Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here. If you live anywhere in
Speaker 1: North America, chances are that you've seen a garter snake
Speaker 1: slithering past, whether that inspires a flinch, a scream, or
Speaker 1: the desire to get closer. Garters are relatively harmless, but
Speaker 1: don't try to pick one up. It might try to
Speaker 1: defend itself with a bite, or could struggle and emit
Speaker 1: a foul smelling substance from its annal gland. Still in
Speaker 1: the world of snakes, the garter is among the world's
Speaker 1: most benign. They were thought until the early two thousands
Speaker 1: to be non venomous, but they do in fact produce
Speaker 1: a neurotoxic venom, although it's so mild and in such
Speaker 1: small amounts that it can't kill or even harm a
Speaker 1: human being. In many areas, garters are the most common
Speaker 1: snake in the neighborhood. There are about thirty five species
Speaker 1: of garter snakes. They range in length from about eighteen
Speaker 1: to fifty four inches that's forty seven centimes, and can
Speaker 1: weigh up to about five ounces or a hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty grams. They're often primarily black or gray in color,
Speaker 1: with stripes all down the lengths of their bodies in gray, brown, black,
Speaker 1: or olive if you have dark spots. Garter snakes are
Speaker 1: shy and will avoid human beings and pets at all costs,
Speaker 1: living peacefully in harmony with you and your family. But
Speaker 1: they are highly active and great for your garden. You
Speaker 1: might see them both at night and during the day,
Speaker 1: but you might not know they're there, as they'll slither
Speaker 1: away from you as quickly as they can. They eat
Speaker 1: all the pests that wreak havoc in your garden, subsisting
Speaker 1: on slugs, snails, insects, grasshoppers, and even small rodents, plus
Speaker 1: pretty much anything else they can catch hiding underboards, in vegetation,
Speaker 1: under logs, or among rocks and meadows, woodlands, marshes, and
Speaker 1: along hills. However, garters do make good pets, mainly because
Speaker 1: they're active during the day, but you shouldn't catch a
Speaker 1: garter in the wild to keep as a pet. It
Speaker 1: could be against the law, and snakes that are breading
Speaker 1: captivity are much more likely to be dostle around humans
Speaker 1: and willing to be handled. Go to a pet store
Speaker 1: or a breeder, or get one from a rescue organization.
Speaker 1: The internet has lots of tips for a first time
Speaker 1: snake owner setting up a home for a garter, and
Speaker 1: anyone who could sell or give you a pet snake
Speaker 1: would likely be glad to give you advice. But here
Speaker 1: are the basics. And Garter snakes can be kept in
Speaker 1: a terrarium with a secure lid, and the tank should
Speaker 1: be longer than the snake. Snakes are escape artists, so
Speaker 1: that lid and perhaps awaited object to go on top
Speaker 1: of it is important, and garters often like swimming, so
Speaker 1: the habitat should have enough water, not just for drinking,
Speaker 1: but for soaking. A heat lamp or heat mat will
Speaker 1: help keep the snake warm. Decorate its home with rocks
Speaker 1: garters like to rub against them, and things for the
Speaker 1: snake to climb on and hide in or behind. Garters
Speaker 1: also like to borrow, so deep loose substrate at the
Speaker 1: bottom of the tank is good, so you can use
Speaker 1: anything from shredded paper to coconut fiber to moss, and
Speaker 1: you'll have to change it regularly. The size of the
Speaker 1: snake will determine what sort of foods you should give it,
Speaker 1: and they don't need to be fed very often. Young
Speaker 1: or pregnant snake might need a meal every four or
Speaker 1: five days, but non pregnant adults can go about a
Speaker 1: week to ten days between meals. Today's episode is based
Speaker 1: on the article the Harmless garter Snake It's your Garden's
Speaker 1: best Friend on how stuff works dot com, written by
Speaker 1: John Paritano. Brain Stuff is production if I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and it's
Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Playing four more podcasts my heart Radio,
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