Hello and a Question

[BeardedIggy]

hi i am a new owner of 3 Garter Snakes i think they are apart of a family because when i caught them they were all in the same burrow/hiding area

the 2 older snakes (Adult and Adolescent) seem to like each other a lot in fact the smaller adolescent garter is always on top of the adult and is pulsing on it especially near the back of the tail, is this a sign of breeding?

please help

BeardedIggy

[drache]

the one you call adolescent may just be a male - they tend to be smaller than the females
and it sounds like he's interested in any case

[infernalis]

Snakes do not form "family units" like people do.

Communal hiding or basking does not indicate any kind of family unity.

snakes are opportunistic, and sometimes many will gather in one common spot for no reason other than it is a comfortable place to be.

[jitami]

Welcome It does indeed sound like mating behavior. Any chance you could release those two and keep the third for a pet? We'd love to see pictures of your crew when you're able

[BeardedIggy]

oh i did not know that snakes were not "family" oriented well they were all hiding in the same spot when i found them so i took them all

here are some pictures





nice black sandy beige/yellow contrast, she molted and its bright yellow now)

here she is again


and the whole gang from a different angle

[infernalis]

Keeping Garters seems to challenge that statement about them not being "social" (A hot debate)

Even though there is no evidence to support family unity, communal housing of garters seems to display behavior that can easily be confused with social.

In other words, Garter snakes in general seem to tolerate other garters better than say 2 specimens of another species would when confined to a cage.

BTW that is a handsome group of garter snakes

[drache]

they're very nice

[anji1971]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.
That is a very handsome group of garters you've got. And they do like to make us second-guess about that socializing aspect. They always look so darned content to be with each other!

[jitami]

What a lovely group of garters

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard and very nice snakes.