Garter info

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
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Jan 17, 2006
Messages
317
Just got my first pet snake, a garter snake, presumably one of several florida species. I have researched its complicated diet and its housing is top notch, yet simple, but i still have a few questions.

1) How long do most garter species typically live?

2) I heard olive oil can remove mites, if any. This true?

I already did a manual mite and "worm lump" check and i asked if it had been given regular checkups, the manager answering that that was the case. Its an otherwise healthy, 20 inch specimen, active, and no discharge around eyes and nose, no irregular breathing sounds.
 

Natemass

Arachnolord
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Sep 16, 2006
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618
if you can go to petco and buy zoo med mite off works good. pics???
 

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
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Jan 17, 2006
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sorry to digicam :( even if i did have one, its decided to burrow into the peat moss and only its head is poking out. Its brown, with faint broken lines down its back. its not a ribbon snake, i can tell that much.(Edit: actually, it is) :p
 
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EAD063

Arachnoprince
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Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
I kept massive amounts of garter snakes when I was a kid, I mostly fed them small frogs and earth worms. The container I kept them in was a 55 gallon plastic drum with a bunch of grass clippings and rocks and twigs. I would usually catch them and keep them for a few weeks and then let them go back where I use to find them. The most I had was probaly 15 at once, and probaly over a hundred all together. If you have seen them before, or know where in your state they live, you maybe able to set a trap to get more. I knew a very rocky area where I had seen many before and I used a 2x2 piece of sheet metal, the snakes went under it during the hours that the metal piece was in the sun, I assume to speed up they're digestive process or stay warm.

Hope this helps.

Ed
 

AneesasMuse

Arachnoangel
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Jul 31, 2006
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I used to get "whoopins" regularly for neglecting to remove them from my clothes at the end of the day :D My grandma (my great-grandparents raised me) would frequently find one in a pants pocket... among other "critters" {D And we would know each time by the piercing screams coming from the laundry room... followed shortly by my own screams from the pain of a "switch" across my backside. :rolleyes:
 

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
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Jan 17, 2006
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317
in my opinion, a very underrated snake. Its very active and voracious. Love it!
 

LeilaNami

Arachnoking
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Jun 8, 2006
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You can also feed them feeder fish by dropping a couple in their water bowls ;)
 

Sof

Arachnoknight
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Apr 29, 2006
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I used to get "whoopins" regularly for neglecting to remove them from my clothes at the end of the day :D My grandma (my great-grandparents raised me) would frequently find one in a pants pocket... among other "critters" {D And we would know each time by the piercing screams coming from the laundry room... followed shortly by my own screams from the pain of a "switch" across my backside. :rolleyes:
LMAO. Thats hilarious.
 

Frogsarethapoop

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 26, 2006
Messages
162
I kept massive amounts of garter snakes when I was a kid, I mostly fed them small frogs and earth worms. The container I kept them in was a 55 gallon plastic drum with a bunch of grass clippings and rocks and twigs. I would usually catch them and keep them for a few weeks and then let them go back where I use to find them. The most I had was probaly 15 at once, and probaly over a hundred all together. If you have seen them before, or know where in your state they live, you maybe able to set a trap to get more. I knew a very rocky area where I had seen many before and I used a 2x2 piece of sheet metal, the snakes went under it during the hours that the metal piece was in the sun, I assume to speed up they're digestive process or stay warm.

Hope this helps.

Ed

My parents have always been conscious about preserving wild animals, probably why I am too, and anytime I brought a wild caught animal home I got beat.
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
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Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
i keep gartersnakes, and they are not that complicated.

1. substrate: peat moss or soil is a good substrate, never use sand or some such. offer it some branches, many of them like to climb. the substrate should be dry - they live near water, not in swamps, and really like a dry place. too moist substrate can lead to fungal infections.

2. water: offer it a laaarge waterdish, it will likely want to swim once and again. you'll have to change it nearly daily, many of them poop in the water.

