How to Hold a Wild Garter Snake

How to Hold a Wild Garter Snake. Garter snakes are often called gardener snakes, because they enjoy slithering around gardens in search of earthworms. If you find a wild garter snake and want to catch it, you need to know how to pick one up to avoid getting bitten. Garter snakes aren't poisonous, but they do have tiny teeth. Garter snakes can be found around sources of water, because they enjoy wet conditions and eating small fish. Once you catch a garter snake, you can either keep it as a pet or let it go.

Things Needed

• 4-foot-long stick
• Pillowcase

Step 1

Look at the snake to ensure its body is entirely stretched out. If the snake has coiled up and has its head facing in your direction, this is the striking pose. Attempting to catch the snake in this position may result in a bite. Gently place a 4-foot-long stick between the coils of the snake's body and lift the snake up off the ground. Once the snake has straightened out, set it back on the ground. It should now be stretched out and slithering away from you.

Step 2

Reach down and gently grasp the tail-end of the garter snake a few inches in from the tip. Avoid grabbing the tip alone, because it can break off.

Step 3

Lift the snake up off the ground with its head hanging downward. With your free hand, gently grasp the snake about 2 inches behind its head. Do this as slowly as possible to avoid panicking the snake. Once you have control of its head, you can let go of the tail and grasp the middle of the snake to better support its weight.

Warnings

• If you only want to catch the snake and not hold it, catch it and then place it inside a pillowcase for transport.
• Garter snakes are most often seen in numbers in springtime when they come out of hibernation.
• A garter snake emits a foul-odored white liquid when it feels threatened. This isn't harmful to humans and can be washed off.

Warnings

• Always wash your hands after handling a garter snake.
• Some states have laws that prohibit capturing and keeping snakes without a certificate of registration.

References

• University of Utah Cooperative Extension: Non-venomous Snakes; Terry A. Messmer and Gerald W. Wiscomb; December 2010
• The Real Owner; Catching and Caring for Garter Snakes; Togot; August 2007