• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

HELP!

GOOD, you're getting a store bought snake, that's the first step. Second step, get the cage ready now, don't wait, make sure temps are correct and everything is ready. Third and final step, you need to go to your vet now with 15 dollars and say you want a fecal exam done on a snake. The vet will give you a small sterile glass vial to put some poop in. Take the poop to the vet and wait till he calls you. If your vet calls and says your snake has no parasites, that's good, if not, you need to buy drugs for the snake and feed it to him, drugs cost 10 dollars each, one for worms and one for protozoans. I guarantee your snake will have one kind of parasite or another if it's WC. Again, like BMM said, this is not an option, this is mandatory.

Garter snakes are rarely bred in captivity and most of the ones available in the petstores are WC anyway, you need to be very careful with them, they're known to shed their salmonella more readily than terrestrial snakes and you can get very very very sick if you don't wash your hands every single time you touch your snake.

And since you're mister gartersnake expert now, you shouldn't need any more of our help (you know every single thing there is to know about garter snakes now right?). I think there's a garter snake forum over at kingsnake.com, you'll get more help there than here, we're corn snake nuts, not garter snake nuts. Come back when you get a corn. And don't kill that snake. It should live for a good 5 years atleast. And DESTROY THAT TRAP.

And why does your friend have to "get rid" of the snake? He shouldn't have bought it in the first place if he was planning to get rid of it. Also, have your mom read this stuff too, she needs to learn to catching snakes in the wild is bad, and that you can get sick, or die even. I know from experience, I got bitten by that super rare massasuga rattler. I went hiking in Michigan and dropped my hiking stick and when I leaned down to pick it back up, BANG, it bit me (no, not all rattlesnakes rattle before striking). My whole hand turned black and spent 2 days in the emergency room. I wasn't even looking for snakes and I got bit by one of the rarest snakes in the US and Michigan's ONLY venomous snake just because I reached down to pick up a stick.

-13mur 6
 
No one....and I mean NO ONE knows everything there is to know about ANY species of snake or animal for that matter. And when the learning stops, the care level DROPS!

Don't think you know it all. No one does like I said. People who have been taking care of snakes for 30 years are still learning, and admit it. Its great about the snake and you don't have to take a snake from the wild but keep learning because no one knows it all.

bmm
 
why dont you just buy one from the pet store and tell your mom that you bought it first, and not try to catch one at all?
 
My friend has to get rid of his snake because his mom is making him!! His grandmom gave him the snake and his mom wasn't too happy about that. I have been to the garter snake forum and they say it is fine to catch a garter snake!!!:) Who is right???
 
we are, they dont know as much as us, everyone on kingsnake doesnt know much and you should listen to your elders, heck i am 14 and know not to catch snakes on purpose. :eek: just give in and give up the smart act :mad: you probably dont know much about garters, like what do they eat, how big do they get? can you feed them mice? how much do you feed them and when? eh can you answer all these? answer this, what size do garters need to be to breed, oh and do it without looking it up.
 
It's pretty much the same thing, catching or buying a garter snake, since store bought garter snakes are almost always wild caught. It is NOT OKAY in that since almost ALL garters are WC that you can just assume that they're parasite free like a captive bred snake (and even captive bred snakes are not all parasite free).

The reason I, nor anyone on this forum wants you to catch a snake is that, 1) you can get sick from it, 2) it can get sick and die, 3) if you don't want to get sick, or it to get sick and die, you HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A VET, and 4) Vets charge you lotsa money.

Now lets say you spent 30 dollars on a healthy captive bred corn snake, as long as you have food and a house for the snake it's all good (and maybe a vet visit if it starts to look sick or it's not eating).

If you catch a snake, you have to spend $35 for a fecal exam, a dose of panacur, and a dose of flagyl. That's $5 more than buying a healthy captive bred snake. Now lets say you bought a garter snake that was WC, you spend $20 on the snake and YOU HAVE to spend $35 in vet bills for the same reason for the snake you caught, that's $25 more than just buying a captive bred snake.

