Calmest Garters

[ssssnakeluvr]

I had a wild caught parietalis....big female about 32 inches long....one of the meanest snakes I ever had...she now resides in Scott Felzer's collection. I have one of her babies, a male with orange sides...he's a bit of a nipper until i pick him up, then he's ok. my high red oregon red spots always strike at me when i feed them, were from a wild caught red spot that Brian Eager has. My wild caught red spots are mellow, have never tried to bite.....

[drache]

my Plains Garter (Thamnophis radix) is the mellowest and even seems to enjoy hanging out. She's easy in every way.

[ssssnakeluvr]

my melanistic eastern is absolutely calm..however my florida blue is cranky and will bite me (the melanistic is 41 inches long). plains garters and wandering garters are very calm also.

[Stefan-A]

My male parietalis is the calmest I've ever handled, doesn't protest much. It wasn't like that when I got it, it was pretty easily spooked the first months. But I have never seen it show any signs of aggression. None.

[ssssnakeluvr]

there's a pic of the female parietalis on my home page...the big meanie...

[Cazador]

Some of the T.s. concinnus that I've had have been a bit jumpy, and some have even been a bit aggressive. Others have been just great. The T. ordinoides that I've recently acquired are extremely personable. I've only owned four of them, but they've all been GREAT little snakes. They are inquisitive, friendly, and love to be held. It'll be great once a reliable source has been established. I've had T.s. sirtalis that were also very friendly, but these ordinoides are really special. Anybody want to comment about the T.s. infernalis or T. cyrtopsis ocellatus?

[adamanteus]

Just to bring this thread back to Glens' original question....."Which Garter, available in the UK, would make a good starter snakes for his daughters". I got the impression from Glens' earlier threads that his daughters want to handle the snakes, and that he wants to buy babies. With that in mind I would still question the suitability of any Garter. I think baby Garters are just too fragile for small, inexperienced children to handle. Just my opinion.

[drache]

I totally agree - I'd go with adults, or at least year olds.
Babies need a lot of care too and a lot can go wrong very fast.
The first snake I let my daughter handle, was the biggest one I have and it wasn't a Garter.

[Gyre]

My common garter is fairly calm, though I wouldn't say she 'enjoys' being handled. Not unless there's food in it for her.

Still, my friend's ball python is ten times calmer, even with children, and obviously enjoys being held. I feel the size is good too, not scary for most kids.

Hannah

[adamanteus]

I'm with you there Hannah, I think something like a Royal (Ball) Python (Python regius) is more suitable.