Hello! My name is Taylor. I'm 18, a resident of northern Utah, and, of course, a reptile lover.

I've been keeping snakes (mostly corn snakes) for about 3 years now. Right now, I have a modest "collection" of three bearded dragons, a Corn snake, and a San Diego gopher snake.

I've always been fascinated by garter snakes, but have never kept one, in large part because of the whole fish/slugs/earthworms thing (frozen mice are just so much easier), but have decided now that I am definitely going to get a garter snake (or two). Probably not until next October, when the local expo comes around again, but it's never too soon to start researching, right? Which is why I'm here!

While I'm posting, I have one question. Can someone clear up the cohabitation issue concerning garters?? I know it's a big no-no with other snake species, for reasons ranging from disease transfer to cannibalism to the big one, STRESS, but it seems cohabbing is an accepted and even common practice in Garters. What makes them different?

I don't plan on cohabbing garters, due to my established beliefs concerning the same with other snake species, but I want to understand exactly why such a normally taboo practice is so widely accepted with just this one genus... So can anyone clear this up for me?

Thanks, and I look forward to learning all I can from the great, knowledgeable Garter keepers this forum has to offer!