New article entitled- Plethora of Morphs in Garter Snakes

[Jeff B]

Thanks Don and Jason. I am really hoping to give the garters a little boost in the broader reptile community.

[tress29]

The first one being their size. Too small for most. (Only big snakes are interesting and worth having)

Well, I have three males in the same space used to house just one ball python. Isn't MORE better?!

[kibakiba]

More mouths to feed and more attention/time needed for each snake. That would be a downside for a lot of people.

[tress29]

More mouths to feed...

What it's costing me to feed three garters for a week is still less than feeding one ball python.

I have to say, I'm enjoying the small snakes way more than some of the larger ones I've been around. My hog is finally getting some girth to him, but he'll still only top out around 18" long! I always was into miniatures and small toy playsets!

[kibakiba]

I can barely keep up with my 12. But, you likely aren't mentally screwed up...

[chris-uk]

It's a good article Jeff. I think the fact that it talks about garter morphs will stimulate interest in people who just thought garters came in one variation: "garter".
It should get some attention and those herpers will realise that not only are there several morphs being bred in several species, but also that the variation between species themselves is fascinating.

Now, personally I'm not a big fan of morphs and prefer to see the normal/natural colourings. However, I think with garters we're a long way from falling into the "hypo lavender spider spot" or "blood pastel supermelanistic" type of morphs that you see in other species...

I'll pop a link to the article onto the RFUK forum, there was a post recently where it was said that "garters only come in normal and albino"...

[EasternGirl]

Very interesting article. I would also think that a snake being smaller would be a plus...but I guess some people don't think that way.

[chris-uk]

Very interesting article. I would also think that a snake being smaller would be a plus...but I guess some people don't think that way.

For some people if it isn't big enough to squeeze the life out of you/your dog/your children it's not a real snake.

[kibakiba]

If it's not large enough to compensate for their lack of manhood, it's not a snake. I think that is what you mean.

[chris-uk]

If it's not large enough to compensate for their lack of manhood, it's not a snake. I think that is what you mean.

When you see photos of big blokes who spend too much time at the gym, posing with a huge retic... You just have to wonder whether the snake:manhood ratio is inversely proportional. Of course my garters are all really small.
Give me a garter any time, there's so many species that I've got a long time to go before I get bored.