Garter/ribbon Snakes As Pets

[Fierce Critter]

Jon and I came across a little garter snake when we were up north last month. I love garter snakes, and have no problem handling them then seeing them slither on their merry way.

I have been thinking that someday I might not mind a pet snake. But I absolutely won't deal with feeding a snake mice, and even fish would be hard for me. And though I don't have a snake phobia like I do an insect/spider phobia, I prefer them very, very small.

I've done a tiny, tiny bit of research, and it sounds like I might someday find a garter snake a suitable pet snake. They stay relatively small, can be fed primarily crickets & commercial snake food, and don't need a huge enclosure.

Anyone have any experience with them here?

And what about ribbon snakes? What do you know of them?

[know_buddy_kares]

Growing up as a kid I caught a few garter snakes and kept them for a few months at a time. I'd catch them, set up a habitat, keep em for a couple months, then let them go, and catch a different type of animal.

Crickets and regular food is what they need, and from what I've experienced, they don't need much. I kept 2 for 2 months, and had a dozen crickets in there just incase... they only ate like one cricket total... the remaining 11 just had sex and produced shitloads of off spring.

I had a snake more recently though, a Ball Python when I was in Fowlerville. I had to feed it living animals, and that is a pain in the fucking ass trying to find a store that sells living feeder mice.

I wound up having to buy pet gerbils and spoil that damn thing with expensive gourmet meals that would cost 12 bucks each, and constantly go to different pet stores. Then my room mate let the thing get loose and lost it.. fuckin bitch... oh well. But yeah If i was to have snakes again, I'd go with something little like that too because simply the food sources would be sooo much easier to obtain for the little critters than one of the bigger types of snakes out there.

[pomba gira]

I had a snake more recently though, a Ball Python when I was in Fowlerville. I had to feed it living animals, and that is a pain in the fucking ass trying to find a store that sells living feeder mice.

Huh? what pet stores were you going to? they almost all carry feeder mice. Live pinkies are indeed hard to find... and large rats... but not your basic mouse.

Anyway FC... one thing you should know about garter snakes, they can spray you with musk if they get agitated. And be warned, crickets can be more of a hassle to deal with than the critter you're feeding them to... they have to be fed/gut loaded and have to have water (which they will drown in)... and they eat each other if you have too many in too little space. Mealworms, superworms or waxworms are much easier to deal with. You can also get frozen mice if it's watching the mouse suffer that bothers you... some herps won't take them but many will. My MIA corn snake ate frozen pinkies just fine.

Ribbon snakes are pretty much the same as garter snakes in terms of feeding, husbandry, etc. I think they spray musk too but I could be wrong about that... Tokagemaru is much more of a herp expert than me!

[know_buddy_kares]

Huh? what pet stores were you going to? they almost all carry feeder mice. Live pinkies are indeed hard to find... and large rats... but not your basic mouse.

See, it had to have live feeder mice, the stupid thing would refuse to eat dead or frozen mice. it had to be fresh and living, and I was also in Fowlerville at the time, No pet store would sell living feeder animals anymore, but said i could buy the dead/frozen ones. So it was a delemma that I solved the best I could.

And you're right about the crickets, i forgot that, all i remember is all the larva from the damn things.

And the musk, yeah, they'd launch that every time I'd catch a wild one.

[pomba gira]

Ah... sorry, I missed the Fowlerville part. All is clear now. Silly me, yeah I guess the selection of anything is going to be limited in a small town like that. Prolly aren't even any chain pet stores, yes? Closest would likely be Pet Supplies Plus in Howell.

On the cricket tip, fortunately I discoverd Water Bites (little gel water chunks) and Fluker's cricket food... much handier than veggies and eliminates the need for calcium dusting. First time I tried that was a riot... I just dumped the crickets in the bag of powder & shook it up... they were instantly buried and were nearly dead by the time I managed to dig them out... it's amazing how hard to find three stunned crickets are in a sandwich baggie of powder. D'oh!

BTW, FC have you considered a corn snake? They are about the same size as a garter snake (about 3-4' tops, slightly heavier body than a garter or ribbon but nothing like a boa or python) and much more docile... they also come in an array of pretty color morphs. They have very simple habitat requirements too. You will need to feed them pinkies but they'll take frozen ones. One thing to consider is that garter/ribbon snakes are usually wild caught... corn snakes are almost always captive bred which is MUCH better for any number of reasons. You can get them in pet stores for around $40 but it's cheaper to go to a breeder... I got mine for $20 when she was maybe 6-8" long. The go-to website for info on corns is CornUtopia, the couple who run it are the biggest breeders in the country.