I found 2 snakes in my basement tonight that appeared to be entwined. One was about 18" and the other was over 2' and thick!. I was able to capture both and noticed the larger one's vent was "open" and tissue beneath it (cloacca?) was swollen and protruding from the vent. It's just now starting to cool off at night here in Pennsylvania but I thought that garters bred after hibernation (in the spring?). Could they have bred without hibernation and from this description does it sound as if they did?
I've owned several snakes over he years and have cared for many more at my high school lab. I've owned garters, milks, corns, hognose, rats, and have cared for boas, retics and burms, and kings the king gave birth and I successfully hand fed her offspring. So I am not new to care of snakes and would like to give breeding a try.