5 gal. tank?

[ConcinusMan]

EDIT: Shannon posted before I hit the submit button. Keep that in mind.

The standard "5 gallon" size glass aquarium is approximately 40 X 20 cm floor space (16X8X10 inches) and it's actually 5.5 gallons. There are of course non-standard and custom sizes, especially if they're not made of glass.

That is obviously enough room for a very small snake. The main issue I have is unless you're keeping it in a heated snake room and using heat tape or heat pad on a very small area of one end, it's difficult to adequately heat the air inside the tank, say, with a ceramic heat emitter or basking bulb, while still maintaining a low enough air temperature on the cool end. It is true that garters do not have exacting temperature requirements, so people take this too far and do not provide enough heating, have too much fluctuation or overheat their garters. There are more temperatures to consider than most people even think of. There's the night time low,(which should be tank-wide) daytime high cool end, daytime high warm end, and there should be enough room for a gradient in between.

This is where plants, logs, hides and other things help to create a range of comfort zones. They are not just "decoration" that the snakes can live without, like some people tend to think.

I just prefer to create and environment that allows for the snake to thermoregulate and move about like it does in nature. Then along comes people and they think they can do it better by sticking them in a tub with heat tape. They think they know better than nature. This is not how garter snakes live normal lives. BP's and retics live like this naturally and people tend to apply it garter snakes as well. Garter snakes are not sedentary. They actively move about even if it's for no particular reason. I've seen the difference in appetite and attitude when you take a garter out of a dang shoebox and give it room, a wide gradient, landscaping, and "natural" lighting. Yes, they do indeed seem "happier" in such a setup.