Garter Snake Forum - View Single Post - First Snake

Kembial · 05-26-2007, 01:03 AM

Okay, now for an update. My girlfriend kind've made the commitment for me. While we were out for groceries, she asked if I wanted to stop somewhere and look for some stuff for the snake. Well, if SHE thought I was keeping it, I couldn't really say no, could I?

Picked up a used 10-gal tank. Had a watering bowl and a nice little wood hidey/sunner, both excess from the last used tank we got for the hamster. A small used desk lamp with a 100-watt bulb, all we had, at the moment. And, to complete the garter food triad, a gallon reptile tank and some feeder guppies for breeding/feeding purposes.

So, garter's in the "fish" tank, and fish are in the "snake" tank. Heh. Which goes to show why I wouldn't take the advice of the average pet store employee... What reptile could be expected to be comfortable, much less live out it's life in one gallon's space?

So, I missed the first hour or so of the snake's life in his new home. I was busy cleaning out the other two tanks that would now be devoted to the guppies. Girlfriend said it went immediately to the water and started drinking (his original container was too small to accommodate a sturdy water-bowl, and I knew if my decision was to release it, it would be well before dehydration was a threat). The next 4 or so hours were devoted to exploration. I realized too late we were plump out of paper-towels, and since we don't subscribe to a daily newspaper, I made do with the periodicals from the mail. While they weren't the glossy ads, they were still smoother than the snake expected, and he had to adopt a sort of sidewinder or a kind of pushing slither until he adapted. ASAP better substrate will be provided.

I was concerned that the 100-watt would be too hot, but happily, after getting used to the new home, it crawled up onto the designated sunning spot and stayed there straight until 10, when I finally remembered to turn off the light.

So, a relatively good "first" day.

One guppy's ready to pop, and about five more females are lined up behind her. So, a slow but definitely steady fish supply is standing at the ready. And the garden and trail down the cliff are proving to be ample worm and slug sources, (I hit the slug jackpot, and found the cause of some suffering bean sprouts, under one of my pots, today).

05-26-2007, 01:03 AM	#10 (permalink)
Kembial Hi, I'm New Here! Join Date: May 2007 Location: Olympia, WA Posts: 5 Country:	Re: First Snake - Wild Caught Okay, now for an update. My girlfriend kind've made the commitment for me. While we were out for groceries, she asked if I wanted to stop somewhere and look for some stuff for the snake. Well, if SHE thought I was keeping it, I couldn't really say no, could I? Picked up a used 10-gal tank. Had a watering bowl and a nice little wood hidey/sunner, both excess from the last used tank we got for the hamster. A small used desk lamp with a 100-watt bulb, all we had, at the moment. And, to complete the garter food triad, a gallon reptile tank and some feeder guppies for breeding/feeding purposes. So, garter's in the "fish" tank, and fish are in the "snake" tank. Heh. Which goes to show why I wouldn't take the advice of the average pet store employee... What reptile could be expected to be comfortable, much less live out it's life in one gallon's space? So, I missed the first hour or so of the snake's life in his new home. I was busy cleaning out the other two tanks that would now be devoted to the guppies. Girlfriend said it went immediately to the water and started drinking (his original container was too small to accommodate a sturdy water-bowl, and I knew if my decision was to release it, it would be well before dehydration was a threat). The next 4 or so hours were devoted to exploration. I realized too late we were plump out of paper-towels, and since we don't subscribe to a daily newspaper, I made do with the periodicals from the mail. While they weren't the glossy ads, they were still smoother than the snake expected, and he had to adopt a sort of sidewinder or a kind of pushing slither until he adapted. ASAP better substrate will be provided. I was concerned that the 100-watt would be too hot, but happily, after getting used to the new home, it crawled up onto the designated sunning spot and stayed there straight until 10, when I finally remembered to turn off the light. So, a relatively good "first" day. One guppy's ready to pop, and about five more females are lined up behind her. So, a slow but definitely steady fish supply is standing at the ready. And the garden and trail down the cliff are proving to be ample worm and slug sources, (I hit the slug jackpot, and found the cause of some suffering bean sprouts, under one of my pots, today).