My Snakes

I've seen and handled many wild garters, but as of now only a couple of them have become a part of my life. Their information, pictures, and stories are below!

Pilot - Canadian red-sided garter
My first garter snake, and an amazing companion. I estimate that she's a female who is about three or four years old, and despite my efforts to fatten her up, a very slender snake. She is as thick around as a thick highlighter pen, and about 2 1/2 feet long. She has an amazing temperment, which is a part of how she became my pet in the first place (see the Scaly Tales page for the full story). Pilot is not very red for a red-sided garter, but makes up for it with a wide chalky yellow dorsal stripe and amber brown eyes. Because of her amazingly docile nature, I was able to use her for several weeks in the summer of 2002 for demonstrations at the summer camp where I worked as a nature specialist. Even when being handled by overenthusiastic four-year-olds, this dear girl never attempted to bite or musk. She continues to be a wonderful way to introduce frightened people to how gentle snakes can be.

Zeros - Eastern garter
Zeros came into my family through the same summer camp job that I mentioned above. I had caught and released several adult garter snakes on the camp grounds, including a one-eyed male and a much larger gravid female. Towards the end of camp, children brought me a tiny Zeros, no more than a few days old, and claimed that he'd nearly been stepped on. Although the camp grounds sustained the larger adults, I feared for Zeros's safety. Also, he had a rather unusual feature: no dorsal stripe. Zeros got his name for the zig-zag patterns that run down his back, where the stripe should be. I have recently discovered that he is in fact a morph of the typical eastern garter, and so would like to find a mate for him to try and continue that trait, possibly even reintroducing some offspring into the wild. Based on the circumstances, I decided to adopt him. As a neonate, his attitude left much to be desired, as he resisted handling constantly by musking and biting. Today, he has tamed down immensely, liking to crawl up long-sleeved shirts and curl up in the bend at the elbow. He is also a rather picky eater, only eating rosie reds that have jumped out of their water dish.

My snakes are very much a part of my family, and I hope to be expanding that family in the near future! If I ever do end up breeding my garters, it will be to see if good temperment can be transferred along bloodlines, to produce a brood of snakes that will make excellent, cooperatively handled pets.