Personality wise, what's your favorite breed?

[ConcinusMan]

I wanted to hear from people who have or had a wide variety of garter species and ask you which one you liked best as far as having a great, loveable personality.

I've only had perhaps 4 or 5 different species, and only one type of sirtalis (concinnus). I can tell you they definitely seem to have different personalities as individuals, but generally speaking, each species has it's own personality characteristics. I like sirtalis the best out of the different species I've had but there's many more from different parts of the U.S. that I have never had. So I wanted to ask, what's your favorite garter, pet wise, personality wise.

[guidofatherof5]

Well, for me I would have to say................radix. Yes, radix:D
I know I don't really qualify as someone who has kept a lot of different ones but I had to get a plug in there for my kids. I'm keeping 3 different garters at this time, hoping that will change as time goes by.

[ConcinusMan]

I almost put in my post, "I already know what steve's going to say". LoL. I'm sure that radix's are a fine bunch of fellows. I feel like I already know them by reading your posts. I can also see the "intelligence" in their eyes. I had considered hitting you up for a pair but I think I'll wait 'till spring and see what I can't come up with in my area. I don't want to get too carried away and end up with too darn many snakes, right steve? Oh jeez, look who I'm asking. It's an inevetible conclusion that I'm going to get a pair of concinnus and maybe a pair of ordinoides. I've already begun preparing and snagged up a 10 gal and 2 20 gal slide-lock top tanks off of craigslist. I can't wait for spring so I can share with you guys what I find.

Anyone else want to chime in?

[gregmonsta]

Depends really ... I see all my snakes as individuals ... from my experiences I might just give it to parietalis ... very bold and inquisitive from my experiences :D

[drache]

my two top favourite snakes personality wise are a t.s. sirtalis and a t.s parietalis
my two most unpleasant biter/musker types are also a t.s. sirtalis and a t.s. parietalis
florida blues are supposed to be unpleasant, but the one I've got is among my favourites, along with all the pallidulus I've ever owned
I've also got concinnus, fitchi, marcianus, vagrans and radix - they're all nice with rare exceptions

[ssssnakeluvr]

I've rarely found a mean vagrans, never found a mean ordinoides (haven't had a large number of them yet...). one of my concinnus is a mean beast! I have a fitchi that is very nice, but musks like crazy!!!!! he is a large w/c male. haven't really found any mean fitchi...just love to musk.

[ConcinusMan]

So it looks like various ssp. of sirtalis are still the winner so far.

[guidofatherof5]

Did I mention I like T.radixes:D

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Honestly, with as many garters I have worked with, i would say it's actually easier to pick out the ones that DON'T have nice personalities when compared to all the more complacent ones. It's always an individual basis, but overall, I would split them into two categories:

Nice personalities: ( no particular order)

- easterns
- checkereds
- plains (these have the BEST personality in my opinion, extremely personable)
- redsideds
- oregon red spots
- puget sound
- wanderings


not-so nice:

- california redsideds
- blacknecks
- bluestripes
- ribbon snakes

[snakeman]

Honestly, with as many garters I have worked with, i would say it's actually easier to pick out the ones that DON'T have nice personalities when compared to all the more complacent ones. It's always an individual basis, but overall, I would split them into two categories:

Nice personalities: ( no particular order)

- easterns
- checkereds
- plains (these have the BEST personality in my opinion, extremely personable)
- redsideds
- oregon red spots
- puget sound
- wanderings


not-so nice:

- california redsideds
- blacknecks
- bluestripes
- ribbon snakes
I agree other than the Blacknecks.I have had five and all were pleasant.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I agree other than the Blacknecks.I have had five and all were pleasant.
haha, my blacknecks haaaated me for their first 8 months or so here. They were picky eaters and did not hesitate to puff up at me. Lately, they've been quite calm. The main reason they are on the naughty list is because as babies they can be challenging feeders.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I must say though, I thought the similis were insane until I start keeping cali red sideds. Pffff. My infernalis are the most JUMPY, flippy, suddenly-jump-off-their-rocks-and-zoom-up-the-glass snakes in the whole room!

[snakeman]

I must say though, I thought the similis were insane until I start keeping cali red sideds. Pffff. My infernalis are the most JUMPY, flippy, suddenly-jump-off-their-rocks-and-zoom-up-the-glass snakes in the whole room!
Yeah, they are nuts!

[ConcinusMan]

Gregmonsta said: parietalis ... very bold and inquisitive.

That's what I'm talkin' about. They don't necessarily have to be "nice" or "easygoing" all the time.

What I loved about my concinnus was their inquisitive nature, and of course, most were nice and easygoing too. But I love the snakes that you can almost hear them thinking, they check out everything, and seem to learn quickly. You can see it their eyes and their actions that they are thinking. And of course, they almost seem to appreciate you, and greet you with enthusiasm.

While my ordinoides were always "nice" once they settled in, they just didn't display the traits I mentioned above.

[Jeff B]

I like the radix too, they seem to be extra alert and curious.
I agree it still can be an individual thing, you will find nasty bad apples in any of the breeds, but one thing I will add as a general statement females are much, much easier to tame up than males of any of the species or subspecies, so if I wanted to have just one garter snake for a pet I would probably start with a female, unless space was an issue.

