# Colubrids > General Colubrids >  Draco, Albino Checkered Garter

## CloudtheBoa

Draco is fairly new to me, but although he's not my favorite (I think of Cloud as my favorite without any regrets) he is definitely the most entertaining.  I have him in a 5 gallon tank right now, but I eventually plan on getting a 20 gallon long or bigger by the end of my first year with him.  I do like these tanks I saw at Petsmart.  The largest is 20 gallons, but it opens from the front and comes with a decorative foam back!  The fact it opens from the front is definitely a major factor in wanting to get it.  He is proving to be a problem eater in that he's very picky in what he eats.  He only eats live fish, and has so far refused both earthworms and mice.  I've tried scenting them, I've tried whole worms so they move around more, I've tried small pieces, and I've tried tilapia and salmon filet.  I've tried teasing with the worms and just letting them crawl around, but if he touches the worm he just rubs his face against the floor or wall to wipe the slime off and crawls away.  The mice freak him out, like he think they're going to eat him or something.  He rattles his tail around, flattens his head, and flings himself through the air to get away from it.  So far the only method that works is holding him in one hand and lifting the fish up to him in a spoon.  He ignores it if I leave it in his water bowl, he ignores it if I drop the fish in front of him so it flops around, and he ignores it if I just hold him over the fish.  He's as particular as my ball python, if not more. :/

He is incredibly silly, and highly interactive.  If I come up to the tank and he sees me he comes right out of hiding up to the glass and looks me straight in the eye, following any movement I make.  If people aren't around, he pretty much sticks to his hides (I poke my head out at him every once in awhile and I don't see him out whereas he's constantly on the move with company), but comes out to explore once people are there - he loves stalking and staring at people.  All I have to do is look at him - I don't even need to move my head - and his head stiffens up with this comical head wobble of surprise.  I can just imagine an exclamation point appearing above his head. lol  He then either pulls his head into his hide or continues to stare.

I was warned that being albino he would be photo-phobic, but he's proven to be the exact opposite.  Once the timer kicks on and the light comes on, he comes out to check what's going on.  Hopefully I can get some awesome shots of him outside once winter ends, if I can trust him enough.  As it is, he's unpredictable when I handle him and he will jump to the floor at the drop of a pin.  With constant work, he's calming down considerably and is more likely to just stretch his body out into the air and stare at me than fling himself off of it.  He's even calmed down enough that I managed to get an accurate measurement of him: he's a teeny 9 inches long.  :Smile: 

His first meal with me.  He held onto the meal he had before I got him, but he eventually passed it before I got worried enough to have him checked out (I don't want to imagine the scene that would happen if I tried to take this tiny snake to the vet's and he launched himself through the air like a tiny snake kamekaze):


He looks so tiny...and he's definitely grown a decent amount since he arrived.  That's also the poo he was holding onto in the corner:


Grasping my knuckle with his head so that he he could crawl out from between my fingers and across the back of my hand:




Soon...

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Badgemash (01-22-2014),_Bluebonnet Herp_ (01-20-2014),_Pyrate81_ (01-21-2014)

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## CloudtheBoa

Draco has officially started his first shed with me!  I noticed he was slightly blue yesterday, and when I took him out today he was very obviously blue.

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## Bluebonnet Herp

Wow. Checkered garter snakes are somewhat a favorite of mine, as I've caught them before in my flowerbed and while walking my dog. I think they're actually quite beautiful and very underrated. (I might need to get me one some day...)
You have a nice albino! Very cool.

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## CloudtheBoa

> Wow. Checkered garter snakes are somewhat a favorite of mine, as I've caught them before in my flowerbed and while walking my dog. I think they're actually quite beautiful and very underrated. (I might need to get me one some day...)
> You have a nice albino! Very cool.


