First garter - a blue-bellied T. radix

[nitrogen15]

Beautiful snake! and also a beautiful tank, what size is that?

Thanks Jeff! It's a square 50 gallon I picked up at a yard sale. I had to custom build the lid. It's working well so far because she hasn't escaped yet!

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks Jeff! It's a square 50 gallon I picked up at a yard sale. I had to custom build the lid. It's working well so far because she hasn't escaped yet!

Good to end with YET. Little scrubs do have a way of getting out.

[ConcinusMan]

It is been my experience that a square or high enclosure makes it difficult to create a proper temperature gradient. You just can't have one end around 88 degrees under a basking lamp and/or heat pad while the other end is close to 70 and that's what garters need. IMO a long enclosure with more floor space, and no higher than 20 inches or so, is better. That tall square enclosure is better suited for arboreal species. I just don't think it's the best dimensions for garter snakes.

I would use a 20 gallon long before I would use a tall 50 gallon any day.

[nitrogen15]

It has been my experience that a square or high enclosure makes it difficult to create a proper temperature gradient.

My apartment is kept at a warm room temperature year-round, and in the summer it gets close to 80 where I'm keeping her. Is a thermal pad in one corner a sufficient compromise in this case? 20 longs are hard to find here. Besides, she really likes the climbing space!

[Jeff B]

An under the tank heat pad in one corner keeping that area 85-100 is sufficient heat and will work fine. The snake can go hang out near the water bowl in the opposite corner if it needs to keep cool or climb up on the branch. In the summer when your room is 80 you can just unplug the heat pad, for the couple months in the summer, thats what I do in July and August. The bigger issue will be humidity in the winter with a screen top if you live where you have a house furnace running a lot in the winter the air gets very dry and makes for difficult shedding, this however can be solved by covering most of the top with a board or towel and adding an extra large water bowl, or an area with moist non rotting substrate, or misting one side of the glass. That square 50 is a unique pick-up, I love it, you can make it work fine for one garter, just don't keep adding snakes to it and get overcrowded, a pair would be fine though. Can I interest you in a male radix, lol, just kidding.

[ConcinusMan]

Didn't mean for it to sound like it's impossible to make it work. It's just not as easy.

[Jeff B]

Didn't mean for it to sound like it's impossible to make it work. It's just not as easy.

Richard you certainly have some valid points, floor space or square footage is the premium, and a 20 long or 40 breeder are probably more ideal, however garters can and do climb. Sometimes I wish I had all my garters in display aquariums with branches to climb, but then I think of the space and time to maintain and then I appreciate my racks for their function, yet I really do admire other peoples nice looking display tanks.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, my 55 gallon long is a bit taller than I prefer (21 inches high) but I found a way to work with it. You've probably already seen that I have a large climbing branch that spans the 4 foot length but I also set it up so that there is not only a gradient from end-to-end but also setup a basking area up off of the floor. The snakes like to climb up on the branch to bask under the overhead lamp. That high spot sometimes gets up to 95 degrees while the floor keeps its 70-88 gradient. Needless to say, the high spot is their favorite place to be when the heat/light comes on in the morning.

[Scott F]

Very nice snake, looks huge ! How long is she ?

Scott
.

[nitrogen15]

Very nice snake, looks huge ! How long is she ?

Scott
.

She's more than three feet long at this point. It's getting intense.