Connection between cohabitation and calmness?

[Stefan-A]

So, I'm sitting here watching my snakes "interact". I started to wonder if those of you who have kept garters for a long time, have noticed anything that would indicate that cohabitating snakes from an early age would have had any sort of effect on how calm they are? Both when you try to handle them and when they interact with other snakes.

I noticed that the tetrataenia I have, which has been housed alone until recently, seemed intimidated by the vagrans it is housed with. The two vagrans will let other snakes crawl over them without reacting in any way, but the tetrataenia seems to deliberately get out of the way when a vagrans approaches and runs if anything at all touches it.

Or is it just a "tetra thing" or "vagrans thing"? I know I asked once before if there's a possibility that the tetrataenias would identify wandering garters as a potential threat.

[Zephyr]

I have several species mixed in my female tank; vagrans, sirtalis, marcianus, and butleri. I've never noticed any one trying to escape any one else; however the vagrans are often out a lot more than the others but that may be due to their nature. I guess the other thing you could attribute here is that butleri and vagrans would probably never meet in the wild, while the chance of the other two species meeting with it would be uncommon to slim.

[Lexa]

I did read a care sheet a little while ago about raising garter babies, in which the person said that he always tried to keep them in groups because this made them noticeably calmer...maybe there is something to it.

[infernalis]

From first hand observation of captive Sirtalis (Eastern) specimens,

Introduced together young results in apparently calmer snakes.

Placed together as adults, the observations vary, but the animals tend to try and establish a "pecking order"

However I have also observed that one of my adults when combined with any other sans 1 will behave violently toward the cage mate.

But when I place her with this one other female, they get along peacefully, she accepts this one and only one to be housed with her.

[drache]

I did notice on one occasion, that a concinnus male that had been separated out because of his food preference, and had lived alone for a long time, became noticeably stressed when I moved him into a larger tank with another male his size
I gave him his own tank again
he's always been easy to handle though

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

The more I work with garters and herp for them, the more firmly I strongly, strongly believe they are highly social as far as snakes go.

Until recently, I kept my male puget sound garter alone. his appetite has always been on the low side, and he's always been so flightly. He is now sharing a larger cage with a few other males and I see a phenomenal difference. He wants to eat a lot more and he doesn't run away when I walk into the room when hes basking with all the other guys in the community basking pile (maybe because the others don't run and he realizes that?) If one scatters, they all will!

From MY expieriences, my garters are happiest when house in large spacious cages with numerous other snakes of the same sex, rather than alone or in a pair in a smaller tank. I have never noticed any species of mine that dislike one another...

I have alway noticed that multiple garters seem to all pile under the same hide, and they follow one another like sheep to the different hides.

After seeing a pile of wild garters on the farm (I am talking like 6 or 7 snakes piled in the grass) basking together for the 3rd year in a row this year.... my garters will always be housed in large cages with other same sex snakes. The only time this will change is during breeding and when a female is close to birthing.

I have never seen a garter recoil at being touched by others... just the usual "twitch" to say "hey i am a snake just like you and I am not going to eat you"

you've got a weirdo, Stefan

[infernalis]

Firstly I would like to apolgize to Stefan, The key sentance was....

Or is it just a "tetra thing" or "vagrans thing"? I know I asked once before if there's a possibility that the tetrataenias would identify wandering garters as a potential threat.

Since I have never observed either of these species in captivity, I should NOT have even posted a reply.

I shall aquire some and reply again in a few years