Definitely!  He's the most interactive snake I've ever had, and he does well as a display snake because 9 times out of 10 when people are around, he's out and about being goofy.  They also take up so little space and are so cheap to feed, it's easy to have a bunch. lol  I'm actually expecting a second garter snake in the spring.  An e-friend of mine is giving me one of her baby eastern garter snakes, a male named Demigod.  He's already on mouse parts and taking them readily.  Draco is proving to be difficult on that front, though.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## Bluebonnet Herp

I like the though of only having to get night crawlers at the nearby walmart and occasionally dusting them to feed my snake. Doesn't get any easier than that haha. (Provided it wasn't a picky eater, as you would know.)
I also think that their color and markings are quite attractive, and that dot they have on their heads is just one of the prettiest things I've seen on a snake.

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## CloudtheBoa

> I like the though of only having to get night crawlers at the nearby walmart and occasionally dusting them to feed my snake. Doesn't get any easier than that haha. (Provided it wasn't a picky eater, as you would know.)
> I also think that their color and markings are quite attractive, and that dot they have on their heads is just one of the prettiest things I've seen on a snake.


I like feeding fish or rodents, because you'd have to feed them every other day on worms.  With fish and rodents you only have to feed once a week, or about every half a week for fish filet.  I'm hoping to get Draco to at least take rodents, and hopefully both of the garters will take a variety of food.

The only slightly problematic thing for me is just how absolutely tiny they are as babies.  Draco is only 9 inches long and weighs 4 grams, and he's active when handling.  So, I need to have my eyes on him at all times, and it's more difficult to get photos of him because of that.  Not saying photographing my ball python is easy, but he moves slower at least. lol  I just feel like I'm gonna squish Draco every time I pick him up. XD

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_Bluebonnet Herp_ (01-20-2014)

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## Bluebonnet Herp

> I like feeding fish or rodents, because you'd have to feed them every other day on worms.  With fish and rodents you only have to feed once a week, or about every half a week for fish filet.  I'm hoping to get Draco to at least take rodents, and hopefully both of the garters will take a variety of food.
> 
> The only slightly problematic thing for me is just how absolutely tiny they are as babies.  Draco is only 9 inches long and weighs 4 grams, and he's active when handling.  So, I need to have my eyes on him at all times, and it's more difficult to get photos of him because of that.  Not saying photographing my ball python is easy, but he moves slower at least. lol  I just feel like I'm gonna squish Draco every time I pick him up. XD


Commercial earthworms are only 2 minutes away at the nearby Walmart. I'd have no trouble; all I'd have to do is buy some with my groceries. 
They are quite small and squirmy but something about that I found enjoyable whenever I managed to catch them. They were awesome to release too because of the way they moved was so liquid and surreal, they looked like miniature flying serpents. Definitely a lot different than my sluggish ball pythons.
You're really making me consider getting one now lol. Here I though I'd be a Boa-or-Python-Only-(Maybe-A-Lizard) guy.

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## CloudtheBoa

> Commercial earthworms are only 2 minutes away at the nearby Walmart. I'd have no trouble; all I'd have to do is buy some with my groceries. 
> They are quite small and squirmy but something about that I found enjoyable whenever I managed to catch them. They were awesome to release too because of the way they moved was so liquid and surreal, they looked like miniature flying serpents. Definitely a lot different than my sluggish ball pythons.
> You're really making me consider getting one now lol. Here I though I'd be a Boa-or-Python-Only-(Maybe-A-Lizard) guy.


It will also depend on whether or not the snake will take the earthworms.  I've been told checkereds readily take earthworms, but Draco turns his snout up at them.  You'll just have to see.  Whatever it will take it will be cheap because they stay small (2-3ft).   :Smile:   Their humidity requirements are ridiculously low, so you don't really need a hygrometer and they do well in tanks because of their low temps and humidity.  It's been around 10-13% humidity in the house and I haven't been spraying his tank or anything.  I do have some EcoEarth in his tank for looks, but I've let it dry out and he still shed a perfect shed.  To be safe, you can still spray them down anyway.


Draco shed yesterday, so here are some photos of his fresh paint job.  :Very Happy: 









I also made use of the huge appetite snakes get after they shed, and offered some scented pinky mouse parts.  He took two legs willingly, and even just about ripped the second piece out of the tweezers.  He didn't want a third, though, and just fear-struck it.  Not sure if this is a fluke or not, but I'll be getting him a guppy in the next few days and I'll try the other pinky with it.  I'll get it today if I can because the weather channel is calling for snow later in the day.

