I now have a snake for the first time in 10 years

[troglodyte]

I bought an eyrthristic eastern gartner snake from the National Reptile Breeder's Expo. He's iiiitty bitty.


Anyone familiar with these guys? What can you tell me about them?

 

[JohnEDove]

Do you mean Eythristic?
Did you get it from Scott Felzer?

 

[troglodyte]

Do you mean Eythristic?
Did you get it from Scott Felzer?

Yeah, that's what I meant! And yes, I did. He was great, but very busy so I didn't get to probe him on the snake as much as I wanted to.

 

[JohnEDove]

Scott has a great care sheet on his site you should look at.
http://www.albinogartersnake.com/care.html
Just be aware that when he talks about feeder fish it does not mean feeder Goldfish. Feeder Goldfish are often nutritionally deficient as purchased and they contain an enzyme called thiaminase which destroys vitamin B (thiamine) in the snakes system which can cause neurological problems and kill the snake.
Another great Garter site is that of Dr. Alan Francis in the UK.
http://www.gartersnake.co.uk/
There is even a recipe for a premade food he uses to feed his garters.

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

thats a neat website, some of those look really tempting

how are garter snakes as far as tempermant?

 

[Galapoheros]

I've kept some that strike a lot while others, even the same species, are very calm all the time and never try to bite. I happened to find the first species listed in his collection this week and I think it's gravid.

 

[JohnEDove]

They tend to be flighty as young and mellow out as the get older with regular handling. Other than their diet as young and size they are not all that different than Corns when captive bred and raised but are more day active so they make better display animals over all.

 

[crpy]

My T. s. similis is a great snake, she is active during the day and I occasionally catch "surveying" at night

Hey Trogmeister, show us a pic.

 

[troglodyte]

I've got 3 for ya, Crpy!

He is ever the wiggle worm. But those little bug eyes won me over.

 

[crpy]

Wow thats quite the little tike lol, cute

 

[scottyk]

Nice Garter! That's actually a good size to get them. Hand taming larger ones usually involves getting bitten and musked (crapped on) multiple times.

 

[troglodyte]

Nice Garter! That's actually a good size to get them. Hand taming larger ones usually involves getting bitten and musked (crapped on) multiple times.

Ahh, so THAT'S what you call that goo I kept finding on my hands after holding the little guy.

 

[scottyk]

That would be it

I grew up catching big wild Garters in the woods and fields around my house. Their usual reaction to being grabbed was to bite down hard, and start squirting that musk and whipping it around all over the place. It gets painful and messy very quickly...

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

how long does it take to tame them?

 

[crpy]

I caught a little blue stripe today whilst cleaning up my yard. I let him go cause I already have a couple

 

[scottyk]

how long does it take to tame them?

Not too long. A week or three if you handle them enough. Good sized ones can draw blood and that musk stinks. I couldn't have cared less about either when I was a kid.

Also, I've only dealt with wild caught ones. It's possible that they are more ornery than ones you'd buy in a pet shop...

 

[Shrike]

My experience with garters in the field is varied. Some musk...others don't, but I sure can tell when they do! I've caught a lot of snakes and haven't smelled anything worse than garters. Temperament seems to vary as well. Some won't stop trying to bite, others just squirm. Nice snake by the way! Garters are a lot of fun in captivity.

 

[SNAFU]

Congrats! Awesome little garter you have! I keep scorp's & T's and my son & I have been trying to convince the wife how low maintenance a small snake would be but its a no-go so far!:wall: