# Wild Garten(Garden) snake.



## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

I really would like to have a pet snake, but dont want one that will get too big. And i have pet rats and mice and it would be hard for me to feed mice or rats to it. I read that garter snakes eat feeder minnows. Is this true? And could i just catch the snake from the wild?


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

I would look at ribbon snakes, they get long but not big and I believe they eat crickets. But as far as a getting one, I would not get one from the wild and bring it into my home. They might be carrying diseases and who knows what else. Plus, its wild so it would not be safe to hold it as you might get bitten. Even though they are not venomous, they can still give you gangrene


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## leesha (Feb 15, 2010)

Never take an animal from the wild. You can buy garter snakes from pet stores, they can eat feeder fish, but I think they also need feeder rodents as well.


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## RatfanaticLady29 (Mar 2, 2010)

wagz77 said:


> I really would like to have a pet snake, but dont want one that will get too big. And i have pet rats and mice and it would be hard for me to feed mice or rats to it. I read that garter snakes eat feeder minnows. Is this true? And could i just catch the snake from the wild?


Don't catch wild snakes. They can be full of parasites and refuse to eat because of the stress from being thrown into captivity. Join a garter snake forum, do research, buy the supplies, and then find a breeder to get the snake from. 

There are many different garter snake species and they can eat a variety of different foods (crickets are NOT one of them). None of them need rodents, but you will need to find a breeder that hasn't started them on rodents as, in my experience, it's very hard to get them onto other foods. 

You're not going to get gangrene if you're bit by a wild garter snake. Most garter snakes have such small mouths it will barely hurt if you are bit. If you practice good hygiene then there's no real risk of contracting anything from the snake. Good luck finding the right snake for you.


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

RatfanaticLady29 said:


> wagz77 said:
> 
> 
> > I really would like to have a pet snake, but dont want one that will get too big. And i have pet rats and mice and it would be hard for me to feed mice or rats to it. I read that garter snakes eat feeder minnows. Is this true? And could i just catch the snake from the wild?
> ...


I said crickets for ribbon snakes, not garter snakes.


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## RatfanaticLady29 (Mar 2, 2010)

I said crickets for ribbon snakes, not garter snakes.
[/quote]
Ribbon snakes are very closely related to garters. They don't eat crickets either. The only snakes that eat crickets are smooth and rough green snakes, but they aren't for beginner keepers since their husbandry needs to be perfect.


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## BumblebeexSweat (Mar 10, 2010)

Would you have a problem feeding frozen mice? A lot of ball pythons will eat frozen and dont get horribly big (around 3-4 feet fuly grown). They are a really good 'beginner' snake too. If you want some more details, just PM me.


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

http://wzus1.ask.com/r?t=p&d=us&s=a...kes/Ribbon_Snake_Care_Information/Default.htm


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## RatfanaticLady29 (Mar 2, 2010)

That care sheet specifically states that the person has never had a ribbon snake that eats insects. I have also never had a ribbon snake of any species that eats insects. There is also a risk to just throwing live crickets into the tank. The crickets can bite and cause injury/stress to the snake. Hard to believe, but it happens. After about 15 minutes all the remaining crickets need to be removed. Ever had to catch crickets? It's not easy or fun; especially when you are doing it in a tank where there's another animal that can decide to bite you. It may not hurt bad, but I still try to avoid being bit. I like to keep my bite numbers down. lol


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

lol yeah, i used to have frogs, i know all about fishing crickets out, i just used to know people who had ribbon snakes and fed them crickets, maybe it was just as a treat or something? or maybe they were still to small for pinkies and minnows yet


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## toby (May 11, 2009)

in my opinion Garters are excellent snakes for beginners. they dont grow to big and are relatively easy to care for... oh and they have live babies which is cool.


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## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

Are snakes easy to breed?


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## RatfanaticLady29 (Mar 2, 2010)

I know I've always enjoyed keeping them. There's a great forum I was a member of. I believe it's WWW.thamnophis.com. there's a lot of experienced keepers along with a fewbeeeders on there. Happy researching!


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## Soybean (Feb 11, 2009)

SOME snakes are easy to breed while others are quite difficult. I do not recommend the beginner to breed snakes. If you plan on getting any snakes, the following site is great and has a ton of information. I am Jay_Bunny on that site. Feel free to find me, PM me here or there, and ask questions. 

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/index.php


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