enclosure ideas??!!!!

[Squeaky10199]

hey i need some enclosure ideas for my 20 inch garter snake. should i put him in a 20 long or keep him in a ten gallon? i only have him in a ten gallon because i only have one but as soon as i get some more i will put them in a 20 gallon probably. does any one have pics of their enclosure so i can get some ideas? all i have is coconut bedding mixed with aspen for the substrate and i have a hide and plants and sticks for a basking spot with a water bowl as well. i want a bigger cage but i think a ten gallon is good for one snake. right? anyways if you have pics of your enclosures i would love to see them. i will post my enclosure pic once i get a camera to use. thanks and help is appreciated.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

for now the ten gallon is fine but if it ends up being a female u most likely would want to get it a 20 gallon long

hey i need some enclosure ideas for my 20 inch garter snake. should i put him in a 20 long or keep him in a ten gallon? i only have him in a ten gallon because i only have one but as soon as i get some more i will put them in a 20 gallon probably. does any one have pics of their enclosure so i can get some ideas? all i have is coconut bedding mixed with aspen for the substrate and i have a hide and plants and sticks for a basking spot with a water bowl as well. i want a bigger cage but i think a ten gallon is good for one snake. right? anyways if you have pics of your enclosures i would love to see them. i will post my enclosure pic once i get a camera to use. thanks and help is appreciated.

[Squeaky10199]

why if it is a female? because they get bigger than males??? Well i will eventually put it in a 20 gallon long with atleast one more garter snake if not two. any enclosure ideas? pictures would help... thanxs.

[Stefan-A]

Well, females can grow twice as long as the males.

[Loren]

While it may be ok in a 10, it will be much happier in a 20 long. I would definitely save for that 20 long, and if you want to run a few garters in one cage, maybe just save up for a 30 or 40 gallon instead. If money is really tight, keep watching craigslist and garage sales for used tanks- just make sure you clean them really well first.

If you dont want to keep paying for upgrade tanks, I would try to base all desicions on adult lengths, even if you are going to get them as young'ns.( I dont really practice what I preach here- I'm always needing to upgrade somebody, but then somebody else smaller fills the old cage, so it doesnt go to waste)
Cage decoration is up to you. They need basics like a hiding spot or 2, and a water dish, but anything else is up to you, and how extravagant you want it to be. Highly decorated cages look neat, but plain set-ups are usually easier to clean. I would try to find a happy medium between the two.

[Squeaky10199]

well thank you Loren. i will try to save up for a 20-29 gallon and then add my garter and some more this summer. i will think of something but i just dont like my set up because it looks bad. thats why i wanted ideas for it so i can make it look alittle better. even though my garter seems to like it i still want it to look nice too. thank you for the help.

[Zephyr]

30 long is a great tank for 1-3 garters.

[Loren]

As for looks, substrate ( bedding) makes a big difference on appearance too. Everyone on the forum has there own favorite, ranging from tile to carefresh and everything inbetween. Personally, I use fir tree bark(similar to zoo meds reptibark, I think) for most of my snakes. I think it gives a nice natural look.

[Squeaky10199]

yeah at the moment i am using coconut brick and aspen mixed. i love coconut brick for all my animals like my spiders and snakes and any other reptile really. once i get another cage and more furniture then i will start to make the cage i really want. i want it to be aquatic and land together. how do you do that? do you have to have like a barrier to prevent the water from passing to the other side? do you glue it like that? if you can understand what i am trying to say.

[Loren]

I do understand what you are saying. I have not tried it myself though, but some people on this forum have.
The main thing to consider is if the water area cant be removed like a water dish can, will you be able to properly clean it on about a weekly basis.
Another possibility is to use a large shallow water dish that can be sunk into the bedding, to kind of look like its built in.
Hopefully some of the other forum folks can tell how they do it.