Her first shed...

[ConcinusMan]

I don't think your night temps are too cold for an adult. Just make sure it's no more than 10 hours a night at those temps. If she's sitting under the basking lamp during the day, then obviously it's not getting too warm either.

[EasternGirl]

Well, I'm not sure how old she is....if she shed for the first time does that mean she is now an adult? So, how long should I leave her basking light on? I've been turning it on in the morning around 8 or 9..and then turning it off at night around 9pm. Maybe I better try the night bulb...I'm just waiting for the lamp stand that I ordered so that the bulb isn't too close to her.

[EasternGirl]

Another question...as I am thinking about getting another snake...can you just take a new snake and put it in with another without any problems? I am talking about garters specifically.

[ConcinusMan]

Generally speaking, yes you can. There are some precautions depending on the sex, species, and size of the snakes you intend to house together but generally, multiple garters, even different species, can be placed together.

[kibakiba]

I'd say if your house stays in the 60s it seems like a perfect temperature. I keep my room at the low to mid 70s at night. My heater turns off and at certain temperatures, which is set as close as I can get it to turn on at 70 and off at 75. The unfortunate thing about the heater is it cant go lower, and if I leave it off my room gets extremely cold. My snakes do seem to be happy with the temperatures that I keep it on, they have been out and about slithering around everywhere.

Putting other snakes in with Selena could cause her to become nervous. My snakes have better appetites when they're housed together and seem nervous and distant when they're alone. This isn't true of all snakes, some will become more fearful and/or nervous if there's another snake in their enclosure. If you are going to put another snake in there, have a temporary tank ready just in case they don't get along or if they seem to be scared of each other. When I got my redspots from Richard (concinnusman) I watched how Runt reacted to them being in her tank for about an hour and off and on throughout the week to make sure the three of them were doing okay.

I don't know how big snakes in your area get, but I'm sure depending on the length of her body you could get a close estimate from someone who knows more about them. I only know about northwesterns, the midgets of the garter snakes...

[EasternGirl]

Well, the snake that I believe to be Selena's mother lives under our house and she is big for a garter...about three-feet-long, and her head is about the size of a half dollar. She is the biggest garter I have seen in my yard. There was another one in my basement about two years ago that was almost as big. I measured Selena a couple of weeks ago and she was ten inches long...I'd say she's about a foot long now. Is there a way to tell how old she is? Does her first shed give an idea?

I am going to wait and see if I get more babies in my basement in the spring. If I do, I will try to put one in with her. If I don't, I might look for one of those pretty blue pugets to buy.

[kibakiba]

I'd say she shouldn't be too much older than a year. Some garters do get pretty huge. Northwesterns only get up to 1.5-2 ft if I remember correctly. Mama's about 2 feet right now. Maybe someone else can give a little information. I don't know too much about other garters.

[ConcinusMan]

Biggest northwestern garter I've ever seen was one I caught just this past summer. An old female 2.5 feet. I've heard of them getting bigger, but generally speaking, they are a very small species and grow very slowly when compared to most garters.

They are mostly worm and slug eaters but some will take pinkies and fish.

Oregon red spotted garters, on the other hand, grow very fast and I regularly find them over 3 feet. I have one female that's over 3 and a half feet.

[EasternGirl]

How fast does a garter grow...generally speaking? I'm torn...Selena is so cute right now with her little head and face no bigger than my pinkie fingernail...but I am kind of hoping she gets really big too!

Selena ate a whole pinkie yesterday and I still see no discernable bulge...her body looks wider in general, but there is no spot that is bulging. She has pooped a couple of times but it's little tiny bits...should I be concerned that she isn't passing the pinkie? Should I feed her more? Someday I will not be stupid when it comes to snakes...lol.

[ConcinusMan]

Babies kept warm and fed daily or nearly daily, tend to grow very fast. You can get an idea how fast your snake is growing by how often it sheds. Shedding every 4-7 weeks is an indication of very fast growth. Babies go through stages and "growth spurts" just like any other baby animal. They tend to slow down a little when they reach 1-2 years old but continue to grow their entire lives. Growth rate and maximum size depends on the species, the food,(how often, and what kind of food) temperature, and many other factors.

Feeding baby oregon red spots daily or nearly daily since they were born in August has resulted in their shedding every 4-6 weeks. They are about 5 months old now and the one's I kept have at least doubled in size in that time. But don't expect them to double every 5 months. Like I said, they slow down once they reach about a year old.

Keep caring for your snake the way you have been and it's not out of the question for a female eastern to reach 3 feet in length. IMHO, it doesn't take away their "cuteness". I have a female red spotted that is over 3.5 feet. She's still cute as heck. She only sheds about twice a year, and so at her age, she's growing very slowly and won't get much bigger before she dies of old age.