Eastern Garter Snake

[Wade]

Linda-

Are you certain you have a garter snake and not a rough green snake? The reason I ask is I find it very unusual that it 1 - Ate a cricket and 2 - refused worms. I've kept many garters over the years, and they've never show any intrest in insects, bu they love worms. Also, the head being 1/4 inch wide sounds a lot more like a rough green snake than a garter snake. Other possibilities are Dekays' snake and brown earth snake. What color is it?

Also, you can't assume that store-bought worms are safer than wild collected worms. Although red wigglers are routinely raised commercially, nightcrawlers (at least the big, Canadian night crawlers sold in bait shops) are not. These are wild collected and are therefore no safer than your local worms. Just be sure to collect from an undeveloped area where spraying is unlikley. If your snake is indeed a rough green snake, it will probably show no interest in worms anyway.

Your set up sounds great for a garter, but if you determine it is a rough green, include lots of plants and climbing branches.

Wade

 

[Linda Bowers]

Wade: I've looked through several reptile books and pictures on the web, and it looks like a garter. I will look at the other species you mentioned. I found it in the woods in New York State. It has a checker pattern down it's back. Thanks for the help!! Since I caught this snake in the wild, I figured it's stressed out and not likely to eat at first. I'll do more research! Thanks!