A possible new garter keeper, and a bunch of questions!

[hissies]

Hi there! I'm new to the site, clearly, but I've been lurking for a good couple weeks. I'm primarily a mammal person, but have always liked and been enthused by reptiles.

I might be acquiring a garter snake soon from a friend of mine. She has a group of friends who keep snakes, and have recently been buying/taking in a bunch of different snakes in the area (craigslist, etc.) I was out drinking with this friend one night and she mentioned they'd gotten a garter, to which I responded very enthusiastically since garters are the snake I was obsessed with for a while as a kid. A couple weeks later, I got a message from her announcing "I have your garter at my house, you can come pick him up sometime!" <br>This group of people is a little... flaky, so I'm still not 100% on if or when I'll be getting him. Thus far, they've been unable to tell me where exactly they got him, whether it's a boy or a girl, or if it's an Eastern or Plains. (The last I heard he's a male eastern, though it's bounced back and forth a couple times!) As of right now, he's supposedly living in a tupperware container behind my friend's carpet python tank and eating minnows.

Anyway, provided he does end up here, I want to take great care of him! I've been doing a ton of research and have read the caresheet here multiple times, in addition to the couple others I could find. I do have a handful of questions, so I hope you guys can help me out! This place seems like a fantastic resource, I've learned a lot just by lurking around.

1. Are Zilla Critter Keepers good enclosures? I like that slide locking top quite a bit, and I'm totally willing to pay more to ensure that there's very little likelihood of escapes.<br>I think this is a young snake, and after hearing how well they do socially, eventually I would like to get him a friend. Is a 15-gallon tank suitable starter housing for one or two males? I will be able to upgrade that in the future.

2. Do you guys recommend a basking lamp or heat pad? Much of what I've been reading seems to lean toward lamp. I know you can use regular household bulbs in those dome fixtures- what wattage should I be looking for?

3. Thermometers- is there a specific brand or kind you'd recommend? Should I get one for each side of the tank, or will one meter and the humidity meter suffice? (Also, do you guys mount the thermometers on the tank walls or lay them in the substrate?)

By that token, I'm also wondering what the humidity range should be.

4. Water! I've seen several mentions of using distilled or spring water for snakes, to avoid chemicals from the tap. Is this necessary?

That's what I have to bombard you with right now. Thanks in advance for any answers you can give me! I look forward to being part of the community!