Venom1080
Arachnoemperor
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2015
- Messages
- 4,611
Southern Ontario. Windsor area give or take.Where are you? what species of garter? please give pictures
I let them both go. Interesting how varied the species ids I got for them. Guess it's the same with tarantulas lol..@Venom1080 Both are nice looking Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis).
My first tip is to let these snakes go where you found them, and buy some captive-bred ones. Here is why:
- Catching them from the wild puts stress on wild population. While 2 garters doesn't make much of a difference, field-collecting can become a habit and has decimated populations of many reptiles in the past. (Montane rattlesnakes in Arizona, for example).
- Wild caught snakes make bad pets - they are not used to people and will not be as friendly or calm as captive bred individuals.
- Most importantly, wild caught snakes are usually unhealthy. They usually will refuse to eat at first, which will stress a new reptile keeper like you out tremendously. Plus, they will likely have diseases and parasites and will often die within a few months unless you spend a fortune on vet bills.
So in the long run, it is much smarter (and cheaper) contact a reputable breeder (not Petco/smart!!) and buy captive-bred snakes.
But if you still want to keep garters you should keep them well. Here is what you should do:
- 3x1.5 ft cage for both together. Make sure you check you have a same-sex pair or you will have many babies!!
- Aspen bedding is best but coco-husk materials work well too.
- Large water dish, big enough for them to soak completely.
- Keep many branches and things but you have too much right now - you will never see your snakes like this.
- Keep a basking bulb on top. Any strong heat lamp should do, just make sure the snakes cannot get to close to it. Get a laser thermometer to make sure the temperature is good.
- Feed mostly mice (frozen thawed!) and fish/worms occasionally. Make sure to not feed goldfish or other thyminease rich fish.
- important: watch these videos. Care:feeding:
Rosy boas, and sand boas stay small but are fairly heavy bodied. Personally, I think rosy boas are awesome. Four feet would be huge for a rosy. They are known to be supper gentle and are fairly easy to keep. Plus they are pretty cheap. An Adult rosy can be housed in a twenty gallon short. I would get a tank with a more secure lid than what you pictured. Something that slides and can lock in place. You might also want to check out hognose snakes as well.I am still interested in some sort of small snake. Can you give some recommendations? Preferably comfortable in 20g or less
Wow, that's it, huh? I'm a tarantula keeper at heart, so the simpler husbandry the better haha.. very tempting... I'll keep it in mind.This is how set up my rosy when I first got her. She was sort of a rescue. So, I didn't plan on getting her. I placed her in a 37 qt plastic bin that was fairly flat.It has 6 clasps, two on each long side and one on each of the short sides. I used aspen chips (never pine or cyprus) as substrate. I used a undertank heater with a thermostat and one hide(you should use two, one on each end). Add a water dish for drinking and your good. This set would work for all of the species as a permanent home, but I like to house my snakes in larger tanks, so I moved her into a 40 gallon. This set up would probably work for the other species I mentioned as well.
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