Jon's Garter Snake Thread ( Suzi )

[chris-uk]

hey john.... if u dont mind me calling you that i am VERY new to the whole garder snake thing and have my tank setup and wanted to know if sand will affect them or if i have to do special thing with sand or owuld it be best i just replaced the sand with woodchip
With hope Jsld

Generally sand gets a thumbs down. The caresheet has the pros and cons of the common substrates, Jon has already linked to it. Say "hi" in the welcome lounge.

[Foxrun402]

Well.... Found this one yesterday in Suzi's tank about 30 seconds after she was done... and she nipped at me a few times as I tried to remove it to let me know she was ready to eat again lol!

This is what made me want to find her a much larger tank... I feel she is steadily outgrowing that 20g long


Also... Baby Jackson is under my wing again while my bro-in-law is out of town, so he says "Hi Everyone!"

[guidofatherof5]

Very cool Western Painted Turtle.

Painted turtle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Foxrun402]

a fresh new Xena...


Suzi also shed again, then got acquainted in her new home. It has much more room and she doesn't look crammed in there.




Xena will be joining Suzi very soon the 3 month period ends September 16th but I might wait an additional month for her to get a little bigger.

I hope you are all having a great day!

-Jonathan

[jwolfe152]

beautiful creatures

[Foxrun402]

Thanks J I'm just worried that Suzi has been alone for almost 10 months and may have become territorial to her surroundings... I hope they both get along once they are put together... I will be sure I have the day off when I do put Xena in with Suzi so I can monitor their behavior together.

[guidofatherof5]

Garters aren't territorial that I know of. They as a rule enjoy/put up with other garters.
In all my years of keeping garters I've never seen them refuse company.

[jwolfe152]

from the stuff i have read here and some papers i cant see them being territorial considering them brumating in a den like they do and then the mating balls. how many other animals have you heard of mating in such a way? most of the time its a fight between animals like walruses and seals, very vicious fighting. although i could be wrong i have not had them for long or observed them in a communal setting.

[Foxrun402]

Yes but since a baby she has been a "Lone Ranger" so to speak... and aggressive at that lol...

Maybe Xena will make her open up a bit and become a little more friendly... Suzi is only aggressive in the tank... and she doesn't eat in there... I take her out to eat without the scent of food anywhere on me lol... she still pretty much has that "I'm sleepin don't bother me" attitude 24/7 until she is out of her tank and realizes it me lol then she calms down after a short jog in the hands lol.

[Foxrun402]

Garters aren't territorial that I know of. They as a rule enjoy/put up with other garters.
In all my years of keeping garters I've never seen them refuse company.

Hannibelle