them. I also found out pinkies were her choice of food as she got really excited when those were on the menu. She was always a pleasant snake and loved to be out with someone. I named her Big Mama. She stayed with us for 2 seasons then her time ran out. She slowly lost interest in food and passed away one evening. She lived her whole life in the wild and spent the last couple of years with humans. She was never afraid or nervous around us. I miss that big old girl.

[slipknot711]

I miss my girl Penny. Some of you may remember her. She was w/c and my pride and joy. I own a variety of morphs and other normals, especially throughout my years but she was something special. I find myself watching videos of her and am getting a nice canvas portrait of her sometime soon to hang in the living room. Miss her everyday. penny6.jpggravid152.jpg

[Albert Clark]

Wow! All those recollections are very warm and heartfelt. I will add my own that centers around the albino checkered male (no name) that we raised as a baby to adult and passed on last December. He was a great member of the thamnly who was always ready to enjoy times out of his enclosure. Whether it was a short time being held or extended time on the living room floor crawling around and excersizing. He was a big albino checkered that developed quite a bit of trust in us that he was safe and wouldn't be injured or excessively stressed. He remained healthy throughout his short time (3 years) with us until his mysterious demise last December. His legacy lives on in his son whom I plan on breeding this coming Spring. RIP dad. ( His picture is in the thread "checkered garter").

[d_virginiana]

I miss Harley. I raised her from a tiny baby, and then when she was between 2 and 3 she started having serious problems shedding. Turned out she had a mammalian parasite that destroyed connective tissue; it took too long to figure that out and the damage had been done by the time we could treat it. She had surgery to remove slugs later that season; they had degenerated into something almost like paste due to the parasite.
I had her for about a year after that, and her quality of life seemed good, and one morning I went in to check on her like always and knew she was dying. My husband was there and told me she was looking and acting great and I was just being paranoid. But, I basically went ahead and said goodbye and left her in peace. Two hours later I checked back and she was dead, curled around her water dish.

She was a very special snake personality-wise. The vet was always legitimately shocked at how she just accepted the treatment they gave her both when she was sick and when she was relatively healthy. I try not to anthropomorphize my snakes, but it seemed she really did trust all humans. I could open her tank up and she'd immediately come out and sit in my lap.

This is a baby picture of her (she's the red one), but she also had the distinction of being the only other garter Houdini ever saw. He started going blind shortly after this picture was taken. Never would have expected him to outlive her, but he's apparently shooting for a record.

[guidofatherof5]

This thread would be incomplete without first talking about our girl Lucky.
I remember picking her up on the go as I cut the neighbors yard. She was a couple week old little scrub (T. radix). My daughter Gabby and her hit it off right away, Gabby was around 6 years old. They spent a lot of time together and were buddies. Lucky grew to be a strong female and gave me a number of great litters. She lived up to her name also. I was asked to watch her while she was outside on the hammock. For a split second I took my eyes off her and she was gone. We all searched for at least 2 hours then my kids headed off to church. I promised Gabby I would continue looking for her and I did. A thunder storm move in and I finally found her in a driving rain storm. She was curled up in the neighbor's yard along his privacy fence. When I shinned my light on her she looked up and moved toward me. I picked her up and broke into tears. Gabby was one happy girl when she arrived home.
Lucky loved to be out and hanging around us. She taught me so much about these misunderstood snakes. She also deepened my love for the species and genus as a whole. Lucky has since passed at the age of 12 but lives on in her daughter LG (Lucky's Girl) and her father Scar.

[mustang]

Im so sorry about lucky, shes been around before i was ever on the forum