# how would i care for a young garter snake?



## mouse (Aug 9, 2011)

i ended up with a small snake (i guess it's a garter snake as far as i can tell from googeling pics). it's black with yellow stripe on each side and yellow stripe on top. the bottom is a light color and i think some red on the side according  to my kid. she got told it's a red racer (but the pics on the internet didn't match up). so now a got this snake from the neighbor.. got a tank set up and a bowl with water in there...now what kind of food does it need? i read online garter snakes eat worms and feeder fish (no goldfish or red wigglers...they are poison to them). and night crawler would need cut into 4 pieces. 
but i figured it wouldn't hurt to ask here for a bit more info... what all can a garter snake eat ? 
thanks


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## chicka (Aug 9, 2011)

baby garter snakes eat worms- night crawlers are good, but like you said need to be cut up. also trout worms can be fed... and I think they are small enough to feed whole. Feeder fish aren't recommended to feed because they're fatty and if there were any chemicals that were used in their tank are in greater concentration in the fish and could potentially kill your snake. 

I just got a baby garter a few weeks ago and hes growing like a weed- we feed him every 4 days or so... i don't really know how nutritious worms are, but hes not fat, so i think its all good  I cant wait till he gets big enough to eat pinky mice.... that would be so much easier 

You should post pics of the snake and your set up


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## jere000 (Aug 9, 2011)

Go to www.thamnophis.com, you'll get any info you want on garters.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ziltoid (Aug 9, 2011)

The best way to care for a baby wild born Garter snake......is to let it go where you found it. That creature will never be happy as your pet. sorry, it's true. However wild born or not...they love to eat Salamanders.


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## mouse (Aug 9, 2011)

well i can't let it go where i found it. the neighbor found it under the bbq in the middle of the apt complex. a few days ago my kids seen a few babies, but another tried to get rid of the mother of them in the breezeway via smacking it with a shovel...plus they spray for insects around here again..went and bought some earthworms at the petshop and try to feed it. last year i seen a bunch of dead ones...darn kids/teens/ppl around here  .


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## jere000 (Aug 9, 2011)

Ziltoid, get off your righteous horse.Wild caught graters make awesome pets.Also I wouldn't recommend salamanders.Guppies and cut up worms are good foods, no red wigglers though.Pinkies also make a good food source.Most people who breed garter snakes, have animals in their collection that are WC.We're not going to make garter snakes go extinct by taking one.Here's a couple pics of a recent litter of garters I had, there was 22 babies from a Wild caught mother.


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## pitbulllady (Aug 9, 2011)

Get REAL, dude, and get off this PETA/HSUS AR garbage about "it will never be happy as your pet".  Really?  How 'bout YOUR animals, assuming you keep any...are THEY happy as YOUR pets? A LOT of us here, and that includes me, I'm not at all ashamed to state, own wild-caught snakes as well as captive-bred ones.  With the snakes I breed, wild-caughts are a necessity because I'm only one of like, four people in the US actually making an effort to breed them in captivity, and if all I had to breed from was the stock produced by the other three people, I'd hit a major genetic bottleneck really fast!  Just today I had a litter born of possibly a new morph, to a wild-caught female Banded, and I'm not in the least ashamed of bringing her into a life of free and unlimited food, no predators, protection from the elements, etc., not afforded to her still-"free" kin.  Is she "happy"?  Well, as a long-time animal breeder from a farming background, one thing I know is this: animals that are stressed don't breed, and if they DO, they often miscarry.  Snakes that aren't "happy" don't eat.  I don't have those issues with this snake.  People make a mistake of assuming that what makes US happy must apply to every living thing; if that's true, then the opposite must be true, as well. If my dog is happy drinking from the toilet, I guess this means you should be, right?  

That said, Garter Snakes are easy to care for and DO make really good pets.  I should know; I've got enough of 'em.  My adults eat fresh cut fish from the supermarket-Tilapia, Salmon, Ocean Perch(Redfish), as well as live Mudminnows, a type of brackish Killifish.  My babies eat live Gambusia(Mosquito Fish, relatives of Guppies) and small chopped earthworms.  When they get a bit larger, babies will usually take small slivers of cut fish off tweezers or from my fingers.  Fish are chosen that do not contain Thiaminase, a toxic enzyme that prohibits Vitamin B absorption. People can find a list of fish that do and do not contain Thiaminase here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm .  They are kept on DRY course aspen shavings or newspaper, with a bowl of fresh water.  Garters usually become very tame and are recommended as a first-time pet snake by most knowledgeable herp keepers.

