Hello, snake newbie here

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks. The snake was caught in northeast Texas. I'm not sure what the proper name for the fish I am using is but they just called them "shiners". I don't have any better pictures of the tail yet. The snake hasn't posed on its back and I still have not worked up the courage to grab the darn thing

So don't grab it. Put you hand in there and let the snake come to you. Their natural curiosity will help. If it gets up in your hand see of you can grasp it but not lift it. Garters adapt quickly to human contact, as a rule.
The picking up part can come later. Before long you'll have it eating out of you hand, literally.

[Charis]

Hello & welcome from Idaho! That is a very cool looking snake!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

So don't grab it. Put you hand in there and let the snake come to you. Their natural curiosity will help. If it gets up in your hand see of you can grasp it but not lift it. Garters adapt quickly to human contact, as a rule.
The picking up part can come later. Before long you'll have it eating out of you hand, literally.

Ditto! And don't bother with leather gloves.... this snake cannot hurt you and they will probably just freak the snake out more.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Kevin

[oki-inu]

Hello, welcome from Florida. You'll get a lot of great info on this forum and you got a nice snake there.

[Napta]

Hello, from France

[gartermorphs]

Ditto! And don't bother with leather gloves.... this snake cannot hurt you and they will probably just freak the snake out more.

Ive never had the problem with them freaking out and I go herping with them on and i was just saying this so that he would feel more comfortable holding the snake for his first couple times

[Kevinh583]

Thanks for the welcome everyone. I also appreciate the advice and reassurance regarding handling. I have stuck my hand in a couple times and so far he just stares at it, only popping his head out of the safety of his hide. I can just imagine the snake debating to itself weather those strange smelling fingers would make a good meal.

However, probably more so than a bite I'm afraid of the little guy getting away and escaping into some corner or behind a piece of furniture before I can react. He sure seems pretty fast when darting around his terrarium if startled.

[Lovok]

Time to throw in my two cents (since I've been gone for a bit). Since no one has commented much on the feeding, I'll say this:

From what I've read here, and just from thinking about it, any time you can give a garter what it would naturally feed on in the wild, do it. BUT, take care that you collect the goodies from sources you trust. For instance, you mentioned you have a place nearby where there are tons of frogs & probably other amphibs it'll eat. Don't collect anything from a source you suspect could be contaminated with toxic runoff from fertilizers, insecticides, sewage, etc. It's my understanding that in the wild, garters may pick up parasites from these frogs anyway, so research & investigate any place you're considering gather foodstuffs before you actually do it. Offer as much of a variety as you're able, and you'll find out his favorites in no time.

Also, I'd ditch the idea of using gloves to handle your new friend. The gloves will only scare him, and probably confuse the hell out of him because they'll smell differently than your hand. So if your goal it to be able to handle him, don't use the gloves. Even if you DO get nipped, it'll be more of a surprise than be painful. I've had Scylla for almost a year now, and she's only struck at me 3 or 4 times (and she still didn't even connect); when I surprised her, and when she was pre-shed when her eyes were clouded over. So both times, it was MY bad, not hers.

Depending on where you keep the tank, close the doors to the room, and cover any floor vents. They're fast, but they seem to duck for cover of any kind, rather than seek out specific holes. He'll go under a table or dresser right next to you before bolting across the room for the door, if you know what I mean. Another good piece of advice that I read here somewhere, was try to handle him like, 20 minutes per day, the exception being after a feeding- it's like running after eating a big meal for us. He'll regurgitate, and that's never good for humans OR snakies. That should help get him used to you in no time.

If you haven't seen it yet, you will find he'll have a distinctive personality. Scylla still is flighty, but nowhere NEAR what she was when I found her. She still won't climb up on my hand in the tank, but she doesn't panic as much anymore, and when she sees me, she'll often climb the glass toward the top & to my face, because she knows it's either "play time" or "feeding time". I put her in the bath tub when I wash her tank, and where before she'd try to get out at any cost other than using my hand, she now seeks out my arm when I reach into take her out of the tub.

You're going to really enjoy having a garter. They're not an "average pet", but that's what makes them so cool!

[Kevinh583]

Thanks for all the great advice. I finally got around to handling my garter today. Despite some of your advice I did use gloves at first to get him out of the cage. But I quickly ditched them when I noticed no threatening behavior.

It was a surprisingly calm and clean experience. I expected the same kind of quick jumpy reactions as I see when reaching in to the terrarium to replace the water dish. However, he actually completely calmed down once I had him in my hands and was even content to just sit in my hands looking around at times. Oh and thankfully there were no stinky fluids involved. I now feel pretty silly for being nervous about it in the first place.