Laying in her water.

[Serenity]

When i was reading up on Garter Snakes i remember reading that they are suppose to stay dry.

We just got a new garter snake suspected to be a female. It's a little hard to tell. But after she got done exploring her encloser she has taken to laying in her water dish.

It's not like its in her way or anything. She has plenty of other places to lay and hide in and out of th sunlight. She just started by sticking her head in there and now she's got a majority of her body in there except her head.

Is it bad for her to be doing this? I imagine i'll have to change her water alot more often if she keeps it up. But other than that could being and staying wet that long harm her?

[adamanteus]

Some Garters do seem to spens much more time in the water than others, with no apparent cause.
A couple of things you might want to check..... Is the temperature in the viv correct? Not too high? Is it possible that your snake could have mites? (You would see them floating on the waters surface like little black dots).
Both of the above can cause a snake to bathe constantly.

[drache]

I have some garters that enjoy bathing . . .
in addition to the things James mentioned, your snake could also be in shed and want to keep it's skin a bit moister

[anji1971]

And sometimes they just feel like a nice, long bath!! Mine spends very little time overall in the water, but occasionally she decides to spend half a day there, just lounging.
If you don't see any mites, I wouldn't worry about it!;)