So i just got these two from a friend of mine, they are common garters (are common garters also called eastern garters or no?) and she never really cared to know the gender but i may breed if they seem like they would be good for it (good temperament, easy to keep fed etc) which is bassically what i'm figuring out right now. I tried learning how to pop them but i don't want to hurt them and videos don't really help much so instead to pictures it is!

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The one on the left is my smaller garter, i don't think they are the same age so i couldn't even make a guess based on size (my friend gave me very little info about them and the place she got them from didn't give her much either<or she didn't ask)
The picture on the right has both, the left snake in that picture is my larger snake.

The larger is probably about 2 feet and the smaller it about half the girth and about 1 foot or so

Thanks for any help and tips!

Oh and right now they eat toads but i don't like the idea of feeding them something that is filled with parasites and who knows what else, haven't tried fish yet but i breed mice for snake food so i want to try and switch them, any ideas? Plan to try scenting the mice with toads today or tomorrow, anything else i could do?