A few questions about general care

[elgold02]

Hello all! I am getting my first snake next week - a male T. s.similis from Scott Felzer. I've been browsing this forum for about two hours and have read the forum's care sheet, as well as Scott's care sheet and other things on the internet. I've spoken with Scott and with someone at my local reptile pet store (Pets Galore) who's kept garters before. My head is beginning to ache from the many ways you can care for a garter snake! I'm posting this in the hopes that it will clear my head and stop me from getting overwhelmed before the little guy arrives.

I'm going to start with a 10 gallon tank, and will graduate him to a 29 gallon later on, as Scott recommends. I'm going to use aspen bedding, and will probably get a separate container for feeding so as to avoid him ingesting aspen shavings. Is there a specific type of container that would be best for feeding (that's not too expensive)? One of the first things that I am unsure of is heating. Scott says to use a heat mat and not an overhead lamp, while the man at Pets Galore says the opposite. I live in Kentucky and we keep our house in the low to mid 70s during the summer, and cooler in the winter. Which do you recommend? If it's the heat mat, which size would be best for a 10 gallon tank, and is it ZooMed that is the best brand? Keeping in mind that the subspecies I am getting is a Florida locality, I'd imagine that he would prefer a slightly warmer temperature.

My other confusion is about feeding. Scott is currently feeding my snake, which is 5-6 inches long, rosies and guppies. He says that I need to switch to rodents once the snake is large enough. However, I see other people feeding them primarily worms, while other people feed primarily fish. And then there's the fish issue: so many types that can be fed! Is there one that is a better alternative to another? What kind of fish do you feed your garters? When do you know that you need to use supplements? If alternating fish, worms, and rodents, would supplements be needed for the fish and worms?

I'm sure I'll think of other questions, but I'll start with these. Thanks for any and all help - I really appreciate it! :)

[chris-uk]

Welcome.

Heating - use a heatmat. Better efficiency and garters are light-bodied so belly heat works well. As for brands of mat, the ones I use aren't widely available in the US so I'll let others make recommendations, just avoid cheap Chinese made mats... this is a heat source and I don't trust cheap ones where cheap production is the priority.
You've not mentioned a thermostat, they are essential! Again, the brand I use isn't readily available in the US.

Feeding container - anything the right size and escape proof. I have a spare 45x30cm viv (sorry I don't work in gallons) that I use, along with some 5 litre RUBs (Google "really useful box") but other plastic boxes are available ;).

Food - I rarely feed worms because they are more expensive and involve a trip to a fishing shop. I feed a mix of pinky mice and fish. Fish I use Scottish salmon and trout fillets and frozen smelt. I use a vitamin and calcium supplement roughly monthly, but it's probably not strictly necessary given that the smelt is whole fish and pinkies make up a reasonable proportion of the diet.
As far as fish is concerned as long as you stick with the safe fish (you've seen the lists on the caresheet) then it's much of a muchness. I'm surprised that Scott is feeding rosie reds, I thought that they were on the "no" list. As for converting to pinkies, any snake can be the right size if you cut the pinkies up to appropriate size pieces - I'd imagine that the reason Scott doesn't feed pinkies is down to the practical problem of feeding pinky pieces to the number of scrubs he produces.

[guidofatherof5]

ZooMed makes a reliable pad. As far as thermostats go you can spend a lot of money for some and less for others.
I use a Hydrofarm thermostat. They control 1 pad and seem to be doing a very good job.

Amazon.com: Zoo Med ReptiTherm® Under Tank Heater, Small: Pet Supplies (http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiTherm%C2%AE-Under-Heater/dp/B0002AQCKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372981470&sr=8-1&keywords=zoomed+heat+pad)

Amazon.com : Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats : Plant Germination Heating Mats : Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1372981504&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=hydrofarm+thermostat)

[Selkielass]

Preferred food depends somewhat on species.
Snakes from my region love worms and probably favor these and other native soft bodied invertebrates in the wild.
I feed a mixed diet, but in seasons when they are less eager to eat I keep in mind each snakes 'base' food- the food they will go for when they turn their nose up at everything else.

For my t.Butlerii, eastern and checkered this is worms- worm juice makes everything better.
My Puget likes glive guppies and worms- everything else takes a back seat to the real, living thing.

Top or bottom heat depends on your home conditions and species. I provide belly heat in cool weather, but household light bulbs provide plenty of surface heat in the summer, and my Butlerii retreat to cooler lower areas of the cage when they have had enough 'sun'. Give them warm and cool areas and they will choose where to be and when.

[paulh]

My experience is with the local plains garters (T. radix) and red sided garters (T. sirtalis parietalis).

All care boils down to good food and acceptable shelter. The rest are details. Different details generally mean that both fall in the acceptable range. For example, both newspaper and aspen are acceptable substrates. IMO, unacceptable substrates include soil (too damp) and kitty litter (too dusty).

Feeding container -- check out food containers from the grocery store. Plastic butter tubs are great, but there are plenty of other possibilities. Advantages of this approach is that you are recycling trash so no extra cost and you know the containers are food safe (assuming they are cleaned after use).

I lean towards an undertank heater because heat rises. That means an undertank heater is more efficient than an overhead lamp. But both ways work.

Temperature -- I put the heater at one end of the tank. That end should get into the mid 80s Fahrenheit during the day. Turn the heat off at night. This imitates the temperature cycle for wild snake.

Food -- I use a mix of fish, worms, and pinkies. Guppies are good for babies because they are swallowed whole rather than chopped up. A whole fish is better than a slab of muscle tissue because the whole fish contains bones for calcium. And vitamin A is concentrated in the liver.

Good luck.