Hello all,
I've really enjoyed all of the valuable information I have been able to find on this forum! I have been a "critter keeper" for all of my life (almost 50 years!). I, like many, had always thought of Thamnophis (garter snakes) as "trash" snakes! but now my fascination has grown 10 fold! Again, I really appreciate the information you folks are sharing, it is fascinating. As I am really just "seeing" these little guys for the first time I have a few questions I hope you can answer. I have a couple of Thamnophis Elegans that are the typical brownish gray color with the yellow stripes. I also have a couple of snakes from the same area that are much darker, what I would almost call black, with the red checkers and the yellow stripes. Are they the same Thamnophis Elegans, or are they something else? My next question is, do you use a dish to feed? or do you just put the cut up night crawlers or pinkie mice in their enclosure and let them find it on their own? How long should I leave the feed in there if the snakes aren't showing any interest? thanks for taking the time to answer back!