Thinking ahead of future problems.

[IndigoBug1987]

Ok i want to get a bigger tank for slithers and i'm thinking while i'm at it i should get her a tank mate. (another garter) and i got to thinking again about something else.

What if the second snake i get is male? What if they end up having babies and what would i do with them? I can't just release them into the wild as it would be cruel. ( i think) and i can't just give them away in the paper. Who knows who would want them and for what reason, because you can't always read a person by looking at them. And its not like i could sell them to a pet shop. Should i just not get another snake because i don't have room for two tanks. OR should i get a slightly different species that is safe to house with her but isn't able to breed? My snake is a parellies(bad spelling)

This is a problem i've never dealt with before because every other pet ive ever had has always been neutered/spayed. I've only had one litter of kittens in my life, no puppies, and only because the mother was a stray that we adopted. My family doesn't believe in letting our pets breed because there are plenty of already unwanted pets out there. Lol all of my pets are runts or were unwanted/abandoned/wandered to our house.

Sorry for the text wall but i'm concerned about this. Maybe i shouldn't get another snake because i don't have the experience with them to tell male from female.

Oh i would also like to report that slithers is doing awesome. She eats a pinky every three days and is active at all hours of the day.

[guidofatherof5]

The nice thing about Garters is the fact that as a rule they get along well together. If you don't want the babies be sure to have the same sex in the tank. I don't think releasing the babies to the wild is cruel. If the release site is well thought out and gives them a good chance at survival that's all you can do.
If Garters are looked at in your area the way they are in mine you would be wasting your money on an ad. I don't even know 5 people in my area who would take a Garter off my hands and give it a good home. Most people don't think of them as a pet, more like a pest. It's a shame. They don't know what they're missing.
Good luck.

[snakems]

I wish I could give you some kind of advice but its good to hear the snake you have now is doing well! Its interesting to hear that she eats that much & is so active. It gives me some kind of comparison to make with mine lol
I dont feed her mice because I couldnt watch that and Im not a fan of handling dead mice either so i feed mine worms & sprinkle them with the white stuff.

[ssssnakeluvr]

do you mean parietalis??? red sided garter? nice snakes they are. nothing wrong with getting another snake. garters can be commonly found with other garters...... have a professional sex the snake....or post good clear photos of the tail of the snake showing the cloaca. we can usually tell the sex. if you are going to get another, get the same species....don't want accidental hybrids if the bred.
also, releasing babies to the wild can be illegal....not necessarily cruel...but not a good thing if the snake isn't native to your state.... a lot of states don't allow them to be released....but if its a local and has babies with a local...not gonna be a problem...most pet stores won't take them...they don't have the same wonderful viewpoint that we do! you would always find experienced people here willing to take the babies too.

[Hornets23]

I would think you could easily find a female to buy from someone who is pretty good at sexing snakes?

[IndigoBug1987]

yes i meant red sided! anyway i didn't know that they could make hybrids! thats cool but something i don't want to experience. Hm i don't think my snake is native to my state. I live in arkansas and i think the red sider is from around the great lakes area up north.

Someone has said that they believe my snake to be female so that is now how i think of my snake, as being female. But if i'm looking for a tank mate how can i tell the snake's gender that i intend to buy?

[IndigoBug1987]

I think the only way i could get a snake from someone that knows what they were doing would be to buy it from someone on here. I don't even know another person that has a pet snake. I'm the first person in my family to have a pet snake.

[ssssnakeluvr]

is the one you got from up north???? there are red siders in Arkansas I believe.....they are pretty wide spread....but releasing ones from out of state isn't good.
post photos of the one you have (tail region from underneath) and we can tell if its a female.....depends on who you buy from....professional breeders can sex them from you....don't trust pet stores....not a lot of them are knowledgeable

[anji1971]

My advice would be to put up pictures of the one you've got, to confirm the sex. Then, when everyone here starts having babies, you can get one from someone on the forum, who will make sure you're getting the right sex to go with yours.
I would definitely get another if you have room in the tank. They are so much fun!

[drache]

I agree with what was said above