Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My brother has a landscaping business and this was in his load of mulch. The customer didn't want it anywhere around their property, and my brother figured if he left it, it would soon be killed. So, he brings it to his snake-loving kid sister. I looked up some information last night and identified it as an Eastern Garter Snake. I've read about their habitat and what they eat (worms, fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, etc.) but nothing on frequency of feeding. My boas & pythons generally eat no more often than every couple of weeks - depending on age, and my corns eat once every one to two weeks - depending on age. What frequency for garters? BTW, I'm probably just going to let him/her go in the near future, but it got my curiosity up for how difficult they are to care for if kept.

Any input is appreciated.

Raven

Garters usually do well in captivity. believe me, i've kept lots of them!! i have 5 now in my collection plus a Ribbon. one thing to consider is they have a higher metabolism than most bigger snakes and therefore need to be fed more often. i try to feed mine twice a week. their diet is easy to maintain as they readily accept earthworms and rosy reds or minnows. younger snakes will eat worms and fish, but larger snakes tend to be strictly fish-eaters. hope this helps!

I'd wondered if they were hard to keep. I've heard many wc indeginous reptiles can be difficult if they aren't rodent eaters, being particular about prey, etc. I've had no practical experience with native wildlife for any sort of long-term captivity (more catch and release type thing as a youngster). I'm glad to know about the quicker metabolism and more frequent feeding regimen - in case I decide to keep him. I'm not sure the other half is terribly excited about yet another snake in the house (I currently have 21 snakes, not counting the garter if I decided to keep it). The other half is really patient, but I'm not sure how far that stretches. lol I do know the little critter has checked every corner of the tank trying to get out, scaled the sides via a thermometer and nosed all the edges of the screen lid. As you can see in the pic, he is considerably agitated and puffed up though he was about 1/2 to 1/3 that diameter this morning when I checked on him. He is also quite fiesty and strike happy, though I don't blame him a bit. There's a nice, quiet pond nearby that I know has plenty of small frogs & minnows, so he may well end up there. Thanks for the information - just in case.

Raven

Oh, Virginia is my location - just north of Richmond.

small world! i'm in Bedford County, Virginia...just a couple hours from Richmond.

What a small world...I have family around Bedford. Salem to be exact. Of course, when I go visit, none of them want me to bring my pets or look for any new ones. lol

by the way, where are you from?

This was when he was pausing between strikes at me and the camera.

>>This was when he was pausing between strikes at me and the camera.
>>

n/p

However this morning, he/she was roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the diameter of last night with no little ones in the tank. As best I can tell, the little thing was simply inflating itself to appear more intimidating. Goodness knows it was bitey enough that most sensible creatures would have left it alone. It's only about 16 inches in length. I don't know enough about garters to estimate an age accurately, but I was assuming it wasn't over 2-3 years of age since I'd read that little ones were around 6 inches or so at birth (not sure of the accuracy of that either, really). Any ideas on what the age could be? Also, how would I determine gender? I've probed boas and know the scale depth for both genders but that's the limit of my probing experience.

Raven

In garters the male's tail is thicker and the females tapers off pretty quickly into a skinny tail and is much more thinner than in males. She could be a year or two in age. If you take pics of her tail Im sure someone could tell you if it is male or female. As for me when I saw how big she looked in the pic I thought right away that was a female and then I looked at the tail and that gave me another clue that it may be a female.

She probably was inflating herself. If you prob it will be the same for boas. take another pic when it is calm and maybe we can tell you what it is.

Lu

Just as an fyi, the little fellow ate two nice fat earthworms that I found last night. I'll probably pick up some minnows in the next day or so and try those. I've decided to keep the little gem for a while at least and see how it does. If it seems terribly anxious to escape, then I'll let it go. So... I've got down that I should feed around twice weekly. How much should I feed per meal? I generally keep any non-breeding animals on a leaner feeding schedule to prevent obesity - something many boas & pythons are prone to. My corns are fed much more frequently because of the higher metabolism, but not so much so that my one adult become chunky or that it slows the growth on my yearlings. What should I expect from the garters in regards to metabolism? And yes, I ask lots of questions... I just want my critters to be both healthy & happy.

Raven