Hey from the UK!

[Crablet]

Hey everyone! I am a keeper of lizards but have been interested in garters for a while and was very happy to discover the wealth of species being bred for keeping! I should hopefully be getting my first snake at the end of June from Gregmonsta, (hi Greg!) and been planning its care so want to run a few ideas by you!
The snake was born in April so will only be a few months old so can you guys recommend what size thank would suit it? I have a 3ft exo terra but considering cleaning and substrate I'm thinking of spilling it into a 18x18inch if the snake won't need that much space at first. Or I have smaller tanks if it will freak out with so much room. I have heard some snakes don't like too much space and they stop eating, is this the same for garters?

Also thinking about feeding methods and thought it might be a good idea to chop up fish and pinkies into pieces and freeze them in ice cube trays so individual food cubes can be defrosted and given to the snake. Does this sound like a good idea? I am basically not going to get away with keeping whole pinkies in my parents freezer.

Really excited to be getting a super cool snake :D

[infernalis]

http://www.varanid.us/mat.jpg

[Natrix]

Hi! Crablet, Welcome to the den :D

[guidofatherof5]

Hello and welcome to the forum. A snake from Greg will be a good snake.
What species are you getting?
I had to laugh at something you said. You can't get away with keeping whole (blood and guts still inside) pinkies in your parent's freezer but you can keep the same pinkies cut up in an ice cube tray. Imagine their surprise when they get some ice for a glass of ice water:D
Just messing with you.
Sounds like you are doing some research before the awesome snake arrives. That's great. You've probably seen the forum care sheet but I will leave a link anyway. Feel free to ask anymore questions you might have.

To answer your question about space, I think choosing an enclosure that is manageable for you is best. Babies tend to burrow so finding the little scrub will be important especially when you panic thinking it has escaped:D Can't say I've ever heard of a garter not eating because of too much space. The 18 X 18 sounds like it will work for awhile.

Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//744/medium/welcome.jpg

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

[reptileparadise]

Hi from Holland!

You'll certainly be happy with one of Gregs little ones!

[chris-uk]

Welcome aboard.

Snakes from Greg born in April... sounds like one of the infernalis litter?

Personally, I'd give as much room as you have available. Give it lots of cover and hiding places, a lot of plants to climb and hide in and you'll have a happy little scrub. A small garter doesn't make a lot of mess so spot cleaning is easy, I struggle more with repticard because the poo doesn't show so easily against the card, but aspen is really easy to spot clean.
I tend to think that people who say that their snakes stop eating when they have more space use it to justify cramming royal pythons into small enclosures. If you don't give the snake enough to interact with and hide amongst they will be stressed (so if you plan to use a 90cm ExoTerra with newspaper substrate, a water bowl and a couple of hides I think the snake will be unhappy).

Feeding - I don't see a problem with chopping a mixture and freezing in ice cube trays.

Welcome to the world of garters, you won't be disappointed.

[gregmonsta]

Glad to see you made it on here ;).

Think the 3 foot enclosure will be fine, fully kitted out, as mentioned. Make sure it's 110% escape proof - vents secure, no gaps at wire entry points, etc.

The ice-cube tray would work, I tend to use freezer bags and bag ties to separate portions.

[Ruth]

Hello and welcome from another UK resident :)

[Darlo]

Hi! Welcome aboard...we've spoken on RFUK about my liophis jaegeris (obrowell). You won't go wrong with Greg's snakes. In fact I'm collecting some off him too :-)

[Foxrun402]

To answer your question about space, I think choosing an enclosure that is manageable for you is best. Babies tend to burrow so finding the little scrub will be important especially when you panic thinking it has escaped:D


Yes, when they hide you will panic and probably remove everything then dig around frantically but cautiously... then BOOM
RAWR!!!!
8964

except the little scrub will most likely just fly out of the substrate and race around the viv as panic'd as you are lol!

it's kind of funny to think back about that now though, she doesn't burrow anymore.