Bad Rap!

[MasSalvaje]

I have noticed that a lot of people have mentioned how nasty the Wandering Garters can be. I have noticed the exact opposite in all of the Wanderings I have come across in captivity and in the wild. Out of the types I currently own my Erythristic Eastern is by far the most wild, followed by my Red Spotted, which is followed by all three of my female Plains. My two best behaving snakes are two that generally have the worst reputations, my Wanderings and my Bluestripe (similis).

I just wanted to throw this out there and get a feel for what people think. I have noticed that the Wandering and similis have the strongest feeding response and are very confident as I like to put it, I wonder if that is often mistaken for overall nastiness.
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn48/Massalvaje/DSCN7122.jpg
-Thomas

[infernalis]

Actually, my wandering is a good snake.... Unless he's hungry or my hands smell like mice.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I don't have a mean vagrans!! I have rarely been bitten by one in the wild also.

[Stefan-A]

Who's been spreading these lies? :D

I've had one wandering garter snap at me once and that one had been under considerable stress and even that one will normally put up with just about anything without getting pissy.

The feeding response is in a class of its own (compared to the red-sideds I've had and my current tetrataenia). Sometimes it's downright hazardous to open the enclosure door when the smell of food is in the air.

[drache]

my vagrans is possibly the nicest of my males

[MasSalvaje]

Ok so it seems as though anyone that has had experience with vagrans knows of their docile nature but what about similis? Did I just get lucky with mine or have others had well behaving similis?

-Thomas

[ConcinusMan]

Not sure about the vagrans ssp. but I have kept T. elegans before that were quite docile and made great pets. The nasty one's I encountered were wild one's and they not only musk, but like to latch on and chew!

I have never encountered a foul tempered concinnus. Some are just a bit more nervous than others but even wild one's just wiggle and musk, then calm right down. I have rarely seen even a wild one, try to bite. Many so-called concinnus in the trade are not pure concinnus, I'm sure of it. I'd be willing to bet that many are part infernalis, fitchii, or parietalis.

It takes some settling in, and trust building, but real, pure concinnus, even wild ones, are anything but foul tempered.

[Mommy2many]

My Thamnophis Sirtalis (W/C) like to latch on and chew which I found to be quite amusing after the shock of it all! Nothing like a good snake bite to get the blood flowing!:D

[ssssnakeluvr]

My male concinnus will bite if he gets the chance. he's captive bred from a wild caught female, which I now own....and she is sweet

[ConcinusMan]

The only concinnus bites I have received usually do draw blood but in every case, it's been a case of my hand being mistaken for food!

[infernalis]

Ok so it seems as though anyone that has had experience with vagrans knows of their docile nature but what about similis? Did I just get lucky with mine or have others had well behaving similis?

-Thomas

Before she died, My Similis was a very "spirited" snake, She started striking at the air as soon as I lifted the cover off the cage to feed her or change water.

That was what I like the most about her, she had a serious "do not mess with me" attitude.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, it's kinda cute and funny to watch a snake do that. Well, when they aren't over 6 feet long that is. Two of my favorite non-garters of all time was a 5 foot san diego gopher snake with a bad attitude and CB CA king that was pretty much the same. Both of them would strike at the glass and rattle their tails if I just get near their enclosure.

[infernalis]

Both of my Infernalis' do that and I laugh every time, they act like little vipers.