Calmest Garters

[Glen]

What are the tamest species of Garters, my daughters are interested in Garters and Ribbons but i dont want to get them something that tries to eat them!

[KITKAT]

In my opinion, some T sirtalis (Eastern Garters) are quite tame... but avoid the "Florida Blue" variant. There are several "morphs" of the eastern garter, as well as some beautiful subspecies.

[adamanteus]

Hi Glen,

Many of the Garters you'll see on this forum are not readily available in the UK. If it is for your children you probably don't want to spend a small fortune on one of the more rarely seen species. Might I suggest Checkered Garters Thamnophis marcianus? They are bred in some numbers in the UK, therefore should be easy enough to acquire. Nice looking, easy to care for. They're not too big either!

James.

[adamanteus]

Glen,

You don't mention the age of your daughters, or what their interest in Garters actually is....If they're quite young and if you're looking for a snake which they can handle frequently, Garters would be a poor choice.

I see from your earlier threads that you've been asking around for baby Garters, and yet you want a snake which is placcid enough for a child to handle. I think a baby Garter would be wholy unsuitable in such an instance. They are too small and fragile to be handled by a young child. Might I suggest a sub-adult Royal Python (Python regius). Or perhaps a Corn Snake (Elaphe guttata) as a first snake, both readily available in the UK.

James.

[abcat1993]

but avoid the "Florida Blue" variant.

Why is that? I was either going to get them or a melanistic eastern as my next garter. (According to Scott Felzer, Florida Blues are the biggest of the garters he sells).

[adamanteus]

Florida Blues are notoriously aggressive.

[Thamnophis]

In my case the Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia are the calmest and the Thamnophis atratus atratus are the most nervous.

[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.