Co-habbing adult male with a female?

[Magnarock the 2nd]

Im wondering if this would end up being problematic. Im thinking they would breed if the season was right which would be good. But after they copulate, would the male continually pester the female causing her to stress out? I really like the look of melanistic easterns they are awesome. Im just thinking about getting one to pair with my adult male eastern. He lives in a cozy ten gallon and is always soaking, living the posh life compared to his wild days.

Also have a question about garter genetics. If I breed a melanistic to a normal, would I get all normals in the f1?

[BUSHSNAKE]

F1 would be normal hets, i keep my males and females together the majority of the time and only seperate them when shes gravid. when i keep them in pairs the male and female are always touching, always some sort of contact with their bodies. Theyll seperate, do whatever, and then always come back together.All of my pairs act this way. Some people leave them together even when the female is gravid and gives birth and some people only have them together only when its time to breed. I think its more of a personal choice.

[Magnarock the 2nd]

What about tank size for a pair, would a 10gal with a big water bowl be adequate?

[-MARWOLAETH-]

What dimentions are 10 gallon?

Pairs or small groups will do well in something around 4x2x2' (3' at a push) The general rule with garter housing is getting as big a viv as you can afford or have room for.

[guidofatherof5]

What about tank size for a pair, would a 10gal with a big water bowl be adequate?

I would say for breeding age garters that would be on the small size. A 20 long would be much better.
Just my opinion.

[Greg'sGarters]

Personally, I use 10g for single larger breeders, or smaller breeding pairs. But I use 20L for larger breeding pairs. If you are just keeping the female in a 10 gallon, I would imagine it would be ok to put the male in only to breed and then take him out as soon as you were sure that the female was gravid. As long as you don't keep him in year round you should be ok. Just my opinion, what I do.

[d_virginiana]

For any adult, just housed on their own, I try to have at least a 20 gallon. I know you can go smaller, but I wouldn't like to. I mean, a single goldfish requires at least a 20 gallon tank. Garters will definitely utilize all the space you give them.

[Magnarock the 2nd]

81418142 Here is my male I just recently got him a bigger water bowl now he is soaking every day all the time. He is freakin aquatic.

[guidofatherof5]

81418142 Here is my male I just recently got him a bigger water bowl now he is soaking every day all the time. He is freakin aquatic.

Excessive soaking can be a red flag for mites.
Thought I should say something.

[thamneil]

Is that what his enclosure typically looks like? He may be soaking out of insecurity, if not mites. Looks relatively barren and open. He'd appreciate it if you added some hiding places and structure.

[chris-uk]

Is that what his enclosure typically looks like? He may be soaking out of insecurity, if not mites. Looks relatively barren and open. He'd appreciate it if you added some hiding places and structure.

Hello yeah. The only place he feels secure is the water. He needs more hides.

[kimbosaur]

That enclosure is too small for your snake. You should seriously consider going much bigger...especially if you're thinking of getting another one! Check Craigslist and look carefully through the ads. You can usually find large tanks for really good deals. :)

[Magnarock the 2nd]

He used to have some hide tubes but he never used them so I took them out. He could hide under the water bowl if he really wanted to hide. I'll think about getting him a 20gal soon, looks like I would need at least a 20 to keep a pair. But if I get a cb melanistic female it would probably be as baby and I would have to raise it up.

[guidofatherof5]

Another snake or not I would increase the living space and place some larger hides in there.

[ProXimuS]

You will also need to be careful about him hiding under the waterbowl. If it's heavy enough and he burrows underneath it, it can fall and possibly crush him. Getting some fake plants and some hides would be in his best interest.

[guidofatherof5]

Good point to bring up Emily.

[kimbosaur]

Try to go bigger than a 20 if you can. If not, then go for a 20 LONG for more floor space. The bigger tank you get now, the less likely you will have to spend more later on if you need to upgrade again. I have two yearlings in a 20 standard and they are starting to get crowded.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, snake shouldn't even be able to get under the water bowl. It should be placed directly on the bottom, not on top of substrate. That goes for any heavy object.

[d_virginiana]

If you get a baby snake, you also need to house it separately from your adult until it's a year or two old. Babies are so tiny they can easily get crushed or injured by an adult in close quarters even by accident.