Garter snake disposition

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

it looks like a young female you have there, and a well loved one at that! The pic with her eye looking all cloudy, that's just a glare from the flash, kind of like how cat's and dog's eyes do as well.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

also, we would never delete your photos, you can never have too many photos and we love them! and... is that a dark fuzzy glove you are using as a hide?! At first glance, I thought it to be a clump of cocofiber... until I saw it's in the shape of a hand...!

Another great fabric hide can be made using black tube socks and toilet paper rolls, just stuff the roll into the end of the sock and leave the rest of the sock trailing. They love it!

[confused]

The cardboard tubes sound fun. It is a dollar store fuzzy glove, yes. She just loves fuzzy. I made a mistake of letting her on a recycled plastic blanket, she burrowed in and fell asleep. It's been all about the fuzzy since then. She's holed up in the glove now, which is kinda fun to peel back like a banana to find her.

Today she's moody again, wouldn't leave a glove to come onto my hand again when I was wearing it and won't take food for two days, something is up! Hopefully a shed. Should I just leave her alone?

[guidofatherof5]

Should I just leave her alone?

It can't hurt to just give her some space. Sometimes they need that, too.

[confused]

I left her alone for about 20 hours, and bam, there's my baby back. She crawled into both my hands. Now if I could just get her to eat, it's been three days and she is really hungry, she shows interest but won't eat it, its odd.

Anyone know where to get real earthworms online? I bet she would take one, she won't take a night crawler.

She has a new behavior, we have seen it four times now. If you put your hand in her cage wearing a glove, she will come see you in the glove, rub on it, then go over to the matching glove in the cage that's her hide and rub on it the same way, and then usually lie on top of it and doze. She recognizes they are the same apparently.

[guidofatherof5]

Anyone know where to get real earthworms online? I bet she would take one, she won't take a night crawler.

3-4 day off food is nothing to a garter snake. I've had them go 10 weeks without food and survive.
What part of the county are you in? Any grassy area should produce earthworms. Look under rocks, logs, debris, wet leaf litter. Do not collect them out of the street, too much pollution out there. If you do harvest some make sure it's from a fertilzer/pesticide free area.
I can't say I've ever seen earthworms for sale anywhere.
You did say she takes guppies. If you put her in a small container, drop the live guppies in with a little guppy sauce(guppy water) then drop in the very small pieces of nightcrawler in the mix. The guppy water will make the worms smell like guppies. She may also get so excited about catching guppies that she'll accidently grab a piece of worm. She won't know the difference and will eat it right down. If I need to I'll mail you a few earthworms, as long as I have some.
Please keep us informated about your progress with your little bipolar garter

[confused]

I'm not actually worried yet, but her behavior is bi-polar! You know what a hungry snake acts like. Constant tongue flicks and hunting behavior. Striking at anything new in her cage. Immediate interest in anything new, she races over as soon as she sees something. She actually struck at a water drop coming off her fish filet (i tried salmon and ocean perch which she loves nomally, is lake perch ok)?, but wasn't interested in the fish itself. Hmm, I haven't tried guppy. That will be the next step I guess. I thought I read they had a lot of parasites. I bet she would strike at one.

Where I am it has been dropping below 30 at night, so the worms are scarce. My normal spot for them used to provide 16 inch real worms , I would think they were snakes when I found them thick as my fingers almost, which she would eat (cut up) no matter how many times in the last few days that she ate.

Thanks!

How about slugs on the web?

[confused]

Found a slug! Might be too big, its about the max size I'd guess for her to eat. She seems kinda afraid.

[guidofatherof5]

If you get the guppies use the small container method. That method puts her in very close proximity to the food. Flopping guppies drive garters crazy. Some of the striking you are describing doesn't sound like feeding response, sounds more defensive in nature.

The air temp has to stay below 32 of a good week before the ground is frozen enough to halt the worm harvest and drive them out of reach.

I personally haven't heard anything about parasites and guppies.
I have firsthand knowledge of the Minnow/parasite connection and have read about the parasite/goldfish connection.

I don't think slugs are on the T.s.s (Eastern's) menu.

She looks very healthy and in great shape.

[confused]

I will try the guppies.

She chased the water drop a good 4 inches as it ran, ignoring my hand holding a platter of sashimi! Then she crawled on my hand.

I will just let her be again shortly, I wouldn't be trying to feed her if she wasn't acting how she acted after I let her go about 4 days without food once, she tried to eat raw organic pork that day! (it was the first week, I figured, hey why not, oops)