Why do you think garters are so underrated and overlooked in the hobby?

[Invisible Snake]

Why do you think garters are so underrated and overlooked in the hobby?

[guidofatherof5]

They are small and flighty.
They are interactive and require more time.
They are considered garbage/pest snakes as they are so abundant in many areas (of no value)
"A real man wants a big snake"
They are not BIG money makers.
They are not understood.


They are the best kept secret in the snake hobby and I hope it stays that way. Even people that are "into" snakes don't like garters. Garter keepers are shunned by many of them.
It's their loss and our gain.

[Invisible Snake]

They are the best kept secret in the snake hobby and I hope it stays that way. Even people that are "into" snakes don't like garters. Garter keepers are shunned by many of them.
It's their loss and our gain.

I hope they get more popular, that way more scientists/herpetologists would study them, publish articles, write books on them and also ppl in general won't see them as pests or expendable pets and would get a better understanding/appreciation of them. Might also help with preserving their natural habitats, etc.

[Stefan-A]

I hope they get more popular, that way more scientists/herpetologists would study them, publish articles, write books on them and also ppl in general won't see them as pests or expendable pets and would get a better understanding/appreciation of them. Might also help with preserving their natural habitats, etc.

Thamnophis is probably the best studied genus in the reptile world.

[guidofatherof5]

Thamnophis is probably the best studied genus in the reptile world.

And T.sirtalis parietalis (Red Sided Garter) is probably the most studied species.

[Stefan-A]

And T.sirtalis parietalis (Red Sided Garter) is probably the most studied species.

Of that genus, yes. However, I am willing to bet that Vipera berus is still better studied.

[Ctah_Lu]

They are small and flighty.
They are interactive and require more time.
They are considered garbage/pest snakes as they are so abundant in many areas (of no value)
"A real man wants a big snake"
They are not BIG money makers.
They are not understood.


They are the best kept secret in the snake hobby and I hope it stays that way. Even people that are "into" snakes don't like garters. Garter keepers are shunned by many of them.
It's their loss and our gain.

I agree, most of the people that keep snakes have them only to show how brave they are because they have big snakes.

[Stefan-A]

What Steve said.

You can't use a garter as a status symbol and that doesn't sit well with a lot of people.

[d_virginiana]

I'm glad garters aren't very popular in the hobby honestly. Their habits are ideal for people to go out and collect large numbers of them. I mean, I know they can do that with any species to some extent, but where garters are so common and tend to live and hibernate in dense numbers I feel like you'd see a big drop in wild populations if they suddenly became super popular as pets.

[guidofatherof5]

I'm glad garters aren't very popular in the hobby honestly. Their habits are ideal for people to go out and collect large numbers of them. I mean, I know they can do that with any species to some extent, but where garters are so common and tend to live and hibernate in dense numbers I feel like you'd see a big drop in wild populations if they suddenly became super popular as pets.

I hope they never do. So many of them would diet of starvation(crickets) or thiaminase(goldfish and minnows) poisoning.