Pitiful Baby Garter

I found a baby garter in my local park today and he was in pitiful condition. I was picking up litter when I found it. It had a few large tumors and its spine was kinked. I've always wanted to find a snake, but not like this. There are signs all around warning people not to eat the fish. I guess this little guy didn't get the memo. Despite its condition, it moved well and seemed energetic. I don't suspect it's long for this world. The deck is stacked against little snakes under the best of circumstances, but I imagine he'll give as good as he gets for a little while at least. I wished him well then I let him go.

:tears: Poor snakes, & other wildlife- stuck with all the pollution that people create & ignore. So sad- but maybe you should have taken his picture & spoke to your local officials about what can be done? See if there are any organizations around that work on environmental clean up. If you just look away, you'll share the blame. What's in the water there that makes the fish toxic? It's hard to fix things by ourselves- it takes a group (& pressure) to get it done. I guarantee that your local park isn't the only place this is happening, & if we want a world with wildlife that's still around & not just a distant memory, we have to get involved. BTW, Happy Earth Day (belated). :snake::snake::snake:

The spine kink could have been an incubation issue or an old injury from when something attacked it.

Tumors could have been snake fungal disease (SFD). If you see something like that again get photos and send to your state's DNR as many states are tracking its progression.

I was about to say fungal infection as well. Definitely something to keep an eye out for next time.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

:tears: Poor snakes, & other wildlife- stuck with all the pollution that people create & ignore. So sad- but maybe you should have taken his picture & spoke to your local officials about what can be done? See if there are any organizations around that work on environmental clean up. If you just look away, you'll share the blame. What's in the water there that makes the fish toxic? It's hard to fix things by ourselves- it takes a group (& pressure) to get it done. I guarantee that your local park isn't the only place this is happening, & if we want a world with wildlife that's still around & not just a distant memory, we have to get involved. BTW, Happy Earth Day (belated). :snake::snake::snake:

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I'm a little weird in that I don't carry a cell phone, so I didn't have a camera on me. The clean-up was partially sponsored by the Sierra Club and I did show the snake to their representative, but he wasn't interested. The pollution problems in the area are well known. The park borders a superfund site where barrels of toxic waste burned underground through the 70's. Unfortunately, despite the everyone's best efforts, the wildlife in the area will suffer the consequences for decades to come. Next week, I'll be out there planting a pollination garden. I don't know exactly what that is but apparently it's a good thing for the environment.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

The spine kink could have been an incubation issue or an old injury from when something attacked it.

Tumors could have been snake fungal disease (SFD). If you see something like that again get photos and send to your state's DNR as many states are tracking its progression.

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Yeah, I'm purely speculating on the cause of this snake's condition. I do wish I had taken a picture.