Saga of the Full Moon Snake
October 25, 2007
Thursday full moon night @ 19:45
Alone in my apartment, with the light from the bathroom partially illuminating my room, I heard a sound coming from the vivarium. I glanced over and could see trace outlines, due to faint light coming from behind the window blinds.
I saw Jackpot climbing a branch, still active even though the light had been out in my room for several minutes.
It's been just over a month now since I collected him in the wild and set up a natural Oregon Oaks Bottom biome in my 60-gallon vivarium.
It contains many types of lichens, some maintained since 1993; at least 2-3 species of moss; purified water; several volcanic & other rocks collected in Oregon; six major hiding spots & three major climbing branches. It is a superlative replica of his natural environment. (I should be so lucky.)
Jackpot is a Red-spotted Garter; a subspecies of the most common reptile in North America; found only in a portion of western Oregon & Washington. He was collected from a site near my county where they are very abundant.
During the collection hike, we saw at least 8-10 other snakes of his species along the path. They all had the same nine, brilliant colors, including orange bars & salmon cheeks.
He shares his "room" with a cousin Northwestern Garter collected from my own county. They are very compatible, don't quarrel at all, and often cuddle or sleep together on a branch curled around each other. I am observing them as a Naturalist & Scientist, as well as interacting with them for my own selfish pleasure.
The diet of the Garter Guys is comprised of items from 1-3 species found naturally in their local environments. Food is relatively easily obtained & inexpensive. They do not constrict prey. They chase down prey, overwhelm it and swallow whole.
Quick explanation, and I know that this will be rough to understand for some, so buckle your seat belts. Truth is often stranger than fiction.
I don't have pets, and I don't keep them in cages. I have animal companions housed in natural biomes which meet their needs. In exchange, I offer clean water, freedom from predators & parasites, freedom from cold, year-long activity and the chance to interact with a being that is much larger, more intelligent and experienced than they are. (I should be so lucky.)
Official literature suggests that Garter snakes are daytime snakes; active when it's sunny. They are also allegedly ground snakes and seldom climb. Once in my home, freed from aerial predators, I quickly found that they prefer to sleep up high, on branches or on rock platforms.
They also love to watch me (sometimes at non-preferred moments with company), and have spent well over an hour curled on a branch watching me thru the glass while I browse the Internet.
On this full moon night, I walked over to Jackpot and spoke to him thru the glass: "Are you still active and want to explore? If I let you out for a moment to exercise, will you quickly try to escape, or will you interact with me for even a moment?"
There was something about the moment; maybe it was the full moon light coming from the deck outside. I lifted the glass and practiced trust between two species in my mostly dim bedroom. He climbed right up onto my arm. I held him firmly from underneath only, in at least two points always, but did not grasp him.
First question answered.
I held him for a moment, then used the magic Marge Sway. He was quite relaxed, made no attempt to musk nor bolt, and was not seeking to escape from my arm. We took a brief tour of my apartment, his second, but first time done at night.
I walked and he rode on my arm, past the dim light of the microwave oven in the kitchen, past the couch and the closed blinds at the southern window, past the main doorway and back into my room.
I went to put him back into his room, but he did not want to go back inside. He gently climbed back up my arm - as if he were a boy wanting to play longer.
I granted a moment of extra trust, and took him out again, holding him for a moment, gently caressing his side with one or two fingers. A moment later I returned him to his biome and placed him low enough that I had time to secure the cover with him enclosed.
Second question answered.
. I have found garters when I was a kid, climbing around in shrubs or bushes. Also I thought that I had read somewhere that their scientific name means shrub snake, but I could be wrong. Most of my garters are active in the morning especially at first light, but they also get active right at dusk or shortly after dark, in fact I always feed them just before or just after dark, mainly because thats when I feed my other snakes. Also of interest is that my snow garters, which you would kind of expect since they are albino and lack eye pigments and are thus more light sencitive, they are rarely active during daylight but become very active at dusk and especially early night, they are pretty much exclusively nocturnal. Maybe some of the other people who keep albinos have accordant or discordant observations as well.