questions regarding thamnophis marciauns snake care

[Tora]

So, most of the care sheets I've found for Thamnophis m. are general care sheets for all garter snakes. I was wondering if there are anything specifically different or if I can follow these care sheets. Thank you!

[d_virginiana]

What kind of garter do you have? The general care for most garter species is pretty much the same. About the only big difference is that Wandering Garters cannot be housed together (they are the only species that really cannibalizes).

[Tora]

I'm planning on getting an Albino Checkered Garter in august because my best friend's two female checkered garters ended up being a male and female and now he has a litter of babies. I know what to feed and I have a 10 gallon and 20 gallon tank. Just wondering if they need the uvb lights like the other species of garters because I was reading that checkereds are nocturnal unlike most garters. is this true? if not, I have an extra few uvb bulbs since I have a couple different tropical species of lizards.

[guidofatherof5]

Thamnophis marcianus - Checkered garter shouldn't require anything different from the care sheet.

[d_virginiana]

As far as I'm aware, no snake species actually needs UVB light? Someone correct me if I'm wrong (the second I say 'no snake' I'm sure there's going to be one species that's different or something).
I would be cautious about using UVB light on an albino anyway. I feel like it could potentially mess with their eyes.

[Tora]

Okay, thank you ^-^ I have pretty much everything for the set up, just need to get some aspen with it gets closer to august since I use it for my rabbit, pet mice(old retired show mice from a close friend of mine x3), and hamster as well so any aspen in the house is fair game xD

[snakegirl909]

Yes, no snake needs uvb, diurnal or not. I would recommend not using aspen, and using either repti bark, or simply paper towels/newspaper. Aspen tends to stick to food easier, making it more likely to get ingested.
Good luck with your future baby. Warning: garter snakes are addicting!

[Tora]

haha, thank you very much ^-^ and I know just how addicting animals in general are xD I got my first lizard almost a year ago and now I have 3 species of anole and a crested gecko and I'm looking into getting a few long tailed lizards for my collection too ^-^ I'd probably have more if I had more room in my house xD

[d_virginiana]

See the great thing about garters is that you can house them together. There went your last excuse not to have more snakes. :D

[Tora]

haha, yep xD I wanna get a few more species of geckos, hopefully some fruit eating geckos so that I can feed them CGD and not spend more on crix and mealworms than I have too xD I just have no room to put a huge tanks of garters in my house xD especially since the fam is really skittish around herps xD the only one they like is Pasquale because he is one of the calmest crested gecko juvis you'll find ^-^

[ObsidianDragon]

See the great thing about garters is that you can house them together. There went your last excuse not to have more snakes. :D

I've seen it said, however, that Checkereds are one of the species you should NOT house communally. There's a few.

That said, my Checkered sure as heck seems to be out and about all during the day! I have chosen to provide him with a UVB light, despite it not being required.

Otherwise, the standard garter care sheet seems to apply, yep.

[d_virginiana]

I've seen it said, however, that Checkereds are one of the species you should NOT house communally. There's a few.

That said, my Checkered sure as heck seems to be out and about all during the day! I have chosen to provide him with a UVB light, despite it not being required.

Otherwise, the standard garter care sheet seems to apply, yep.

Can you link to that? I've only ever seen wandering garters listed as cannibals; this is of course assuming the keeper uses common sense with size differences and age.

[ObsidianDragon]

Can you link to that? I've only ever seen wandering garters listed as cannibals; this is of course assuming the keeper uses common sense with size differences and age.

"With some garter snake species, there is a risk of cannibalism, and they should be housed individually. This is especially true of the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (http://www.gartersnake.info/species/elegans.php) (Thamnophis elegans), the most commonly kept subspecies of which are the Wandering Garter Snake (T. e. vagrans) and the Coast Garter Snake (T. e. terrestris). There have been many reports of Wandering Garter Snakes eating their cagemates. While some have kept this species collectively with no trouble at all, play it safe and keep no more than one per cage. Cannibalism has also been reported in Checkered Garter Snakes (http://www.gartersnake.info/species/marcianus.php) (Thamnophis marcianus) and occasionally with Common Garter Snakes (http://www.gartersnake.info/species/sirtalis.php) (Thamnophis sirtalis). The risk with common garters is probably quite small, and I keep mine collectively, but it has been known to happen, so consider yourself warned."

Source: Housing - Gartersnake.info (http://www.gartersnake.info/care/housing.php)

Pugets, too, although I can't find that link at the moment. That one had pictures, so uh...I'll believe it. O.o

[d_virginiana]

Interesting. I always wonder how many of those are straight up cannibalism and how many have another story behind it... I've had no problem keeping my two similarly sized T. sirtalis together, but had several bite attempts between two sibling T. ocellatus that differed a lot in size that I had to separate out of fear they'd eat each other.

[slipknot711]

they only issues i ever had was when my young ones have feeding time, i have to baby sit just to make sure they both dont lock on to the same worm or what have you...