Sexing

I enjoy catching and realeasing garter snakes around my home, how do yo usex them? Im curious, i think i find mostly males.

Probing is the most accurate way to sex them.

Are the larger fatter ones male and the smaller skinnier ones males? And hwo is the probing system uses? Lol im more of a leo breeder. Hence LeosForLess

The smaller thinner ones are more likely to be male. Males will also have proportionally longer tails that will be less tapered for about the first inch past the vent. Using these features, however, is not very accurate. Male snakes will have paired hemipenes (just like leos, but theirs are much longer). A metal probe can be gently inserted into the vent and will go down the hemipene if it's a male to depth of several tail scales or come to a stop if it's a female at a depth of one or two tail scales. Here's a page on probing: http://www.vpi.com/9VPITipsAndTechs/...exOfSnakes.htm If you're inexperienced it's easy to injure a snake, so have someone experienced help you through it.

-Alice

Is it legas in Illinois to keep a garter snake and breed them/sell? im pretty sure there are more males here than females. I find tons of medium skinny ones and then i find a few large ones that are fatter. How do you pop a hemi?

Here's a link to the Illinios herp regs: http://www.chicagoherp.org/laws/levell.htm

Popping is really only safe on very young snakes who do not have well developed musculature to hold their hemipenes in place. If you try to pop an adult, the force required could injure it. There is popping info down at the bottom of this page: http://www.pythons.com/probing.html

If you don't have anyone locally that can give you probing lessons, you could get a set of probes and practice on road kill.

-Alice

So all i need is the permit and i cant sell WC snakes i can only sell CB's? How old do you have to be to obtain a permit?

permits for selling native species involve selling only to other permit holders in state. don't know about sending out of state but you would still need your permit. The other deal is you have to have a viable receipt from a purchase to prove you got them from a bona fide breeder unless you permit allows to to collect so many natives as we can do in Kansas. We have a breeding permit and resale permit system that is separate from a hunting license for reptiles. We are allowed up to 5 species per reptile that is not on some kind of list. we have to have 3 copies of papers on hand and one is sent with purchase and one for us and one to show wildlife. Is it worth it > ?

for permits not resale permits. 18 on most states or the min. age for a hunting license i think. Or as in Kansas sometimes you are allowed to work with another permit holder to collect but not sale.

Originally Posted by LeosForLess

So all i need is the permit and i cant sell WC snakes i can only sell CB's? How old do you have to be to obtain a permit?