Needless to say, I couldn't waste this opportunity. I scooped up the snake in a plastic sandwich bag that would have housed Ginger's business if she had done any yet, and after making sure she didn't have to use the bathroom, I brought her - and the snake - inside.
Step One on the road to snake ownership was complete - I had a snake. And fortunately, I had a place to put him - albeit a temporary one. As I mentioned in my story of the monarch butterfly, I like to keep insects and spiders in a plastic container. Step Two of snake ownership - naming the snake - was easy. After a bit of thought, I decided to name him "Edgeworth". I selected this name (which I got from a video game character) because I thought taking a stuffy, pretentious, and high-class name like that and applying it to a tiny, harmless snake would be funny. Step Three was going to be difficult, though - convincing my mom.
She wasn't exactly in favor.
For the next couple days, the snake (and the entire bug container) was quarantined on the porch. Every so often I'd take him out and hold him. Aside from his fearful reaction of vacating his bowels on my hands, Edgeworth accepted the holding. However, it was November, and although we were in a fairly warm period, I knew Edgeworth wouldn't be able to keep this up. A conversation with my mom made things clear.
"So what happens if we leave it out here?", Mom asked.
"He'll die." I replied matter-of-factly.
My mom may hate snakes, but it's pretty hard for her to outright let an animal die. She relented and allowed Edgeworth back inside, and the container went back in its correct place in my room.
Next, I had to figure out how to feed Edgeworth (garter snakes have varied diets depending on species and even individuals). After some trial-and-error including buying him mealworms and crickets at the pet shop, I hit upon earthworms as Edgeworth's favorite food - he refused everything else I tried. After that, I needed to find him a better home - although he was only eight inches long, that was still a bit big for the bug container, and he also seemed very antsy about being exposed - I needed some decorations for him. For Christmas that year I got a much larger container from the same company that manufactured my bug container called the Reptile Ranch. I decked out the Ranch with a cave, a branch from a tree outside, a water bowl, and the crickets and mealworms came along to give him some company. I'd read that garter snakes enjoy seeing things moving around, and since I couldn't place him somewhere that got a lot of human/pet activity I had to substitute insects.
Now fully tricked out (last year I added fake moss, a fake cactus, and a vinyl rose), Edgeworth is suddenly living a life of comfort - a big change from that November day. He's now over a foot in length, and he's fed store-bought nightcrawlers and requires little else except an occasional litter change and fresh water. He may not be as loving as a dog or cat, or as fulfilling, but he fills a unique niche nonetheless, and I sometimes talk to him (although I don't confide in him). I'm glad I met him, and I'm happy that my mother could, in some small way, overcome her snake phobia. She still likes to insult him jokingly, and refuses to touch him, and insists there will never be another snake in the family, but it's progress all the same.
All of this talking and you still haven't actually MET Edgeworth! There he is below (this photo is roughly a year old, but he hasn't changed much except gotten a bit bigger). Click the photo to enlarge it.
Here's Wikipedia's entry on garter snakes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garter_snake
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