[Sid]

Originally Posted by Purplegrrl666

Hello everyone,
I'm new here and new to garter snakes in general. I have previously owned 3 snakes (1 king, 2 corn) and I decided to buy a garter snake earlier today. *I think it's a western ribbon*. I have a couple of questions. If anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated.

1) How often do they strike, and how can I help to avoid it

2) How often should I feed him (right now I'm giving him feeder fish from the petstore, they told me 3 a day but that sounded kind of excessive.

3) What type of bedding should I use in his cage? Are aspen/ceder type shavings okay?

If there's anything that a garter-newbie like myself should be aware of that you can think of, please let me know!

Also, since I bought him a few hours ago, I only put 1 fish in his water bowl because I thought he may not feel up to eating tonight. What should I do if he doesn't eat the fish? Just let it stay in there until it dies and then take it out?

Whew! Sorry that was several questions thank you to anyone who responds!

HI and welcome to the forum.

1) As for striking, most Garters and Ribbon aren't bad about that at all. They will get a little hyper when handled until they get use to it. Handle it gently allowing the snake to move from hand to hand and they normally calm dow quickly.

2) I feed my adults once a week, babies two or three times per week is normal.

3) Use the Aspen. Cedar and pine contain oils that are harmful to the lungs.

Hope this helps.