[drache]

I've got several very sweet males
both of my marcianus males are very personable, more so than the females
the vagrans male I've got is very chill with humans

[Charis]

I have very little experience, but can say that my female pickeringi is nicer than the male. If you open up the cage & put your hand down in there, she will come out from wherever she is & get on your hand. The male is very flippy & has to be chased whenever he needs to be taken out of the cage & he likes to musk.

[ConcinusMan]

Same goes for any concinnus I have had over the years. ^^^

Still, I wouldn't keep her alone all those years. I tolerated the male 'cause first off, he was gorgeous, and second, he kept her company, third, I got lots of really good babies! The female was my true love though. It was really hard for me when her time came to say goodbye. I'm still not really over it. 21 years is a long time. (That's half my life I had her!)

[tminc]

The easterns blacknecks I have are really social and wonderful creatures,the redspotts and the pugets are the tamest,the redsides and the checkereds are very energetic and always up to something when they are awake.

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks for everyone's input. It's appreciated! You know what kinda funny is that the feistiest, most spirited fighters I encounter in the field (in my immediate area) are ordinoides! And yet, once you get them in your hands and get them settled down, they are quite boring! In my experience, once the initial encounter is over, they are so calm and not inquisitive (unless they smell food) that working with them in captivity can be quite boring. Usually all I get from sirtalis concinnus is a nice, wet, messy musking, but no impressive threat display. Ordinoides on the other hand, always put on a show with the "viper impersonation" and even sometimes bite and chew. But like I said, once they figure out that isn't working, they settle right down and do well in captivity, but don't have near the social behavior or inquisitiveness of sirtalis.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

before I really thought about it, I was going to pick the concinnus as my best bunch. They are just so darned curious! :D

[charles parenteau]

I Don't have enough experience with other species ,I only have lot experience with Eastern sirtalis s.
When i was young I had a huge vivarium with lot of eastern garter snake in it
and I learn a lot from their social activity how they interact with each other and with me especially and I don't think I will have the chance to do it with other garter snake.I have difficulty to open my mind on other garter snake species .

Im limited with garter snake ,I mean I can't breed them and have babies I will be stuck with them so ,I m just working with eastern and since few months with atratus ,but i still wonder If its a good idea for me to bred them ,I don't want get stuck with babies?

Eastern are my favorite only because this is the only garter species im use to!!!

[ConcinusMan]

@ aSnakeLovinBabe: Yup. That's one of the things I absolutely adore about garters, and it's what got me hooked on concinnus.

@ charles: I mainly bred my concinnus for the experience. I had no intention of selling them at the time. Still, when I ended up with so many yearlings, I searched for interested parties. I could find NONE at the time. I had never found anyone who had the slightest interest in concinnus, and I couldn't find anyone who owned them until I joined this forum recently.

Just as well. All healthy yearlings were released in the same area where I got the mother. All 170 of them! (from 6 or 8 broods over 2 decades) Knowing they were bound for release, I didn't go easy on them, and lost some during their first brumation, but I wanted any that remained, to be fit for the wild. I'd like to think that some survived to adults and offset the loss from the wild, the pair that I took and kept for all those years.

[ambertastic]

Do people ever breed snakes for personality traits?

[mb90078]

Interesting question. I don't think it's quite as much of an inheritable trait in snakes as other species of animals, but there may be something to it...

[ambertastic]

Seems like garters would be a prime snake to try it with. Maybe that can be my contribution one day :)

[jere000]

Thamophis sirtalis sirtalis is my vote, although I only chose them because of the silver morph.:p

[guidofatherof5]

Do people ever breed snakes for personality traits?

I breed T.radix. The great personality traits just come with the package.;)

[Selkielass]

Do people ever breed snakes for personality traits?
This paper suggests it might be worth pursuing.

http://compphys.bio.uci.edu/bennett/pubs/60.pdf

[ambertastic]

Thanks for providing the article! That is interesting. I know next to nothing about snakes but from my week's worth of casual research, garters seem to be some of the more active and human-oriented snakes. It also seems that they tend to have large litters and are relatively easy to breed. And that study proves that behavior is very variable (well you guys already knew that, huh?) and suggests heritability. Interesting that behavior studies in wild populations of vertebrates hadn't been conducted earlier.. and that they would choose to do it with reptiles. I think it's a testament to how much potential lies in future garter experimentation! I wonder if there is anything more recent out there? I'm starting to feel a little inspired!
Though - I'm not sure how excited the snake community would be about a predictably docile and active line compared to a beautiful one :)

[Charis]

They talk about this quite a bit on the corn snake forums & people have experimented a bit with it. Though the ones usually chosen are nippier snakes & it does seem to be at least partly inheritable.

[ambertastic]

Why nippier? For ease of feeding? Looks like I've got some reading to do..

[Charis]

Yes, there seems to be a connection with the most nippy hatchlings, often called hatelings, to be more consistent eaters from the start.

[infernalis]

Very similar observations to everyone else.

I am amused by the Infernalis' behavior.

Have one very anti social Radix that must be housed solo or he attacks cage mates, behavior began at birth. He's a real punk.

.

[guidofatherof5]

Have one very anti social Radix that must be housed solo or he attacks cage mates, behavior began at birth. He's a real punk.

.

An anti-social radix. That's unusual.