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_Bluebonnet Herp_ (01-21-2014)

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## Bluebonnet Herp

> It will also depend on whether or not the snake will take the earthworms.  I've been told checkereds readily take earthworms, but Draco turns his snout up at them.  You'll just have to see.  Whatever it will take it will be cheap because they stay small (2-3ft).    Their humidity requirements are ridiculously low, so you don't really need a hygrometer and they do well in tanks because of their low temps and humidity.  It's been around 10-13% humidity in the house and I haven't been spraying his tank or anything.  I do have some EcoEarth in his tank for looks, but I've let it dry out and he still shed a perfect shed.  To be safe, you can still spray them down anyway.


Considering they're native here, I'd just match them to outdoor conditions. Shoot, I could even brumate them outside. And yeah, fish bait, mice, or fish, finding food for them is easy as cake.
He's looking good! Say, could you get a size comparison pic, like next to something like a sharpie or some other sort of common household object. Man, those big red eyes remind me of Invader Zim...

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## aaront126

awesome snake, I may have to get a garter some day, but I've got my eyes set on something else first...

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## CloudtheBoa

Draco is doing good.  He's about to be moved to my new place with the others, though, so hopefully he'll take it well.

No one's been fed yet but when feeding day comes up I guess I'll see how they took the drive.


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## CloudtheBoa

Draco's last weight was 43 grams, and takes rat pinks almost with ease now.  The rest of my rat pinks are majorly freezer-burnt so his last meal was a hopper mouse while I wait for my next shipment to arrive.

He was out and about looking for food a few days after one of his feedings, so I took the chance to snap some photos of him!  It was easy to draw him close, just wiggled my finger around. lol

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## Albert Clark

> Me either only ever found 4 with blue and 2 having just blue cheeks that's why I liked them alot I mostly see ones with reds/oranges and very dark brown 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


There are two species of garter snake (including their sub species) that do extend into different regions in Canada. T. elegans  and T. sirtalis. They are known as the western terrestrial and the eastern garter respectively. T. elegans with at least 5 subspecies and T. sirtalis with even more subspecies. Either could have locales that harbor individuals with bluish labial scales or infralabial scales of black and or blue. T. elegans Southwestern Canada and T. sirtalis in South central Canada and the Canadian Maritime provinces.

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_distaff_ (03-04-2016)

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## Lady mkrj58

Checking up on my favorite Garter Snake .

Sent from my SGH-T999

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## hannesreptiles

i have an albino to! i was trying to upload a picture of her on the thread i just started and i couldnt figure it out i clicked the picture thing but i couldnt get it to upload still

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## CloudtheBoa

Garter snake photo shoot from yesterday!  Draco's belly was looking very pink today, so maybe I've finally caught him in shed without the tell tale blue phase. haha  His last shed was in January, so he's definitely due for a shed.  Guess we'll see in the next couple of weeks.

Trying - and failing - to capture that pink tinge.




This one shows it a bit better, and you can see a pinkish area around the corner of his vent.

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## Zincubus

Hey


Just wondering what you peeps think about the fairly recent developement / suggestion that Garter snakes are apparently rear - fanged and mildly toxic / venomous !?!?

There's a note about this on the Garter snake Wiki page apparently ...  


Should I be concerned being hyper sensitive to just about everything and having 3 Albino Checkered Garter snakes ???

Thanks

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## CloudtheBoa

The research isn't saying they're rear-fanged.  It's saying they have Duvornoy's gland.  They don't have any fangs, they have teeth like a non-venomous snake, and the venom just runs down their teeth.  It's even less efficient than being rear-fanged, and their venom is even milder than a hoggie's.


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## Zincubus

> The research isn't saying they're rear-fanged.  It's saying they have Duvornoy's gland.  They don't have any fangs, they have teeth like a non-venomous snake, and the venom just runs down their teeth.  It's even less efficient than being rear-fanged, and their venom is even milder than a hoggie's.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks ..  Somebody joined a Garter thread last night suggesting they were rear-fanged and mildly toxic/venomous and quoted the WiKi section ..