3. food: i don't know how it is where you live, but here in germany all amphibians are protected species. plus, wild caught food can get your snake killed. don't give it earth worm, they may cause indigestion and have next to zero nutritional value.
garter snakes do very well on a mixed diet of small mammals and fish. use small dead feeder mice. don't give it life mice, many garter snakes are bad at killing them and might get bit or swallow the mouse while it's still alive.
you can give it live or dead small fish (always whole, never filet, it lacks calcium and other important things - you can get feeder fish at most petstores). btw: some gartersnakes that get live fish will refuse dead fish as a consequence. that's why mine only get dead prey.
you can top up the diet with cow heart pieces. they have very much protein, but not much else, so don't feed those too often.
Prey items about a thick as the thickest part of the snake are best. be careful with bigger prey, they are very agressive feeders and will try to get a prey item down even if it's too big and chockes them (yes, even snakes can chocke).
every second or third feeding, you should dust the food lightly with a good vitamin powder, as garter snakes are very prone to nervous deseases caused by lack of vitamin b. but don't overdo it.
at 20", one or two feedings a week should be enough. never powerfeed a gartersnake, it will shorten its lifespan dramatically. you shouldn't be able to see the rips or spine, but it shouldn't get fat, either.

4. age: they get around 12 years in captivity - but as i said, powerfeeding reduces that life span. my breeder's adults are fed every 10 days (except the gravid females), and they look perfect.

5. mites: are a serious problem with snakes and will not die easily. plus, they can kill a snake. oil doesn't help at all, so if you have a mite problem, put the snake on dry paper towels, sterilize or throw away everything in its cage and get medication from your vet. i use that stuff used on dogs and it works fine.

hope i could help you some.
 

Alice

Arachnoangel
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Sep 29, 2006
Messages
976
ooops, i forgot: don't use heat mats, and you don't need uv light. get a normal white spotlight (light bulb, depending on the size of your cage around 40-100w) and give it a day-night-cicle. they love to sunbathe! at night it will do fine at room temperature.
 

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
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Jan 17, 2006
Messages
317
Oh, one more thing. is it safe to assume it will get enough calcium from guppies? Is there a good source of Vitamin B1 besides a supplement or no?
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
i keep gartersnakes, and they are not that complicated.

1. substrate: peat moss or soil is a good substrate, never use sand or some such. offer it some branches, many of them like to climb. the substrate should be dry - they live near water, not in swamps, and really like a dry place. too moist substrate can lead to fungal infections.

2. water: offer it a laaarge waterdish, it will likely want to swim once and again. you'll have to change it nearly daily, many of them poop in the water.

3. food: i don't know how it is where you live, but here in germany all amphibians are protected species. plus, wild caught food can get your snake killed. don't give it earth worm, they may cause indigestion and have next to zero nutritional value.
garter snakes do very well on a mixed diet of small mammals and fish. use small dead feeder mice. don't give it life mice, many garter snakes are bad at killing them and might get bit or swallow the mouse while it's still alive.
you can give it live or dead small fish (always whole, never filet, it lacks calcium and other important things - you can get feeder fish at most petstores). btw: some gartersnakes that get live fish will refuse dead fish as a consequence. that's why mine only get dead prey.
you can top up the diet with cow heart pieces. they have very much protein, but not much else, so don't feed those too often.
Prey items about a thick as the thickest part of the snake are best. be careful with bigger prey, they are very agressive feeders and will try to get a prey item down even if it's too big and chockes them (yes, even snakes can chocke).
every second or third feeding, you should dust the food lightly with a good vitamin powder, as garter snakes are very prone to nervous deseases caused by lack of vitamin b. but don't overdo it.
at 20", one or two feedings a week should be enough. never powerfeed a gartersnake, it will shorten its lifespan dramatically. you shouldn't be able to see the rips or spine, but it shouldn't get fat, either.

4. age: they get around 12 years in captivity - but as i said, powerfeeding reduces that life span. my breeder's adults are fed every 10 days (except the gravid females), and they look perfect.

