Lots of questions

[New Mutant]

I'm planning on getting him a bigger tank, especially since fish tanks are on sale at Petco right now. If I got another Thamnophis that was already accustomed to people to be a cagemate, would it be more likely that Percy learns to be friendlier or that the new snake learns from Percy to be fearful? Would they get along?

[kibakiba]

I don't think that they'd teach Percy to be less fearful, and if it got shipped the new snake could easily be frightened just from being on a truck for hours and hours. That's what happened to Snapdragon. Her brother is the calmest baby I've seen, and Richard said both of them tolerated handling but now she freaks out if I hold her. You cant tell if they'd get along or not, some snakes don't do so well with other snakes and it could make them more skittish. Fish tanks are not good to keep garters in. You need a top that they cant get out of.

[ConcinusMan]

Fish tanks are fine and there are screen tops you can buy made to fit many standard sizes. It's just that they must be clipped on or weighed down whereas the slide lock type tops do not.

If you buy a fish tank, make sure that before you do, you can get a screen top to fit it. For mostly terrestrial snakes like garters, I recommend you get one no taller than 20 inches or you'll be wasting money on more "gallons" that is taken up by useless vertical space. Most reptile lighting is meant to be within 18 inches of the floor and is most efficient when applied within that distance. Think short height, big floor area. Don't worry so much about gallons.

For example, a 33 gallon long has more floor space (48X13) than 55 gallon long (48X12) and is only 12 inches tall so given a choice, I'd take the 33 gallon.

[New Mutant]

I got a screen top for it, and I'm going to weigh it down with a book. It's a 20-gallon.

There's a really tame ribbon snake at another pet shop. It comes right up to look at me. The worker said that they are "easy to breed" but two males would fight in the breeding season. However, I just want 2 snakes, not 50. Do males fight in the breeding season? If they do, could I avoid that by not hibernating them? Is 20 gallons big enough for two ribbons?

[ConcinusMan]

I got a screen top for it, and I'm going to weigh it down with a book. It's a 20-gallon.

A book? Doesn't sound like quite the right idea.

Do males fight in the breeding season? If they do, could I avoid that by not hibernating them? Is 20 gallons big enough for two ribbons?

No, they simply compete for her attention harmlessly. No to the second question. Breeding time is generally the female's choice. brumating only makes her more likely to be ready for breeding. The boys have no choice but to be attracted to her and to compete for their chance to mate at that time. Brumating simply triggers her receptiveness which she advertises to males by excreting attracting pheromones. To answer the third question - probably. Depends on the size of the snakes and whether or not you can create an adequate temperature gradient in that tank.

[New Mutant]

Oh, okay. So if there is just 2 males and no females, they won't fight?

[guidofatherof5]

Oh, okay. So if there is just 2 males and no females, they won't fight?

In all my years keeping garter snakes I've never seen aggression outside of food time.
I have a group of 24 males that get along great.

[New Mutant]

Thanks. Well, Percy may be getting a new friend sometime!

I found the nightcrawlers at Walmart today. How does one prepare them? I read that they get mushy if they are rinsed, but how do I get the dirt off?

[ConcinusMan]

Aw, heck. My T.s. concinnus and T. ordinoides seem to enjoy each others company. With the exception of the babies born this year, I don't even see much aggression at feeding time with the particular group of adults I have together in one tank. Of course, that doesn't mean squat. Individual snakes behave differently under individual circumstances.

I think I just got lucky with this particular group of adults. They are quite polite (for a snake) at feeding time and they even seem to calculate and take care so that they don't bite my fingers. You can see them analyzing and calculating before they bite. It's so cute.

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks. Well, Percy may be getting a new friend sometime!

I found the nightcrawlers at Walmart today. How does one prepare them? I read that they get mushy if they are rinsed, but how do I get the dirt off?

Bigger snakes get whole worms. Smaller snakes get chunks. Babies get smaller chunks.
Night crawlers don't get mushy when wet. They just get slimy and hard to hold on to.
I don't worry too much about the dirt. Much of it falls off as you are working with the worms or fall off as it's being eaten.
It's really your call on the dirt. I do know that some forum members wash the worms before they feed them off.