Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I just need some quick assistance. My neighbor found a garter snake in the backyard today and I took it in so it wouldn't get hurt.

Althought I'd like to, I can't keep the snake (and dont want to stress it out anyway by trying to hold it in captivity) so I want to release it into the wild. I don't want to let it go anywhere around here where people's backyards are cause someone will end up killing it.

I am thinking of releasing it into a forested area here, which is also used as a park here.

What would be a good place to release it in?

I want a good place so it minimizes it's chances of getting hurt and so it can find a place to hide/find food/whatever.

Thanks. I appreciate a quick response because I'm going to be going out to release it in a couple of hours. Meanwhile I have gotten a small rubbermaid type of box and cut some small holes in the top (that it can't go through) for air and put it in a quiet space, dont want to stress it out too much.

Thanks.

In many states it's illegal to release wildlife into parks. The snake would be better off being released near where it was caught, despite it being in a neighborhood. Garter snakes are adaptable and that snake has adpated to living in close proximity of people. It may very well have a place where it returns to each year to hibernate. Letting it go somewhere else forces it to find a new place to overwinter, which it may not be able to do.

Tim

Agreed, taking it to a foreign place this time of year would likely be a death sentence, but I will add that if you have a small creek or pond very close my your back yard, then that is were it probably came from and where I would release it. I just caught a red-sided by my garden pond last night, tonight I will take some photos and release it back by the pond, and yes I live in a neighborhood too. Garters have many preditors and pitfalls to avoid to survive, weather in a residential area, or even in a remote area like a park, such is life.
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Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.1 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.3 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

I hope you post some pics of that garter, Jeff!

Tim

Upon further examination with the help of some pics, it turns out that this seems to be a Dekays brown snake and not a garter. I looked at a few pics of Dekays and mine looks EXACTLY like that while with the garters it was only a bit similar.

Anyone know if its safe to feed a Dekay red wiggler worms?