Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know a cpl places I might find one and I have been forbiden to buy one so I thought, what if I catch one

Can they bite hard, can I get sick from a bite..ie rabies or parasites etc? Forgive my newness but I am curious.

Do they try to escape everytime you clean their cages making that somewhat of a nightmare or are they usually asleep when you all clean?

Thanks!

Hi there:

You definately don't have to worry about rabies. There are no documented cases of this disease in reptiles or amphibians. Its good to wash any animal bite with mild soap and water to prevent infection. As far as temperement goes, it entirely depends on the snake. I have grabbed wild garter snakes from brush that acted as if they knew me forever, while others gave nasty surprises from both ends. Garter snakes cannot cover open ground as fast as ribbon snakes (Which I keep.) They will probably learn not to escape from you, but don't try putting it on the floor as you would a corn snake; you may never see it again. The garter snakes that I have worked with all made great captives. Good luck with your new hobby.
DAVE

No worries about rabies...it only affects warm blooded animals. They do make excellen pets. They are very active and inquisitive snakes. They are masters of escape too!!!!

And an interesting fact to add on, not even all mammals can get rabies. Opossums for example. Their body temperature is actually too low for the virus to survive in their body. Just thought I would toss that out. Not relevant, but cool none the less.
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WHile your post has been answered I didnt see anyone try and correct the practice of BEING PREPARED for the responsibility that comes with keeping an animal.You should be at the library reading all you can on each species you may run in to,especially if you are in an area of poisonous snakes.Catching is the EASY part,its KEEPING it that you must learn how to do FIRST.Read all you can and use this forum to confirm information.You dont want to be one of those that says"I caught a snake....now what do I do??"Jeff

Being that i have recently caught two wandering garters (thamnophis elegans vagrans-forgive my spelling) i can try to help you with the keeping part even though i have little experience with snakes other than the two garters and a milk snake as well as some lab snakes. I would try to catch young garters if at all possible because you only really need a rubbermaid container for those, these make good cages based on my experience with the lab snake-no escapes. Get them a rock or a hide box that can fit into the tank-not to big. I like to keep snakes on newspaper because it is cheap and easy to clean-you just throw it out and replace. Get them a small water dish. Research what they eat and select a food item that your snake could handle. I feed my wanderings-both under a foot long-earthworms and slugs wich they eat happily. Your garter snake will grow so you will have to take steps into obtaining a larger cage and to catch or buy bigger food items as they grow.

Again this is based on my experience and it may or may not be all that good. As has been stated before always research a snake before obtaining one. Luckily for you garters are easy to keep and feed.