pitbulllady


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## mouse (Aug 9, 2011)

cute babies...mine is a common garter snake (according to the pic i found) black with yellow stripe on each side and a yellow stripe on top...and a few red markings down  the side . got her/him in a 20 gallon tank right now with old soft towel on one side and a hide and a water dish (using my double betta tank to feed him/her in  tho)


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## Ziltoid (Aug 10, 2011)

When I was a young lad my friend had caught a wild Garter. It was baby male, this thing became aggressive after about 2 years. It would bite anyone who went near it. It made cleaning the cage rather difficult. so they did the right thing and let it go. (sadly all of its instinct was gone at this point and most likely met its end to a hawk) I just think something born in the vast wilderness (in most cases) should continue to live out its life in the wild. I could understand keeping them for breeding. (at least that way they won't get "lonely") But if you're going to keep a wild creature in a en-closer it won't live its life to its fullest. even tho all of its needs are met won't ensure the creature is enjoying itself. also to mouse I respect, that you took it out of a dangerous situation. I was just stating my opinion. Note: No high horses here, just passing on my experience with this particular creature.


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## Mojo Jojo (Aug 11, 2011)

Ziltoid, what you are saying can apply to every single animal that anyone has ever called a pet and brought into their homes.  Why are you a member of a forum that caters to people who are interested in keeping wild animals as pets?  And why do you have two red-foot tortoises?


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## Ben Oliver (Aug 11, 2011)

Gater snakes just don't eat earth worms and feeder fish they eat frogs,toads,( garter snakes are one of the only species that can eat a cane toads without dieing) they also eat newts, and salamanders


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## Entomancer (Aug 11, 2011)

pitbulllady said:


> Get REAL, dude, and get off this PETA/HSUS AR garbage about "it will never be happy as your pet".


What the hell? 

He was expressing his opinions and experiences with WC Garter snakes, which are much different than yours. Please, point out where he said that he was a member of PETA, because I think I missed that. Furthermore, you did absolutely nothing to answer the OP's question.

You make a huge rant-filled ragepost about this guy's opinion, ignore the actual purpose of the thread entirely, and accuse him of things he clearly has nothing to do with...that kind of reaction was uncalled for. I'm not a mod here, but please do everyone a favor and practice a little self control before blowing up on people like that. 



Ziltoid said:


> When I was a young lad my friend had caught a wild Garter. It was baby male, this thing became aggressive after about 2 years. It would bite anyone who went near it. It made cleaning the cage rather difficult. so they did the right thing and let it go. (sadly all of its instinct was gone at this point and most likely met its end to a hawk) I just think something born in the vast wilderness (in most cases) should continue to live out its life in the wild.


Nothing ever "loses all instincts". That's impossible; if the snake was acting strangely, perhaps it was not properly taken care of?

And yeah, as others have said, many "wild animals" do just fine in captivity with the right care and  proper setups. Not only that, but it seems that you totally ignored the actual poster's question in all of this as well, and you also ignored their other post, which is quoted next:



mouse said:


> well i can't let it go where i found it. the neighbor found it under the bbq in the middle of the apt complex. a few days ago my kids seen a few babies, but another tried to get rid of the mother of them in the breezeway via smacking it with a shovel...plus they spray for insects around here again..went and bought some earthworms at the petshop and try to feed it. last year i seen a bunch of dead ones...darn kids/teens/ppl around here  .


He/She lives in an apartment complex in California. It must be in suburbia, because it sounds like the idiots are plentiful. If they let it go, it would die, either of chemicals used by the fools who run the place, or by the morons that live there and spend too much time watching reality TV. 

I don't know how to take care of Garters myself, but perhaps someone here could shed some light on how it is actually done? Nobody else has yet, and that was the purpose of the thread. Not to argue about caring for WC herps in captivity.


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## jere000 (Aug 11, 2011)

Yeah, but in captivity you want to avoid the foods that are going to carry parasites.Such as frogs Etc.


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## Ziltoid (Aug 11, 2011)

Mojo Jojo - Mine were born in captivity from a long line of domesticated tortoises. You seem to have missed my point. A wild animal is born in the wild by the way.

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LordRaiden said:


> What the hell?
> 
> He was expressing his opinions and experiences with WC Garter snakes, which are much different than yours. Please, point out where he said that he was a member of PETA, because I think I missed that. Furthermore, you did absolutely nothing to answer the OP's question.
> 
> ...


 I understand what you're saying. I also noted how I respect Mouses decision to help this little guy. (since in reality you can't let the snake go in a place like an apartment complex) I just shed what little knowledge I have on keeping a garter snake from the wild. Not trying to start a flame war or anything. Note: Peta is stupid, I'd never support a radical origination like that.


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