Hello all. I'm new to this forum, but I've really enjoyed reading past threads - very informative.
A co-workers kids managed to talk him into letting them keep a juvenile female (I think) T. radix that they caught late this fall. They tried to feed it crickets, millipedes, and any other insects they could catch in their back yard. When it (obviously) refused to eat, he came to me for advice knowing that I keep reptiles. When I explained that garter snakes are not insectivores and usually require a diet of worms, fish, or mice, the kids no longer wanted the hassle of keeping the snake. It is now far to cold here in Nebraska to release the snake, so I agreed to adopt her for the winter.
My general policy is to let wild animals remain wild, so I only keep captive bred animals. My intention is to release her in the spring, but my question for the forum is this: will a winter of captivity hurt her chances of survival in the wild in any way? I'm just curious if not having to find a suitable location to spend this winter -probably her first- will affect her ability to find a suitable spot next winter. Any input will be greatly appreciated. I'm a biologist by trade, and have been unable to find any studies in the scientific literature on the subject.
I currently have her in a 10g aquarium with sterile bark substrate, several branches with artificial leaves, a piece of driftwood for a hide, some sphagnum moss, and a temp gradient of 75-85 degrees from end to end. She is eating worms and fish like a pig, and growing like a weed, so she seems content in captivity, and it appears that I have her in acceptable conditions. I've never kept a garter, but her level of activity and personality have been highly entertaining, and I fear that I will grow attached over the winter and will have a hard time releasing her in the spring!
All attempts at converting her to pinkies/parts have been unsuccessful. I've read all of the past threads with different scenting techniques, and tried them all, but she is as stubborn as a mule. She appears to have some kind of 6th sense for detecting mouse parts. If I place chopped worm/fish in a dish she eats like crazy, but if there are mouse parts mixed in, as soon as she tastes it, she refuses to eat anything else out of the dish! Should I keep trying, or just accept that she might not be a mouse eater?
Sorry for the rambling. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Great forum, by the way. Thanks, Mark
