Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The photo doesn't do this snake justice-the part you can't see is the belly which is salmon pink.

If you have any suggestions on how to take a belly photo of this "nasty" little critter-and mean that-it just bites something terrible-I've never had a garter act quite like this one. It will not move off but stand it's ground and when it bites it will not let go even after I do, it just bites harder.

I'll give it this if it weren't so pretty I wouldn't still have it.

Langly2112

Thats a pretty snake!

Is it wild caught? If so, where did you find it?

You can get a belly picture by placing it on a sheet of glass and taking a picture from underneath.

Travis

I think the colour is very unusual for an Eastern, I've seen literally hundreds in my lifetime and this is the only one I've ever seen like it.

It was wild caught in my neighbor's yard in NE Pennsylvania.

I don't think it will sit still to put it on a sheet of glass-which I did consider. Not to mention it's a really aggressive snake-not that I mind being bitten, mind you, because the snake is only about 18 inches long but I worry about injuring it's teeth trying to get it to let go. I'll have to see if I have a nice clear bottom tank, of course, then lighting will be a problem.

I just wondered how photographers do that thing where they get the snake to turn over partially for photos.

Thanks, Langly2112

PS-Canopic Jar: Isn't that what the Egyptians used to store the internal organs and viscera of the dead? Just wondered if I remembered that correctly.

That is really an awesome catch! I am anxious to hear what Scott Felzer has to say about it. It seems to have the colors of some of the California garters.

Canopic jars were used by the egyptian embalmers to store the sacred organs of the dead.

Travis

Well, it's not nearly as pretty as the garters that Scott has!! Those are amasing!

Still I'd like to hear what he has to say too.

Since it's a WC from PA-I can't do anything with it-like breeding or anything but I'm going to watch the area for others that might be related to this one to see it's just a one time colour. Just curious.

L.

PS-so I was right about the jars-cool!

WHY can't you breed it?!

This is why-go to the link below. I had a longer note written but this new keyboard is a pain.

So it's better if you read it for yourself-sort of a bummer with such a beautiful snake but I gotta go with the law.

L

PS-technically I COULD breed them but wouldn't be able to do anything with the offspring anyway according to their laws.
questions about reptiles in ....

Is this the part you are referring to?

I want to sell reptiles and amphibians. Do I need permit from the Fish and Boat Commission?
There are no permits issued by the Fish and Boat Commission for selling reptiles and amphibians. Our regulations require that with the exception of common snapping turtles, no reptile or amphibian may be taken from the wild in PA for sale, trade or barter. Also, it unlawful to possess, import or export species listed as endangered or threatened by the Fish and Boat Commission. For species not taken from the wild but which may occur in PA, a dealer or purchaser would need to obtain and maintain the proper documentation to show that the origin of an animal was from a legal source and not taken from the wild.

Sounds like you need to find someone outside the state of PA to loan the snake to so that you can breed it. There is nothing wrong with asking a friend to watch your pet for awhile is there?

Travis

I'm really not sure-it would probably depend on interpretation of the law. Plus laws in the other state involved. There's also some little loop hole about transporting native species over state lines, that I read in a recent article too.

I suppose to be safe about anything-you have to contact officials and ask them and then to protect yourself-have it put down in writing.

I mean that too. PA tends to pass little bits of laws and not mention them (except on maybe the internet in a huge document with one sentence about herps or whatever in it) until someone breaks that law and then they say-well you should have known. Or each official interprets the laws a bit differently.

I guess you could say I'm disenchanted with the new fish and boat and game commission merger that has been changing things all over the chart but I don't want to get into all that here.

Maybe eventually they will take a few and spell it all out in writing and be specific. Most legal documents are too specific but that's not the case in PA-it's a wide sweeping statement-leaving alot of holes.

I sort of hope a game official will read this and give us all a clue.

L

If you do find a way to transport them over the state lines, then what you could always do, if you are not looking for a profit of course, is just breed the snake and give the babies away. It says the purpose of the law is to make sure there is no profit motive involved to limit the consumption of natural resources. If you give away the babies, you are not making a profit or anything of the nature. Just another idea which would prevent you from having to ship your breeder to someone else you might not necessarily know or trust. But that is a great looking garter. There are some nice Thamnophis up your direction.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

And the sign says "No long hair freaky people need not apply." So I put my hair under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said you look like a fine outstanding young man I think you'll do. So I took off my hat I said "Imagine that Huh Me working for you."

Do you mean 'if you do NOT find a way to transport across state lines' ?

...So have you seen similar garters before?

What I meant is if you find a way to get garters across the line, you could give the offspring away to people in PA as well as people not in PA. Sorry, guess I muddied that up. I havn't seen any that are that exact color, but I have seen some really nice morphs from around PA. There are a few different morphs pictured in this months Reptiles mag in an article about that Poconos in NE PA.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

And the sign says "No long hair freaky people need not apply." So I put my hair under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said you look like a fine outstanding young man I think you'll do. So I took off my hat I said "Imagine that Huh Me working for you."

Cool, I will have to go get a copy of it!

Travis

That's a point but then again-I just read something-I have to look it up again-about transporting native herps over state lines for any reason.

I'm just looking to stay out of trouble. When I find the article I'll post it here. BTW-I gave the idea of profit from herps years ago!!

L

I see where you are coming from. When you breed, chances are even when you sell the animals, you will most likely not break even. When I get into breeding a fair amount, it will just be a hobby and not a money venture, as if you are in it for profit chances are you will shoot yourself haha. Good luck and nice snake. Andy
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

And the sign says "No long hair freaky people need not apply." So I put my hair under my hat and I went in to ask him why. He said you look like a fine outstanding young man I think you'll do. So I took off my hat I said "Imagine that Huh Me working for you."-Tesla