Adding another snake to my lone garter

[Brittany26]

So I have had my (male?) checkered garter for 10 yrs and I was wondering if anybody would know if it's possible for me to safely add a new garter snake to live with him, or would it be better for him to stay alone? He has lived by himself the entire time I've had him except when he was at the pet store. I heard some checkereds can be cannibals but my snake Steavy is tiny, about 18 inches and thin. Any recommendations on which species of garter to add?

[guidofatherof5]

Post up an under tail photo so we can sex your snake first. Thanks.

[Albert Clark]

Well, firstly if you plan to house any "new" animal with your established one then you need to quarantine the new addition. The required time frame for a adequate quarantine seems to be 3 months to really be safe. Another checkered would be the way to go if you are considering breeding? Otherwise same sexed individuals are the consensus. Quarantine either way for health and safety.

[Brittany26]

I wasn't looking to breed him but if that happened I wouldn't mind. here's a pic of his vent and a size reference.

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting (http://tinypic.com/r/23rwe89/9)
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting (http://tinypic.com/r/zoguvm/9)

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking Male you have there. It's important to know the sex since you should house the same sex together. Unless they are the same species, housing a female from a different species will create hybrids(mutts) and the hobby certainly doesn't need those. A safe bet would be to get another male T. marcianus - Checkered garter unless you want babies. I've never heard of Checkereds being cannibalistic but feeding accident involving smaller snakes are common. Feeding accidents can even happen with same sized snakes, best to monitor all feeding.

[Albert Clark]

Nice looking checkered! There are several ways you can go with the checkereds depending on what you really want to do. Good luck with him.

[Brittany26]

Thanks for the advice guys!! If anyone is trying to sell some baby checkereds a let me know ;)