Now I know you don't have alot of money being under 18 yrs old (no one's going to hire you for a job because you're underage), so getting together $55 dollars is not an easy task, plus don't forget you're going to have to spend $1 atleast on food per week and possibly $50 or MORE on supplies. That's alot of money, and you don't have it, unless your mom gives you that money.

If your mom was that unwilling to let you have a snake in the first place, who says she's just going to give you that much money to take care of your snake? You're going to have to do more chores or go get a job to make some dollars to keep that snake alive, see where I'm going here?

If you happened to catch a parasite infested snake, or even buy one, I bet you all the money you'd ever earn that you wouldn't be able to keep that snake alive without getting money from someone (this includes money for food and supplies).

You seem like a pretty smart 14 year old kid, but for some reason, you seem to have trouble making sense of why people tell you certain things, this is what we adults call being immature.

If you were older, I probably woudn't even have said anything to you, since 1) you probably knew and understood the problems of catching WC snakes and understood laws regarding snakes, 2) you have the resources and money to clean that snake up and keep him healthy and happy, 3) they don't have moms that live with them to tell them what they can do or can't do (hopefully), 4) you probably wouldn't have posted such a controversial post (there's a million people against catching wild snakes)

I've seen kids your age and younger, and even some older kids, catch snakes and literally just torture them. They kept them in big mason jars with holes in the lid and gave them roaches to eat, or carry them around in plastic shopping bags with water in them, and none of them would survive a day. This one kid had 20 garter snakes in a plastic bag and I offered him a dollar for all of them, and then he said "no I want a 100 dollars". He just wasn't going to give them to me, sadly I found the bag of snakes later in the day in the trashcan in the park, all the snakes were dead, he drowned them.

It's things like this that make kids' parents say NO to snakes, because they'd just kill them without help, and some adults are just too busy or don't have the passion to help young kids like you care for a snake (because to them, it's just another money hole created by you). It's all about the money, and if you don't have it, you're gonna have trouble. That little garter snake is going to cost you alot of money if you give it time.

Now instead of asking whether is okay to catch garter snakes or not on the garter snake forum ask them this question:
"Is it okay to keep a garter snake I caught and don't take him to a vet?"

Now I bet you, if everyone on that forum is a mature snake keeper, they will tell you "if you don't take that snake to a vet he's gonna die, he has parasites". Of course some will say "nah why bother", but those are the people you don't listen to because he's probably just some kid who doesn't know any better, or was lucky (like your cousin) and never had a problem with his snake and never bothered to learn about parasites cuz he was lazy.

Also, they'll probably come to lynch you if you say you're going to trap snakes (again listen carefully, since there will be some kids and immature people on the forum).

Now please, you have a lot of learning to do. Read about parasites, mites, ticks, and how they can kill your snake. That's your next homework assignment (yes, keeping a snake requires homework and a lot of it. There's 60 year old snake keepers doing tons of homework right now because they keep snakes), read about drugs too and how they can help or kill your snake (even the teeniest bit of the wrong drug can kill your snake).

Now tell me this (and you must tell us all or we won't speak another word to you), do you have you cage ready to go? If not, you need a spanking, because I think I told you 3 times. (Number 1 reason why kids get spanked: they don't listen to adults. I'm one of those people who are against spanking, but if I come across a kid who won't listen after I explain over and over why they can't do something, hell I'll break out a whip and won't stop till they're a teeny thing on the ground in fetal position) :D

-13mur 6
 
Also, one more thing to add to what to what CrazyCorn said.

Do you know how many eggs garter snakes lay?

(BTW, this is a trick question ;) and you better not look this up before answering, that's cheating)

-13mur 6
 
13mur 6 said:

Do you know how many eggs garter snakes lay?

-13mur 6
Click to expand...

LOL!:D That's cruel!

Anyway, Bish, I hope you've taken these facts into consideration. People aren't just saying them cos we're mean nasty adults, we just want you to at least try and make an informed decision. If this would be your first snake then I really wouldn't recommend a garter, esp if your mum doesn't want you to have a snake anyway! Corns are much easier to keep (so I've been told). Do yourself, and all of us, a favour and go buy a corn snake manual and read up on how much work and money is involved with keeping reptiles. Do you know that you have to buy heat mats (not heat rocks), have water on cool side of tank, perhaps night lights, fresh water all the time, substrate, hides, feeding every week or so, vet bills. It all adds up!
 