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## CloudtheBoa

Draco last weighed in at 51 grams.  So he's still growing rapidly despite closing in on his 3rd birthday.

Here's some recent pics of him.  :Smile:   He was being naughty and pooped (not musked, pooped) all over my hand. -.-  Needless to say, his outing was cut short so I could wash my hands.











He is now able to eat rat pinks without having 3 mouse pinks every other feeding.

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## Albert Clark

Draco looks very good! I can't wait to produce that female granite to give him some company.   :Smile:

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## CloudtheBoa

Definitely keep me on the list for next season, Albert!  He'll be an old fart by then but he should still breed.  :Razz: 

Not much to update on Draco, he hasn't gained any weight since his last weigh-in.  He does seem to be hanging out in his humid hide again, so maybe a shed is coming up.

Here's a photo of him watching me from a safe place after I dug him up to check on him the day before.  He was unusually enthusiastic about feeding time yesterday.  He came right out of his humid hide and took the rat pink from the tongs!

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## CloudtheBoa

Here he is in his humid hide, from July.





Last I weighed Draco he was 55 grams, and he's now on a diet because he's gotten quite chunky. lol  He's going from eating a rat pink every 7 days to eating a pink every 10-12 days.

He also took an earthworm for the first time today!  When he was a baby I couldn't get him to _touch_ a worm, and he gobbled up two enthusiastically today.  So I may mix worms into his diet, too.

So I hoped the tub would work to sorta contain him to show his chunkiness overhead (I mainly use it to hold the old dirt when switching bedding), but nope.  As soon as the camera went over him, he launched up a couple feet in the air and plopped on the ground next to the tub.  So I had to hold him still.

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## Neal

I could be wrong, but I would think that worms would be more fattening than anything?

Very nice snake though.

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## MichPlat

> I could be wrong, but I would think that worms would be more fattening than anything?
> 
> Very nice snake though.


I'm not sure to be honest .. maybe somebody knows !?!

I read that they were better than any kind of man-made manufactured food for fish though - supposedly full of goodness  .

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## Neal

> I'm not sure to be honest .. maybe somebody knows !?!
> 
> I read that they were better than any kind of man-made manufactured food for fish though - supposedly full of goodness  .


No idea how we got fish in the subject being it was never mentioned, and we're talking about a snake not for fish.

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## CloudtheBoa

Well worms are considerably less nutritious than rats or mice, so I can't really imagine them being all that fattening.  They're basically water and dirt with a little bit of nutrients.  If they're fed by themselves they require additional supplements, and the garters I see on worm diets are considerably leaner and smaller than mine.  Well Demigod may be small, he was raised worm-only the first year or so of his life.


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## Neal

> Well worms are considerably less nutritious than rats or mice, so I can't really imagine them being all that fattening.  They're basically water and dirt with a little bit of nutrients.  If they're fed by themselves they require additional supplements, and the garters I see on worm diets are considerably leaner and smaller than mine.  Well Demigod may be small, he was raised worm-only the first year or so of his life.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ah, yea like I said, I wasn't sure or not, was more or less just curious.

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## CloudtheBoa

As of last month, I finally got a measurement on Draco, and he came out at 25".  So far, he seems to be benefitting from the 12-14 day schedule.  Haven't really noticed any weight loss in Draco, but he's eating bigger meal sizes than Demigod is.





Unfortunately the photos don't expand enough to see them, but in the original photos you can see the little pores at the tips of his scales.

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## Zincubus

> Well worms are considerably less nutritious than rats or mice, so I can't really imagine them being all that fattening.  They're basically water and dirt with a little bit of nutrients.  If they're fed by themselves they require additional supplements, and the garters I see on worm diets are considerably leaner and smaller than mine.  Well Demigod may be small, he was raised worm-only the first year or so of his life.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's kinda interesting as years ago I saw a survival program and the guy suggested that THE best thing to scavenge and eat was earthworms as they were an amazing food ( protein) source ( fried as I recall ) .
That was for humans though . He did say that most people wouldn't be able to even consider eating worms though . 

I guess worms have no need for calcium so they possibly / probably won't have any in their system to pass on to snakes though ..

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