Something ive been waiting all my life for.

[sirtalis01]

hey im in ny city..if you want we could meet some where and you could have a pair of my oregon red spotted free of charge..they are beautifull

i live in jersey city/nyc area. i would love to find someone close by.

thanks for all the great comments. didymus, i was reading your enclosure post even before i registered on these forums. The only thing i feel is that its not conventional, however you seem to be getting much praise for innovation and your snakes seem very good with this setup. Also, that enclosure seems to be almost escape proof considering its a sealed container. I definitely will consider this as an option to house them. any problems with this setup at all that you can find?

charis, the snake i want to get is whatever snake i find to have the best temperment. I wouldnt want to get a really colorful morph at the cost of it being too agressive for me to have issues whenever i need to care for it. My choice will be based purely on this factor, and if such a snake happens to be particularly pleasing to the eye, then thats always a plus.

[guidofatherof5]

hey im in ny city..if you want we could meet some where and you could have a pair of my oregon red spotted free of charge..they are beautifull

That is a very nice thing to do.

[suliman]

Good, if you are thinking about what you want in a snake. My advice was more don't get the first garter you see just because you really want a snake right NOW. Sometimes that works out okay but sometimes you regret it later.

yeah i definitely want a garter and i know their temperament can vary greatly, so i really want to be careful as to which i choose. Im also not sure if garters generally retain their temperament as they get older. can they sometimes change over time and become more friendly if they are aggressive and vice versa.

i find that garters are more of what i want in comparison to a larger snake like a ball python which i find seems to sleep most of the time and seem very non interactive.. but these are just first impressions i get, so no idea really.

[guidofatherof5]

I've never had one go from docile or easy going to aggressive or mean.
If they start out that way they seem to loose it. I have a male that took 7 months to calm down. Now, he's first out to greet me and one of the calmest males I have. Sometimes it take small steps and a lot of patients. This has just been my expirience with my radixes and T.s.p (red-sided).

[Mommy2many]

My garters are a mix of W/C and C/B. I only have one that will actively try & bite me, Midnight. She is a wild caught and I chalk her behavior up to that and the fact I do not handle her alot. My other wild caught is pretty mellow (Stewie) and all of the babies have been handled since birth. A few will musk but never bite and all have pretty nice temperments. My Dekayi is wild caught and though a spaz, does not musk or bite. my other 2, Jesse & Noodle are adoptees and are also spazzy but do not musk or bite. Garters are the best snakes to have, as anyone on this forum will tell you! Good luck on your selection. A $200.00 allowance for setup should net you a pretty sweet enclosure. as Steve said, check out Craig's list. I just picked up 2 aquariums last weekend, a 25 gallon and a 30 gallon for $20.00! My sister took one, so it only cost me 2 hours of my time and $10.00 in the end! Garters are not picky about the hides, until they have a favorite, so almost anything will do. water dishes can be the chinese takeout dishes, food dishes can be lids to gladware containers. if bringing anything out from inside, remember to bake in oven at 225 for at least an hour or two, to kill buggies (you don't want mites!)

Let us know what you decide!

[ConcinusMan]

Hey suliman, this guy is close to you: http://www.thamnophis.com/classified...hp?product=194

He has beautiful concinnus'. My favorite.

If I were you, I would definitely take sirtalis01 up on his offer. T.s. concinnus is perfect for what you are looking for. I recently lost my baby. Still mourning. She died after giving birth to 23 healthy babies (+2 stillborn). She was wild-caught and I had her for 21 years, and she gave birth to around 150 babies throughout the years. Every individual I have ever handled, even wild caught, had a great temperment, quickly settling down when handled. With PROPER handling, she even seemed to enjoy it. On top of that, they're beautiful. Females seem to be "smarter" with lots of personality and charm, while males tend to be a bit more spirited and defensive, preferring to be left alone. You'll want a female, that's for sure. (or get a sexed pair) They get bigger than males too.

[suliman]

Hey suliman, this guy is close to you: http://www.thamnophis.com/classified...hp?product=194

He has beautiful concinnus'. My favorite.

If I were you, I would definitely take sirtalis01 up on his offer. T.s. concinnus is perfect for what you are looking for. I recently lost my baby. Still mourning. She died after giving birth to 23 healthy babies (+2 stillborn). She was wild-caught and I had her for 21 years, and she gave birth to around 150 babies throughout the years. Every individual I have ever handled, even wild caught, had a great temperment, quickly settling down when handled. With PROPER handling, she even seemed to enjoy it. On top of that, they're beautiful. Females seem to be "smarter" with lots of personality and charm, while males tend to be a bit more spirited and defensive, preferring to be left alone. You'll want a female, that's for sure. (or get a sexed pair) They get bigger than males too.

when you say "sexed pair" you mean male and female?

[ConcinusMan]

Sure. I mean confirmed male and female when I say "sexed". It's also helpful if they are about the same age, and not too closely related. I can tell the difference between the two sexes on sight, even when they are around only 1 year old. It's not difficult at all, and doesn't really require any probing or anything that drastic. Basically a male is much thinner than a female, has a slightly smaller head, and the distance between vent and tip of tail is long and tapered compared to females which have a thicker body, bigger head, and distance between vent and tip of tail is shorter and tapers off quickly. Females also get much larger than males of the same age. I've encountered wild females as large as 38 inches. My girl died at around 24 years old (21 in captivity) and 42 inches (3.5 feet) long. Seriously, why haven't you jumped on the offer to get a pair for free? Get them, or at least get one female. I have owned many species of snakes over the years but even among different species of garters, none have been such great pets as my T. s. concinnus. They live long, get large, are easy to care for, will breed readily, usually after a couple of years together right after emerging from a couple of months of winter rest. Or, no harm is done if winter rest is skipped altogether if you don't plan on breeding. Honestly, they're great snakes even for beginners.

Go for it. Get one or two. You won't regret it. Like I said, I kept my female for 21 years! If for some reason you don't have one by May or so of 2010. (it's too late in the year for me to provide one now) I can provide healthy, fairly tame, (won't bite) wild-caught for only shipping cost. The wetlands/parks/public areas around here are thick with them and there's no local laws against collection/keeping of garters. I only recently discovered this website after releasing over 150 babies which I captive bred. 23 released just last summer. I didn't know they could be sold, or even given away. D'OH!

Mine look slightly different than the captive bred ones that sirtalis01 has. His look more like the Benton county, Oregon individuals. Mine look like the Multnomah county, Oregon in the face, head, and neck, but have way more orange on the sides, just like his, and just like the Benton county, Oregon one's found on this page: Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus - Red-spotted Gartersnake

Let me know what you think. I'm convinced that this species/subspecies is perfect for beginners and with some commitment can bring you years of joy.

[suliman]

yeah ive already contacted sirtalis about his offer. he says he can offer me a pair (male and female). im still condsidering my options for enclosures. what do people think of this setup?

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/encl...enclosure.html