5. mites: are a serious problem with snakes and will not die easily. plus, they can kill a snake. oil doesn't help at all, so if you have a mite problem, put the snake on dry paper towels, sterilize or throw away everything in its cage and get medication from your vet. i use that stuff used on dogs and it works fine.

hope i could help you some.
When I first started feeding earthworms it was because I saw one that had been run over by a car upchucking an earthworm. I may have only been 7 years old but it was an intereting observation in my mind. Personally I've never heard of a garter snake eating fish, and I don't see how they have access to cow parts in the wild, I do however know that they do eat frogs and worms in they're natural enviroment..as for the nutritional factor, earthworms are a great source of protein and amino acids.... And we have cultured worms in Amercica, it would be ridiclous to lift up rocks to find food for your pet when they are 4$ for two dozen at the pet shop, bait shop, hardware store, anywhere. Personally I think cow parts and fish are not a good natural diet for a snake. EDIT: I lied actually, fish are apparently okay. I did a quick google., look at the top 4. :)

Garter snakes have many types of prey, including: frogs, toads, salamanders, earthworms, small fish, tadpoles, mice, bird eggs, slugs, crayfish, leeches, insects, and small snakes. They also eat carrion, and often get run over by cars when they try to eat some small dead animal (such as a frog) off a road.
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/eastern_garter_snake.htm
 
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Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 17, 2006
Messages
317
actually, in florida, our wild garter snakes actually do hunt in ponds, occasionaly snagging a minnow or two, but mostly hunt frogs and toads.
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
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Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
Oh, one more thing. is it safe to assume it will get enough calcium from guppies? Is there a good source of Vitamin B1 besides a supplement or no?
That depends on wether or not the snake can breakdown the bones in the fish, which is where all their calcium hides. I don't know exactly if they can, check they're poop. :) BTW the snake needs a small water dish too, I don't know if we covered that or not. Also I would use a sun-glo bulb rather than a normal white incandesent, for the extra 10 bucks its worth it for the overall skin and digestive help.
 

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
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Jan 17, 2006
Messages
317
Ahh. Right now im using an infrared bulb, 50 watt, but ill be doing a supply run once the stores all open in an hour, so ill invest in one of those. I will also get the vits. needed.
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
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Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
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Awesome, do you have a picture of your snake? The ones I caught as a kid are pictured in the link I posted before. I guess called the "eastern" garter snake. The smallest one I ever caught was about 3 and a half inches and the biggest being are 18-20 inches, a few even had over a 1.5 inch gurth, which is large for the snakes up here. I don't know if you plan to handle yours because it's most likely a different species can I use to find, but I used a baseball batters glove to hand mine and have only been bit bare handed once but that was because I saw a snake chasing the big bull frog that lived under my porch andto be honest, I didn't want him to catch it. IME garter snakes are very hardy, I think I said before I never ever suffered a casualty in the close to 100 i've kept in the past, but I did only keep them for a couple months at a time and never throughout the winter. A very interesting one is called the "California" or "San Francisco" Garter snake, but I belive they maybe endangered (I saw it pictured on a stamp once), but nevertheless very pretty.

Ed
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
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Messages
1,415
Ahh. Right now im using an infrared bulb, 50 watt, but ill be doing a supply run once the stores all open in an hour, so ill invest in one of those. I will also get the vits. needed.
PS, the red bulb maybe fine for night time, can the tank be put near a big big window(that does't have any air leaks at all) if it can, you maybe able to save a couple bucks by using the natural sunlight for enrichment. It would also use the heat lamp during the day but I would mark on the tank where the sun stays the longest and position the light accoriding to that
 

Leiurus87

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Jan 17, 2006
Messages
317
Well, it has the sun glo light now. The pet store i got it from had another garter, and they seem to be housed on red cedar. isnt that toxic? might explain why the snakes are always in the water bown or on the logs:wall: As for pics, i dont have a digitcam on me right now, but its a lovely 20 inch brown base color with two tan lines down its sides with no lines down its spine. it also loves to burrow into the peat moss, as it has just done
 
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