Injured garter snake, tips for short term care?

[ZinniaZ]

Anyone? My son found a little garter snake that had gotten itself stuck in a hole (less than a quarter inch). He slowlty maneuvered him out of the hole with butter, going scale by scale. The snake is about a centimeter in diameter. He is very bruised and swollen and lethargic. We don't know if he can survive but he has movment above and below the bruised area. We brought him in to let him rest in a little tub but know very little about his needs. We are in maine and our night time temps are about 35 or so and during the day in the sixties. What should we do for temperature, for basic care while we wait and see if the poor guy can live?

[RoyalGuardian]

well from what I know about garter snakes is that they dont have to be kept at a high temp since they are not an "exotic"/ tropical species. I'm almost completely positive that garter snakes will eat small goldfish( I am not sure of the exact type of garter you have there)

[ZinniaZ]

Thank you RG. That was what I thought too about the temps. Really, how could he possibly need warmer temps than he ahs been used to outside, right? We won't be feeding him yet, though, that's for certain.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Okay, definitely do not feed him goldfish, if he survives. That is a really, really bad idea, they contain thiaminase. Thiaminase makes it impossible for teh absorbtion of Thiamine to take place. This KILLS the snake. Goldfish and rosy red minnows as well as catfish and true smelts, are not an acceptable food items for a snake for this reason, actually, not really for anything that you want to keep healthy. For a first meal, try a nightcrawler, or some guppies or silversides. If you need additional info on how to properly feed you garter a safe diet, check out first my thread here on no goldfish and thiaminase:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=89242

and you can also check out this homemade garter food recipe here and additional feeding instructions here:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=89243


I would definitely keep him warm. Just because they are not tropical does not mean they like to be cold. Especially since he is wounded, he's going to need supplemental heating to heal effectively. they also need heating to digest their food properly and incubate their babies. They don't spend half their day basking in full sunlight on a hot day for nothing that's for sure!!! Keep him at around 80. My snakeroom fluctuates, going from 70ish at night to around 82 during the peak of the day. Since your snake is injured I would keep the heat up 24/7 until signs of improvement. They need all the heat they can get to heal a wound. all 60 something of my garters thrive at the temps provided. Garter snakes are diurnal and are very drawn to heat especially in daylight hours. It will be even better if you can provide a visual heat source (basking light), they flock to it like ducks to water. If you need additional help, advice, info, etc, feel free to PM me, or you can always reach me and a variety of other garter enthusiasts on a daily basis over at thamnophis.com, the garter snake headquarters.

[ZinniaZ]

Hey, thank you for the good info. I posted pix on a thread in the general herps forum. If you want to take a peek and tell me what you think, that would be great. I am keeping him warm and quiet. I don't want to feed him yet as that seems stressful to his little body at this point. I was thinking, wait for first shed, feed, see where we are.

Here's my other thread with photos:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...02#post1046902