Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The more posts I read, the more I realize I don't know. I had had no prior intention of breeding Gopher, and I was wondering if breeding is essential to a garter's long-term health? My mom can't stand the fact that I have her and says that it's "cruel" to keep her caged. (She was rescued from the railroad tracks behind my old apartment in October when a friend of mine stepped on her accidentally.) So hopefully my long-term fancies will be seen. Also, how would you approximate age, is there any way to know? Another thing, I was wondering how she would do with eating tadpoles, because I'm not sure if she could comfortably eat frogs. Maybe I could just look for little ones. Is it safe to assume she'd be okay eating wild frogs, how likely that she could get sick? (She eats Petco crickets at the moment) Okay, that's all for now.

Can you please post a picture or two of your pet? It would help us to give you better information.
-----
Firehouse Herps

Go to the bait store and get a dozen small minnows. Better than crickets. Eventually you could try a pinky mouse and see if that works.

Crickets won't give your snake all of the nutrients it needs, and wild frogs and tadpoles can carry parasites. I'd recommend switching your pet over to fish or mice, although you may have to feed it with a mixture of those and crickets for a while, to get it to switch. As for the baby you mentioned in the earlier post, keep an eye out, there may be more. If they're alive, you can let them go if you can't keep them. They're completely independent from birth so they'll be fine if you put them in good habitat. Good luck to you and your pet! You said that your friend stepped on it, is she injured in any way?

Garters aren't generally very fond of crickets. Are you sure s/he is eating them - are you seeing her eat them? Garters eagerly feed on frogs, tadpoles, fish and worms. Some will eat other prey items like mice.

Are you sure its a garter? What does it look like, where are you (geographically), how big is it?

Don't worry about parasites. your snake already has them.Almost all live food is going to carry some kind of parasite.Even fish.Just try not to put too much stress on the snake.That is when the parasites will get out of control and kill the snakeMake sure your snake has a nice tight hide space so it can feel secure.
Tom

Already planning a trip to the bait store for the minnows. Thanks on that, I'm just a little tender-hearted when it comes to furry things. And yes, I am very sure the baby was not a worm or such, very distinctly a baby. It also had a little bulbous pink thing on the end attached to the tail. Gopher was not injured in any way when stepped on. I'm located in western VA, and she is green with a black stripe and a pale green (very pretty) underbelly. She is approx. 20 inches long. have to go...more later

I have a picture now of my Gopher. I'd like to post it, but I'm a little computer illiterate. I don't know about how long the baby was in there. I was in the hospital for three days, (I have a newborn son)so the max could have been 5 since I had cleaned out her cage. If it was longer than that, it just knew how to hide. I'd send a pic of it too, but I don't feel like digging through the dirty diapers to pull it out of the trashcan. Okeay, let me know how to work the stupid pic thing and I'll post her pic. Later.

No, I have noticed no swelling, but she does seems slightly lethargic since the baby thing. And it's still about 4 days from when she usually eats. Maybe just renewed appetite, or something more serious? I never noticed any injury from when she was stepped on,(October) and she let me hold her for at least an hour the next day: no hostility. Is there anything in specific I should be looking for???

A random question...does any one else have reoccuring dreams about snakes? She's my first and almost every night (exempting the last week), I've had vivid reoccurring dreams about snakes, always at least one garter (that dream also had two albino corn snakes), most with dozens in piles, falling from windows a la The Craft, the most there were literally thousands (in which I also found literally hundreds in quarters under a porch). I've never been afraid in these dreams, unless it was fear of injuring a snake.