Keeping garters in the same cage

[Dredric1]

i have three wild caught garters and i am wondering if i could keep two of them in the same cage it is large in comparison to them and they are near to the same size.

The largest garter is feeding fine it has eaten two slugs.
but the two smaller ones have not yet. i am wondering what size of a slug or earthworm they can eat they are both about 15 inches long. i have heard that garters are sometimes cannibalistic during feeding. do i run the risk of them eating each other if they are kept together.

[kibakiba]

I don't think it would be a problem as long as they aren't opposite genders, and close to the same size. You might want to feed them in separate areas, my two snakes try stealing food from each other if they're in the same enclosure while I'm feeding them. I would think that as long as both are well fed they wouldn't try to eat each other. My baby snake, Runt, ate a whole earthworm when he was born. It was about 4 inches long or so. He was a tiny little baby, the worm seemed bigger than he was! Snakes can pack down food pretty easily. Perhaps try giving them a couple days to settle in and then offer a couple cut up earthworms. Hope this helps!

[Dredric1]

thanks for the help. why would it be bad if they were opposite genders.

[kibakiba]

They could breed. If their different species and not from the same area they could produce hybrids. Hybrids are frowned upon usually. They seem like their pretty young, though. I believe it's also past breeding season, but some snakes still try to mate :P

[Dredric1]

the large garter is the same species would it be ok to put him/her in there. or is the size difference bad.

[kibakiba]

If it's quite a lot bigger than the others I could see there being a problem, if it's within a couple inches I can't see it being a problem. My female snake is 2-3 inches bigger than my male and there's no problem. Maybe a more experienced member could confirm what I said?

[guidofatherof5]

i have heard that garters are sometimes cannibalistic during feeding. do i run the risk of them eating each other if they are kept together.

I know the word cannibalistic fits the situation but I've always had a problem with it in a feeding situation. It's more of a feeding accident than what I would consider true cannibalism.
Sorry, it has bothered me and I though I would vent.
Moving on.

[Spankenstyne]

I know the word cannibalistic fits the situation but I've always had a problem with it in a feeding situation. It's more of a feeding accident than what I would consider true cannibalism.
Sorry, it has bothered me and I though I would vent.
Moving on.

Might just be semantics but you're right Steve. It's more of an accidental thing than actively hunting each other.

For my group enclosures I cut the food items into bite sized pieces to lessen the risk.

[guidofatherof5]

Might just be semantics but you're right Steve. It's more of an accidental thing than actively hunting each other.

For my group enclosures I cut the food items into bite sized pieces to lessen the risk.

Feeding time and just after is always a scary time when you've got more than more in an enclosure.

[ConcinusMan]

Feeding time and just after is always a scary time when you've got more than more in an enclosure.

And this is coming from a guy who does that more than I dare to. I've never been able to feed an entire litter of T.s. concinnus from a dish. I end up with a tangled mess of babies all trying to swallow one another, or anything that smells like food.

But no, seriously, most garters (there are exceptions) can be kept together without any problems. It's feeding them together that can be a problem, even if they are the same kind. I can't count how many times I have had to pull two concinnus apart because one was swallowing food, the other would latch on to his face and try to start swallowing, snake and all. Most garters will not normally eat another garter but under certain conditions, it can happen.

I got lucky with the group I have now. The get along at feeding time with little interference from me, but I still watch closely and sometimes, I do have to "referee" and have to snatch them up and pry one off of the other.

As far as crossbreeding goes, I've personally never had it happen. I can't even get same kind to breed without planning it (brumating and keeping opposite sexes together after brumating) but apparently, it does happen.

Safest possible policy would be to keep like kind together, and keep them about the same size. However, I have no problem keeping a 20 inch concinnus in the same tank as a 38 inch. Just watch out at feeding time. I have also kept ordinoides of all sizes and sexes in with concinnus of all sizes and sexes. These two just don't crossbreed ever.

I suppose it will all depend on what species or subspecies you want to keep together, and how they behave a feeding time, and a bunch of other factors, but generally speaking, you can keep different species, sizes, and sexes together. possible problems can arise depending on your specific situation.