Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings,

4 days ago my mom and I found a baby garter in my back yard, so I did some research and now it is living in a 10-gallon terrarium. It has a little water bowl for soaking/drinking, a substrate of wood chips, a half-log to hide under, a rock to bask on, and a purplish light (I don't know what it's called, but I think it is UV or something.

The snake doesn't hide under the log, but it has found a small space under the rock. It is not making any attempt to escape. The length is about 7 or 8 inches. I tried feeding it grasshoppers but it didn't eat them, so I found 2-inch long earthworms near my chicken coop and those worked.

I don't have experience with snakes, a couple years ago I had another baby garter that was consumed by a toad. All advice and answers to the following questions will be appreciated greatly.

1. The snake hides under the rock all the time and in order to make it eat, I have to lift the rock up. How can I feed my snake without having to lift the rock up every time? I don't like to keep on disturbing it but if I just put the worm down near the rock, the snake won't come out to get it.

2. I read somewhere that worms don't contain all the nutrition the snake needs, so what other foods can I try to feed it? My mom doesn't want any pinky mice sharing freezer space so rodents are out of the question.

3. Do I need anything else in my tank for the snake? The snake never comes out to bask or soak in the water, yet it eats voraciously when it sees a worm dangled in its face.

4. I want my snake to be tame but how do I do this without risking injury? If I want to hold the snake how would I do that? Should I handle the snake by sticking my arms into the tank or should I take the snake out?

Thank you for taking the time to read this long-winded message!

Nor

It's not surprising that your snake is eating earthworms. Many garter snake colonies have nothing else to eat but these tasty morsels. I have collected garter snakes of considerable size who have regurgitated large masses of these creatures and nothing else, so, at times , these snake utilize what nature provides and then awaits the next banquet mother nature doles out. Your snake will grow and thrive for a considerable time eating earthworms, so don't fret too much, at least it IS eating. Soon your snake becomes accustomed to your attention , the lifting the rock thing will stop, for it will seek YOU out when feeding time arrives and you will have , not only an alert and attentive captive, but a voracious feeding monster who will eat almost anything you place infront of it ( including your FINGER if your not careful). This is the time to mix up the food varieties and you won't need to freeze anything as it will be consumed instantly by this very exceptional species.

Oh, okay thanks for replying! I will continue observing my snake and hopefully in the near future it will get used to me and come out from under the rock. I know it's not quite winter yet but what am I supposed to do when the snake hibernates?
Nor

I'm not a snake expert, but your snake won't hibernate unless you provide the conditions needed for hibernation. So unless your house is freezing during the winter time it isn't likely that your snake will hibernate. Pretty much, a snake's world revolves around temperature, two cold and it won't be as active and if it gets cold enough it'll enter hibernation. But, that's another story and unless you wish for your snake to enter hibernation I advise you to seek advice from other's, because like I said before--I'm not a snake expert.

Anyway, I pretty much have the same problem you have, my baby snake--well he/she will just hide, and hide, and hide. Maybe because he is so small and feels that he must hide? But really, with /all/ my butler garter snakes they like to hide. But don't mind being handle whatsoever, they /loved/ to be handled and love to cuddle. It's just the way they are, I guess?

-Alenna

Well, does the snake have to hibernate or can it just survive through winter in a warm house?

Nah, it doesn't have to hibernate.

Okay then, I will not have my snake enter hibernation because that will be extra work to bring the tank into the basement and whatnot. I won't be able to find earthworms outside when it is so cold, so where will I find food? Do bait stores sell nightcrawlers in the middle of winter?

Also I am wondering how I am supposed to hold my snake.

Nor

Not sure about the worm issue. But, I have 3 wild caught garters and they love feeder guppies and one even takes pinkis but only if they are already dead and have been rubbed on my pet frog. You can see if your snake will take guppies since these are readily available at most pet stores.

