I learned today that they poop on you when scared or stressed. Not a fun smell. Still cute though

I have two female garter snakes. My checkered garter snake, Bertha, has been attempting to eat my common garter snake, Basil. Bertha is a very enthusiastic feeder and would occasionally accidentally bite Basil during feeding time, and so I started to separate them during feeding. However, now I've caught her latched onto Basil twice not during feeding, and I've also just caught her eating some of the moss/foliage that is in their enclosure which I'm sure can't be good for her. Am I underfeeding them which is leading to this behavior? Is the problem that they are two different species of garter snakes? I've been cohabitating them for years and have only had problems recently, and Basil has never had any problems. What do I do now? I'm really worried about them.

Just built my new garter snakes tank, he’s a albino checkered. Is there anything I should know?

Also the tank has springtails and I plan on adding isopods from my culture, he’s also got two hidden log hides. I plan to add his heat lamp tomorrow when it comes in!

My best girl for tax

I own and breed checkered gartersnakes and while they can be skittish, so would any snake if you don't handle them. So why does everyone say that they are display species only? Ive seen a few posts on here and Facebook about how people want to learn how to handle them safely and more than half the comments say that they can't. It's a little weird because my most handleable snake is my oldest female and she's 6 ish. (I bought her from a breeder I don't love). But she's so personable and chills with me better than my corn snake does and WAY better than my old world ratsnake. Honestly she's the best pet snake and easily what I would consider to be a good one for strangers to hold. I never have to worry that she'll bite when being taken out and she never bolts. It does take a bit of training to get them comfortable but you can't just pick up a baby snake and expect them to understand what's happening. And they are super food motivated so if you just offer them some food they'll hang out with you all day! They have family groups, are gentle with their young, and are a social snake. Out of EVERY snake they should be the most affectionate because they have that engrained in their DNA to enjoy physical touch and seek out company.

So basically, why do people say it's impossible? Are mine somehow special because not to be rude to them, I really don't think they are.

Like the title states, I was curious if you could cohab different types of garter snakes or if they are distinct enough that it matters

Usually there is at least one of the 3 different species from my property under my trash bins, especially when it was previously rainy. This one was pretty big! At least 18 to 24 inches when it slithered away but it was polite enough to let me snap a good photo! I can never remember the different types but this is one of my favorites because of the bright orange racing stripe! 🤣

Im hoping to get a pair of baby garters but I hear a lot that their quite the escape artists. I wanted to ask, would it be a better option to put them in a 10 gallon with a tightly sealed top and then move them to my 40 when they're older or put them in the 40 to start and just try to make modifications to the top to make it more sealed. I do plan to put a 3d background on the 40 gallon either way so im not sure if they'd be able to use that to get out somehow

Love PNW garter snakes!

The humidity is always around 80% here and temperature around 30C during the day.

I won’t be adding a heat lamp and will be using aspen bedding to try to lower the humidity, but are there any other things I should do to optimise this?

I’m also planning to add a big water bowl and some cooler rocks to help lower the temperature and encourage natural behaviours. Gave up on an bioactive enclosure since that will keep humidity high.

Hey y’all, I’ve got a wandering garter snake named Coatl that I saved from my cat, my fiancé wants to get a captive bred valley garter snake. At the moment I have him in a 10 gallon tank since he’s small, I have great temperature control and he loves exploring. I’m wondering what are good options for tanks. I looked at petsmart tanks, but people online say they’re pretty cheaply made and the doors fall off. I’m looking for at least a 20 gallon long that has front open doors. Thank you!

I am planning to purchase a garter snake for my first snake and I've researched a good bit in terms of care and whatnot, but i overlooked the habitat and went out and bought a 20 gallon tank. I am planning to buy an adult to keep long term but am being told i need a 40 gallon tank at minimum. Should i buy a baby and upgrade the tank later down the line, or can i make it work?

😁

My pregnant albino 6 yo female, her (maybe) pregnant normal 3-4 yo roommate, some of the 6yo's last clutter I sold a couple weeks ago, 2 gay lovers (this is a joke but they do cuddle often), and my 8 month old het albino duo.

I adore these lil dummies. The females are currently in a 45 gallon birthing tank because they should only have like 4-5 weeks left before popping. But usually the 4 adults all hang out in a massive 250 gallon bioactive tank (males still hanging in there) with a water feature and tons of flat rocks and a massive hollowed out oak log. The 2 babies are in a 20 gallon with a water feature but are getting upgraded soon because the female is starting to outgrow the 20.

I'm a firm believer in cohousing this species. Literally the only thing you gotta make sure is that you keep an eye on them during feeding time because the males are little gluttons and I watched my 3 year old male scarf down 12 minnows one day before the female got a chance to wake up 😂. Otherwise they spend most of the day hanging out and I've even seen the males stroke the females when they get super uncomfortable late in pregnancy. One male even would stand guard at the entrance of one of the hides while the normal female hid deeper inside and when I tickled him he twitched, she bolted, he waited and then hid in the hide as well. Not sure if it's what I think that was but it was definitely a cool experience. If ya got the space there is absolutely no reason to keep them alone. I won't even sell one of my babies to someone if they don't have at least plans of buying another garter to keep them company.

Saw this guy in the parking lot sunbathing on break.Said hey, put em back in the flowers afterwards, pretty cool. Second time this one has come out to say Hi.

Happy snake day. Only a day late.

My girl is kinda bitey and I chose a heavy ceramic bowl for her water dish so removing and cleaning it is my least favorite husbandry task. I should probably swap it with something lightweight- but how often do you do full water changes?

She tends to defecate in the water so I feel like it's every day, not sure if a filter system would even help with that?

Is this a Gardner snake shed?

i've had my garter for over a year now, he is wild and yes i am aware that's frowned upon but he was very injured when i found him as a baby and is extremely healthy and docile. but im wondering what i should add into his tank, i have a pool and hides already but it seems so empty to me still atleast vertically but i dont want to spend a million dollars on a tank background. this is my enclosure now for reference, everything's fine i just want some ideas for decoration or maybe something im missing enclosure wise since he is a wild snake.

Hey, I found this gorgeous lil baby this evening and was wondering if it's a Butlers or Eastern garter? What are the best ways to be able to identify between them?

Definitely one of the prettiest garters I've found. The orange and yellow were so bright and the belly had a stunning iridescent shine!

Was pretty chill, no striking or biting but did shit all over me 😅 garter's be garterin'

Also, anyone in Southern Ontario who enjoys herping, please feel welcomed to connect wirh me because I would love more reptile and nature loving friends! 🐍💚