Fake eggs & garter snake

[Bestofsmall]

We have a couple of garter snakes sis has named them & even petted them they don't like petting & quickly hid. We caught them eating an egg which isn't really a problem as we have so many but I have had 3 fake eggs go missing this past week! Will it hurt the snakes if they ate a fake egg? I've searched the whole area & can't find the eggs anywhere!

 

[cavemanrich]

Unfortunately, a snake cant pass a solid fake egg. Not happy to tell you this news, but it is a reality. I have no quarrel with snakes,,, but I do respect the venomous ones. I see that everything has a purpose in NATURE. I do not kill anything. Mosquitoes, and flies, are the only exceptions.


On the subject of petting snakes. The snakes do scurry away when petted. They assume that you will eat them. If you do catch a small garter snake, and handle in your hands, the snake will slither from hand to hand. They do enjoy the warmth of your hand, so they are not really trying to escape that quickly. The larger garter snakes can sometimes bite, when first picked up, They are escaping for their life, so a bite is their defense. Small young ones generally do not bite yet. I always prefer to wear gloves when handling them.. for that reason.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Bestofsmall]

Thanks for your reply I was afraid of that. We think is a pair they always seemed to be together & were larger I'm guessing 3ft or more haven't seen them in a few days now & last fake egg disappeared Sunday. Hoping I'm wrong but can't find eggs anywhere

 

[cavemanrich]

Post a pix of the snakes you are referring to as Garter Snake. ,, That is if you can spot one just sunning. A 3 foot Garter is unusually large, at least in my area.

 

[Bestofsmall]

https://youtube.com/@juliedavis9456
Hope this works. Is both of them together. Still haven't seen them since fake eggs disappeared.

 

[TheWasp]

Hey there! Unfortunately snakes are not the smartest of the reptiles. Luckily snakes can regurgitate what they have eaten if it doesn't agree with them. As for petting snakes, as long as you wash your hands it's all right! If you see ticks on them, do NOT pull them off! They will fall off with the snake's next shed.
The size of garters may depend on the species, (for example; common, plains, red-sided, and so on). If you see the snakes again, please take a picture! I'll try to identify it for you. Unfortunately I won't be able to tell the gender unless i was there.

A good example of a pic is as follows

 

[Bestofsmall]

Hey there! Unfortunately snakes are not the smartest of the reptiles. Luckily snakes can regurgitate what they have eaten if it doesn't agree with them. As for petting snakes, as long as you wash your hands it's all right! If you see ticks on them, do NOT pull them off! They will fall off with the snake's next shed.
The size of garters may depend on the species, (for example; common, plains, red-sided, and so on). If you see the snakes again, please take a picture! I'll try to identify it for you. Unfortunately I won't be able to tell the gender unless i was there.

A good example of a pic is as follows
View attachment 3588514

Thanks for your info haven't seen them lately but put a link to a video of them in my last post hope you can tell from that will ask sis if she got any pics of them when she gets home.

 

[Reave]

Just for some more info-- if you want to prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future, fake eggs still work just as well for their intended purpose if you glue 3 of them together in a little stack, which prevents any snakes from getting their jaws around them enough to swallow 'em.

 

[Bestofsmall]

Just for some more info-- if you want to prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future, fake eggs still work just as well for their intended purpose if you glue 3 of them together in a little stack, which prevents any snakes from getting their jaws around them enough to swallow 'em.

Thank you! Hadn't thought of that & although most girls are still using 1 of the boxes without any fake eggs none are using the other box & nw we have found random eggs in yard & even 2 under car yesterday! We let them range every day & usually they come back to boxes to lay & come in to roost at dusk. I'm wondering if it's lack of fake eggs or fear of snakes making them act differently?