Indonesian garter temperment

[Dracaena828]

Hi all~
I was in Petco today to buy some minnows and stopped by the reptile department (like always...) to see what they had and saw some new garters. There was one little common garter in the corner, but there were two that i recognized from threads here as Indonesian garters. From close observation for a few minutes I believe they are a male and female pair, slightly thin, but nice and active. One appears to maybe have mites (small bumps under a few scales), but aside from that they appear pretty healthy. I am sorely tempted to go back and buy them, but probably ought not as I have little space as it is! :p I've been looking them up, and have read in a few posts that they are really nice tempered snakes. Is this the experience of all here who have, or have owned, these animals? Are they very uncommon? I would guess not, probably, if Petco has them, but I doubt they know what kind they are... Any thoughts or observations from those with experience with these snakes is very welcome, thanks.
Angela

[drache]

it seems they're becoming more common
mine have a lovely temperament - sweet really
their body shape really is more like a ribbon with a big head, than like a garter
they hold on better than most garters
they've been taking scented pinkies readily
hm
I've run out of specifics
be aware that they're egg layers

[flakgunner]

hey,
i think i have one:confused:,my oldest boy picked up a Garter snake at a swap meet,he was told it was a Indo Garter,after a short period of time,he no longer wanted it,so I took it.yet I've seen a few pics here,and this one doesn't look close,with mine,it's main color is a dirty yellow,and has three stripes that appear to be a blackish/green,the two side stripes,go to the neck,then curve downward,it's abit jumpy,making it difficult to handle,and will only eat minnows

Joe

[Stefan-A]

Need pictures, Joe. :)

[GarterGuy]

Angela,
I think the "commoness" of the Indos. is from the shipments that are cominng in from Indonesia...they'll probably be hard to find again as fall approaches. I'm pretty sure most if not all are wild caught imports. I don't have any, but I have worked with them (at the pet store I used to manage) and I've also found them to be really nice tempered snakes. I'd be very wary of the "bumps" though....could be something a lot more serious then just mites.

Joe,
The snake you're describing really almost sounds like a Chinese garter (Elaphe rufodorsata...not sure why it's with the ratsnakes and it's scientific name may have changed by now). Would definitely like to see pics of him though.

Roy

[big J]

I've had one for almost 2 months now and I love him. He is very docile indeed and has never tried to bite me ar my 2 year old daughter. He's about 2 foot long and eats pinkeys. It was tuff to switch him over but eventually he took them. He is one of my favorites out of my collection.

[adamanteus]

Let's see a photo of him then, Justin! We love photos here.:D

[rtcphoto]

I've had two for almost a year and they are very mellow snakes. Great temperment and appear to love to be held. By mellow I don't mean that you'll never see them in their terrarium unless you roust them. Mine are very active.
A side benefit is that they don't musk.

As far as the guy trying to figure out if he has one or not, the defining characteristic I believe is the black and white scales on their underside.
They go the length of the belly, from side to side and are very attractive.

Great snakes in my opinion! Bob

[drache]

A side benefit is that they don't musk.

mine do (rarely)

[infernalis]

Resurrecting a year old thread today!

I just saw an ad for these at $18 each, and it has pictures.

Now anyone here that thinks I may be off base, please feel free to offer your take on this.

The pattern on the belly is nearly identical to that of a water snake (nerodia) and I have read that they are related to Garter snakes.

Serpents have been with us since forever, and over the Milena as continents shifted and moved, colonies of animals (had no choice) moved also.

As each continent has different climates, food, everything! the colonies would evolve separately to survive. (Darwin's law)

My Cyclophiops major is exactly like the smooth greens and rough greens from this continent, but found in China, and in a rain forest like environment. This allowed for the snakes to evolve into a species far larger than our own.

So my reasoning would be that traits found in Garters, Ribbons & water snakes could possibly have developed into it's own on the other side of the world.

Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey

[Stefan-A]

It's called convergent evolution. Compare the green tree python and the emerald tree boa. ;)

[Stefan-A]

I probably misunderstood what you were talking about there, Wayne. :D

[infernalis]

Stefan - You were right on target! No misunderstanding at all.

This same evolutionary process is seen in humans.

Once upon a time, we were all the same color and size, and as time passed on different genes developed.

depending on where "tribes" were located, the amount of Melanin decreased in some parts of the word, and increased in others.

Thats why humans come in assorted colors also.

I called a friend of color "melanistic" once, he laughed at me and said he'd been called a lot of things (use your imagination) and Melanistic was never one of them.

The conversation started over a sunburn I got, we had both been out in the sun equal amounts of time, but his very dark skin did not burn, and my overly (amelanistic) Caucasian skin fried to a reddish hue!

This change in skin pigmentation was probably due to the early tribes that moved (near you) to the cooler European climates, they no longer required all of the dark pigmentation, so it simply faded away.

Regards,
Wayne