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My cat got a hold of a beautiful Texas Garter Snake, and his tail and middle are wounded. He is bleeding lightly. There is a lump resembling freshly swallowed food where the cut in his middle is, but my brother rose the possibility that it could be bones broken from my cat's attack. Does this snake have a chnace? If so, what should I do? I'm trying to catch some crickets for his meal, but if the lump is food, he won't need the crickets. I have also given him a bit of water.

Thanks!
Cat

The little guy is still alive and kickin'! He is much more active than he was earlier, and is enjoying the bowl of water in his makeshift cage. (A box with airholes) Tomorrow I am going to get him some more suiting accomadations. I don't want to release him for fear of him being gobbled up by my cat, and he seems to be quite calm compared to most wild snakes I have seen. I'm hoping for the best!

Cat

but they may eat him before he eats them because garters do not eat crickets. Get some feeder gold fish at a pet or tropical fish store, put them in a shallow bowl. Put the bowl, a hide spot (upside down frozen dinner plate, flower pot, small flat box, ect.) In a plastic sweater box, fish tank, or other inescapeable container. Give him a warm spot at one end and leave him alone. If he eats the fish, great. If he doesn't eat and dies, you did what you could to make up for your cats sins (lol), and he probably wouldn't of made it anyway. You can e-mail me if you have other questions. Good luck.

Well, the garter is not eating the fish I gave him (they've almost all died, in fact) but he hasn't died either. I put him in a 12" by 30" plexiglass tank, out of direct sunlight, furnoshed with paper towels, dry leaves, a bowl of water full of (now dead) fish, and some flat, wide pieces of bark for him to hide under. I hope he lives through it!

Cat

Try wild tree frogs. My first garter of the year would only take them nothing ells. As far as making it I am sure "judging by your description" He will be fine but may need to stay in captive care for the rest of his life depending on his wounds of course. I currently maintain a beautiful California King snake that was run over by both driver side tires of a Dodge Neon. The snake had its spine snapped down by the tail and severe swelling in the abdomen when I received it from a co-worker. Not the swelling has gone and the break is heeling nicely. He is taking food and growing. However I believe the severity of the injury warrant keeping it out of the wild, as I am not sure how able it would compete for food now.
RR

I know why the fish died, you put too many in the bowl and they suffocated from lack of oxygen in the water or the water got too warm. Try putting 2 or 3 fish in the bowl and keep the bowl on the cool end of the tank. If he is going to eat, he will eat. It may be a day, week, or two, but he will eventually eat if he can. He will not starve if he goes without food for three weeks as long as he wasn't starving before capture, and most wild snakes are generally in pretty good shape.

I put less fish in, and although he didn't eat them right away, later in the day they were all gone.

My cat got ahold of another garter (this time a baby) but the snake isn't injured, and I've got him seperated from the injured one so I can tell who is eating and who isn't. The baby hasn't eaten anything, and I wonder if different food is good for the babies?

It's strange, because I haven't ever seen my cat w/ a snake before and suddenly he has two in two days!

Cat