You could try some frozen / thawed day old pinkis rubbed in earthworm. If your snake takes them, you can try getting your mom to cave on the pinkies in the freezer issue. I've got my own little corner of our freezer that is designated for my stuff and the frozen rodents have to be in bags so that they aren't visible

As far as handling goes, this is what I've been doing. I lift up the hide and try to scoop the snake into my hand with as little chase as possible (chasing them around the tank gets them all wound up and you're more likely to get musked). I then let the snake crawl through my hands unrestrained putting one hand in front of the other. When you first start, it is best to do this over the tank so that the snake doesn't escape if he decides to bolt, which they usually will do so be ready. Try to avoid forcibly restraining the snake or it will panic and musk on you. I handle mine everyday and they've all been getting progressively calmer.

Hope this helps,
Alice

thanks for replying! hmmm, rabbit is very common in supermarkets here so would those work as well as pinkie mice? my mom won't mind those in the freezer. i tried giving my snake a piece of fish fillet today but it just slithered away uninterestedly. should I try scenting the fish with worm slime and try again? the fish is very easy to get, even easier than rabbit. so let me know what you think.

Rabbit is a definate no go. I'm not sure how healthy piecies of fish filet would be as a long term diet (yes I'd say try rubbing a worm on it) if you can get your snake to eat it. The snake derives lots of nutrients from the guts and their contents that wouldn't be present in strips of fish. The same would be true for piecies of rabbit versus whole pinkis.

You could try doing a search on-line for worms I'm sure you could find some type of bait shop that could keep you supplied over the winter.

-Alice

Do feeder fish (tuffies, minnows, etc) contain the nutrients that the snake needs if I feed them whole? If they don't then I will have to go to the pet store to find nutrient supplements. If the fish are all right should I let them swim around in the water bowl or should I pre-slaughter them before feeding time? Thanks.

I let the fish swim in the water bowl and my snakes have a blast catching them. I know that garters fed exclusively goldfish or ruby red minnows will develop a vitamin deficiency. I'm not sure about guppies (which is what I've been feeding). This is why I'm trying to get them all to take pinkis. I think that as long as you continue to feed worms in addition to fish you shouldn't have a problem, even if your snake has to live on fish for a few months during the winter. I feed mine guppies exclusively for several months until they get big enough to take a pinkis with no ill effects.

You can always catch extra worms while they're readily available and keep them so that you can give your snake the occaisional worm over the winter.

I'm not sure what to do if you wanted to try vitamins. I'd look for some type that you can add to the water. If you can find some, after your snake eats his fish, replace the water and add the vitamins as I'm not sure if the fish would survive if you add the vitamins while they are in there.

-Alice

if I combined the earthworms, fish fillet, feeder fish, and some vitamin supplements would that be a good diet for the garter? can I try sprinkling the vitamin powder on the food instead of mixing it in the water?

Sounds like a good diet. If you can get your garter to eat all three, you may be able to get by without supplements. Sure you can try sprinkling them on the food. I was just thinking about the logistics of supplementing if you were feeding exclusively feeder fish from a bowl.
-Alice

Ok tbanks, I will feed my snake this diet once it it grows a little larger, because right now as a baby snake it will just eat earthworms. How do I tell when my snake has to shed?

Before a shed, your snake's colors will dull and its eyes will become an opaque blueish color (it may not want to eat when this occurs). After a few days, the opacity will fade and the snake will shed.

You should keep introducing / trying to get your snake to take alternate food items before it becomes too fixed in its habits. I have found that young garters are much more open to trying new things than older ones. Try withholding worms for awhile and offering worm scented / food rubbed on worms. This way you can formulate an alternate plan before the winter hits if your snake won't take these food items.

-Alice

That's a really good idea, I hadn't thought about that! Thanks for telling me that otherwise my snake might become addicted to worms. The reason why I asked about the shedding is because the snake's eyes are all dull and only ate 1 worm today instead of 4 worms like it did 2 days ago. Maybe it is shedding time!