Hmm... I took a look at the garter snake forums today, and no where does it say "it's okay to catch a garter", the last post being from November of last year. There's repeated mentions of making sure you don't need a permit and if you do you should get one. There are also people with problems with worms. I don't think you ever made a post there either.

Lying is not a smart idea Bish, or did you think that since people were saying they caught garters it was an okay thing to do? Because from what I've read, they seem to know what they're doing, and yes alot of them seem to be from Ohio ( these people dose their snakes with drugs even before they take them to a vet as precaution, or don't take them to a vet because they know how to do fecals and check for parasites).

You've been awfully quiet as of late, I want you to answer those questions that were posted, it's not fair we answer you and you don't answer us.

-13mur 6
 
I did not cheat but I have already read this it is 8 eggs at a time!!!! LOL:D !!!! Just kidding they do not lay eggs they give birth to live babies. Garters can eat mice if you scent them to get use to them. They usually eat earthworm, minnows, and goldfish. But as for the breeding question I am not planning on breeding them but I do know they give birth to live babies.
 
Last edited:
And yes I have my cage already set up waiting patiently for a snake as it occupant. As I have already mentioned my friend is giving me his pet garter that has already been to the vet and is very docile. Thanks for your help!! you can still respond if you want to!!:) I have been gone at my church all weekend for a 30 hour fast so that is why i did not respond!!;)
 
I don't want to sound snobby but my dad who works at Ohio University in Athens asked the herpetoligist department and they said it would be fine to catch a garter snake from the wild.
 
Good boy. Not only did you do your research, you're getting a healthy, parasite free snake that's been taken to a vet.

However I think you missed some MAJOR food sources. Garters eat fish rarely in the wild (they're hard to catch and goldfish are so domesticated that they are near extinct in the wild), they eat earthworms as you've mentioned, slugs, frogs and toads. Garters relish slugs, and they enjoy the occasional frog or toad. Though wild snails/slugs are known to transmit flukes I think, so don't feed it anything wild.

As a side note, it is absolutely hillarious watching a garter eat fish (well mine atleast), she will strike the live fish's midsection in a waterbowl and smash it's head repeatedly on the top of her hide until the fish stops flopping.

-13mur 6
 
Again, it is okay to catch a garter as in that it's legal in Ohio. BUT I have a feeling you didn't read that really long post explaining why it's bad, go read it, and you'll understand better, it is very specifically directed at you and people your age.

I'm not going to explain again why wild garters are bad. You don't want to catch one, period. If you want a reason, go read that post, it's the longest one, on page 3.

-13mur 6
 
Also, forgot one thing.

Tell me your current cage temps to the nearest tenth of a degree. If you can't you didn't get a thermometer from radioshack, go get one, they only cost like $10.

-13mur 6
 
The tempurature in the cage is usually around 86.7 degrees Farenhiet. But I can lower it to 78 degrees farenheit or up to 90 degrees farenhiet. but I always keep it at 86.7. I check it everyday to make sure it stays the same. My friend is giving me the snake in one week from today.:D I am so excited or for your surfer dudes I am so stoked!!:cool:
 
And I forgot to add one more thing about the money thing on that long response on page three I have over $250 So I think I can afford the mataneice and the keep up of a cage and a garter snake.;)
 
LOL! $250... Say bye bye to your $250. I had a bad run in with a vet and lost close to $300 all in the course of a month (this is not including all the other things I get for my snakes weekly, don't forget my mice too, they eat my wallet clean, and damn, I must eat atleast $5 worth of food a day too).

Now if you were earning $250 a day lets say, then that's a different story.

Tell me your temps on the cool side now, or was that your cool side temps?

-13mur 6
 
Also, if you caught a garter lets say, I think you'd agree you'd be about 70 bucks short of $250 right now. (those vets charge just to see you).

-13mur 6
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top