Housing different species together.

[GarterGeek]

Both of my male garters came out of brumation a couple months ago, and I have (finally!) managed to get them on a pinky diet. They are doing beautifully, and I have never seen their colors so bright. I must say that the changes I've seen really attest to the superiority of a pinky-diet. :) I know this has already been discussed and proven, but it was just neat to see it first-hand.

Anyhow, after that irrevelant preamble: I was wondering what people thought about keeping different species of garter snakes (of the same size and gender) together. Are there any difficulties that may arise from this situation?

Thank you! :D

[drache]

I do it all the time
right now I've got a t.s.sirtalis housing with a t.s.parietalis, a t.marcianus with a t.e.vagrans, a t.s.sirtalis fl blue with a t.s.pallidulus, and 2 t.s.sirtalis with a t.radix
I've never had a problem and I do always have them be the same gender and approximate size

[ConcinusMan]

Aren't elegans known to eat other garters? I mean, there's certain garters I would never keep together.

I've had no problem keeping concinnus (even large ones) with small ordinoides, but they had plenty of room.

[drache]

Aren't elegans known to eat other garters? I mean, there's certain garters I would never keep together.
this particular vagrans I feel safe with
I've kept him with others before I knew that it could be an issue
by now I've come to believe that with him it just isn't, in part because his eating style is so deliberate
he was my other choice for the contest picture btw
a very sweet boy; his name is Don and he comes from Utah

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4403825145_a6cde8edb8_b.jpg

[ConcinusMan]

Don from Utah. That's just too funny. It almost looks like his spot is a nose and he's got a smiley face on his head!

[Stefan-A]

Aren't elegans known to eat other garters?
Yes. They eat other snakes, including other species of the same genus.

[Stefan-A]

this particular vagrans I feel safe with
I've kept him with others before I knew that it could be an issue
by now I've come to believe that with him it just isn't, in part because his eating style is so deliberate
he was my other choice for the contest picture btw
a very sweet boy; his name is Don and he comes from Utah

I hope you're right about that individual, but I did have mine together for a couple of years before anything happened.

[ConcinusMan]

Personally, I wouldn't risk it, regardless of his history.

[drache]

he's just not ever been what I would call an enthusiastic eater, and he seems to prefer food that's not moving
of course any snake can suddenly change, but it really does seem unlikely in this case

[GarterGeek]

Thank you!!:)

About how much space should be added for each extra snake in a terrarium?

[GarterGeek]

Thank you!!:)

How do you pick terrarium size for housing multiple snakes? How much space should you add for each individual snake?

[gregmonsta]

That really depends on the sex of the group you choose and the size of the individual ... if you think of 3' as a minimum for a female garter snake and work from there ... the recommendation is usually to add a foot per snake ... i would say a 3' viv could probably house 2/3 males quite happily (depending on size) ... I currently cohabit 4 males in a 4.5' enclosure and they love the space ... the bigger the enclosure the better in my opinion.

[jitami]

I'd like to pull elegans elegans out of this group. Vagrans are known to be cannibalistic, but I'm not sure T. e. elegans deserve the same rep. Heck they barely look related to me, but that's a different story.