Need info on Garter snakes

Senator Gracken · 03-23-04, 01:17 AM

I was approached today by an employee of an animal santuary thing here in Red Deer (never been to it so i'm not sure) and was asked about a bunch of stuff concerning a garter snake that someone had dropped off there. They said it has lost weight, is excreting an oily black substance(I assume this is musk), and didnt have a proper shed - qoute : "he didnt shed well and most of his face didnt come off , also its kinda like really bad dandruff"

well since I havent kept garters before I thought Id get a quick rundown from you guys oh and they didn't burmuate (sp?) the little guy for the winter AND they are feeding it meal worms! He wants me to go there this weekend to teach them basic husbandry and so naturally I came to you. So ya please help in anyway possible. (I know basics for boas and pythons but not garters)

Joseph Elliott

Oliverian · 03-23-04, 01:33 AM

Eh... Don't really know where to start.

They don't need any special humidity requirements. They like a nice large water bowl to soak, make sure the substrate is not wet. Feeding chunks of fish with vitamin powder is best, as insects are not very nutritious, some fishes are non nutritious and can actually do harm, and many frog/toad food items carry parasites. You CAN convert them to pinkies with a little fish-scenting, but be careful that they don't gain too much fat as their bodies aren't used to an exclusively rodent diet. I feed a blend of trout, vitamins, and rat for a bit of extra weight, but you can just go with fish and vitamins. Don't feed goldfish. They do like to climb and bask, so provide branches and a good heat source. I find temperatures in the high 80's do well for the warm end, and room temperature for the cool end. Just make sure the enclosure isn't too wet, or too dry, as both will cause problems.

They usually shed fine in these conditions, as long as the basking area isn't too warm you should be fine. The black oily substance doesn't sound good though, usually musk is clear, yellow, or white with urates inside. Although, garter feces is a lot more liquidy than a lot of other snake feces, it shouldn't be oily. More like a glob of wet blackish stuff. (nice, I know) If the snake has been losing weight, they either aren't feeding it enough, feeding it the wrong foods, or it has parasites. I would get a fecal done and check for other problems such as mites, and make sure they're feeding it enough. It should be eating a fair amount of fish (if it's eating fish), at least two heaping spoonfuls a week. If they feed it pinkies, (which should be done sparingly), give it one every 9 days or so as they take longer to digest.

Hopefully the little guy does well for those guys. Good luck.

-TammyR

Tim_Cranwill · 03-23-04, 02:03 AM

Here's a good place to start....

http://www.gartersnake.co.uk/maintenance.htm

Print this off for them and let them keep it.

Oliverian · 03-23-04, 02:14 AM

That works, too. I couldn't find my reference site so I just wrote a paragraph.

-TammyR

Tim_Cranwill · 03-23-04, 02:18 AM

lol

It's a shame there aren't more good garter care sheets. They are such cool little snakes.

Ontario_herper · 03-23-04, 10:06 AM

Be careful when feeding fish. Myself and others have had problems when feeding fish. I have kept garters for several years on a mice exclusive diet and they have done just fine. Temps in the high 80's seem a bit warm to me. I keep mine at around 78c. Their set-up is similar to any other colubrid. Wet or dorty cages can cause problems. Also I'm not sure that any of my garters have ever had a bad shed?

Senator Gracken · 03-23-04, 06:00 PM

would you say Uv light is a must? I believe it is a plains garter.
also about food size is it 1 to 1 1/2 times the widest point like a boa or python or what?

Jonathan Crowe · 04-05-04, 12:06 PM

Let's see if I can add something here.

I think the general consensus is that UV light is optional for garter snakes -- some people swear by it, others don't bother with it. I'm not sure yet whether it makes a difference.

Plains garters are one of the easier garter species to convert to mice -- my young adult male (thanks Jordan!) hasn't eaten anything but mice since I got it (admittedly only two months ago). He's a voracious feeder on mice.

Brumation isn't really necessary unless you're planning to breed them or if the snake goes off its food and gives you no other choice. None of my garters were brumated this year; sometimes they get a little finicky, but usually they keep eating throughout the winter.

Your experiences, of course, might be different.

http://www.mcwetboy.com/gartercare/

Cruciform · 04-05-04, 12:32 PM

Mine get a bowl ful of rosies placed in their cage twice a week. They typically eat 15 each in one sitting. When eating pinkies they don't eat nearly as much food in volume, but they don't poop as much afterward either

If he's not shedding properly they should take some sphagnum moss, soak it, then wring it out and place it in the corner of the cage (as an alternative to soaking in the water bowl). The snake will seek out the humidity if he needs it.

My male seems to prefer the water bowl for soaking, while the female typically visits the moss. We have baseboard heating in the apartment so spraying the moss occasionally keeps it from becoming as dry as the air in the apartment.

Haven't seen them exude any black stuff (beside healthy poop), but mine have never even musked.

Hope the little guy does well.

PS. A bait shop will have his two favorite foods if you can't find what you need in the pet store: minnows and worms. Just make sure the worms aren't from an area doused with pesticides.

lucydog · 05-08-04, 10:01 PM

what do garter snakes? eat iv been feeding them night crawlers is that bad?

lucydog · 05-08-04, 10:03 PM

What do garter snakes eat?Iv been feeding it night crawlersis that bad?

Vanan · 05-10-04, 03:34 PM

Earthworms may be fine for temporary feeding (if you're out of other prey) or for newborn garters (since they're so small). Otherwise, they do not consist of enough nutrients for the proper development and maintenance of garters. Also, it is recommended to supplement the earthworm meal with some calcium dusting since earthworms hardly have any calcium (if not none at all). Not sure of the exact nutritional analysis of earthworms but try looking it up and you'll know what I mean.