Keeping garters in the same cage

[ConcinusMan]

Feeding time and just after is always a scary time when you've got more than more in an enclosure.

And this is coming from a guy who does that more than I dare to. I've never been able to feed an entire litter of T.s. concinnus from a dish. I end up with a tangled mess of babies all trying to swallow one another, or anything that smells like food.

But no, seriously, most garters (there are exceptions) can be kept together without any problems. It's feeding them together that can be a problem, even if they are the same kind. I can't count how many times I have had to pull two concinnus apart because one was swallowing food, the other would latch on to his face and try to start swallowing, snake and all. Most garters will not normally eat another garter but under certain conditions, it can happen.

I got lucky with the group I have now. The get along at feeding time with little interference from me, but I still watch closely and sometimes, I do have to "referee" and have to snatch them up and pry one off of the other.

As far as crossbreeding goes, I've personally never had it happen. I can't even get same kind to breed without planning it (brumating and keeping opposite sexes together after brumating) but apparently, it does happen.

Safest possible policy would be to keep like kind together, and keep them about the same size. However, I have no problem keeping a 20 inch concinnus in the same tank as a 38 inch. Just watch out at feeding time. I have also kept ordinoides of all sizes and sexes in with concinnus of all sizes and sexes. These two just don't crossbreed ever.

I suppose it will all depend on what species or subspecies you want to keep together, and how they behave a feeding time, and a bunch of other factors, but generally speaking, you can keep different species, sizes, and sexes together. possible problems can arise depending on your specific situation.

[drache]

my biggest group right now consists of four, and when I feed them, I take one of them out to feed separately, just to make it more manageable

[ConcinusMan]

i have three wild caught garters and i am wondering if i could keep two of them in the same cage it is large in comparison to them and they are near to the same size.

The largest garter is feeding fine it has eaten two slugs.
but the two smaller ones have not yet. i am wondering what size of a slug or earthworm they can eat they are both about 15 inches long. i have heard that garters are sometimes cannibalistic during feeding. do i run the risk of them eating each other if they are kept together.

We're talking about WC Northwesterns here. It is perfectly safe to put opposite sexes and widely different sizes together Dedric. Just don't overcrowd them and make sure you keep the substrate or bottom of the enclosure clean and dry. Overcrowding and unclean or moist conditions can lead to blister disease in Northwesterns really fast. Watch for fights at feeding time. Other than what I have mentioned, you shouldn't have any problems.

[Mommy2many]

I have the 6 yearlings in with one Dekayi and feed them all together. The only times I have "feeding accidents" are usually when nightcrawlers are on the menu and I stay close with a pair of scissors