A possible new garter keeper, and a bunch of questions!

[hissies]

Hi there! I'm new to the site, clearly, but I've been lurking for a good couple weeks. I'm primarily a mammal person, but have always liked and been enthused by reptiles.

I might be acquiring a garter snake soon from a friend of mine. She has a group of friends who keep snakes, and have recently been buying/taking in a bunch of different snakes in the area (craigslist, etc.) I was out drinking with this friend one night and she mentioned they'd gotten a garter, to which I responded very enthusiastically since garters are the snake I was obsessed with for a while as a kid. A couple weeks later, I got a message from her announcing "I have your garter at my house, you can come pick him up sometime!" <br>This group of people is a little... flaky, so I'm still not 100% on if or when I'll be getting him. Thus far, they've been unable to tell me where exactly they got him, whether it's a boy or a girl, or if it's an Eastern or Plains. (The last I heard he's a male eastern, though it's bounced back and forth a couple times!) As of right now, he's supposedly living in a tupperware container behind my friend's carpet python tank and eating minnows.

Anyway, provided he does end up here, I want to take great care of him! I've been doing a ton of research and have read the caresheet here multiple times, in addition to the couple others I could find. I do have a handful of questions, so I hope you guys can help me out! This place seems like a fantastic resource, I've learned a lot just by lurking around.

1. Are Zilla Critter Keepers good enclosures? I like that slide locking top quite a bit, and I'm totally willing to pay more to ensure that there's very little likelihood of escapes.<br>I think this is a young snake, and after hearing how well they do socially, eventually I would like to get him a friend. Is a 15-gallon tank suitable starter housing for one or two males? I will be able to upgrade that in the future.

2. Do you guys recommend a basking lamp or heat pad? Much of what I've been reading seems to lean toward lamp. I know you can use regular household bulbs in those dome fixtures- what wattage should I be looking for?

3. Thermometers- is there a specific brand or kind you'd recommend? Should I get one for each side of the tank, or will one meter and the humidity meter suffice? (Also, do you guys mount the thermometers on the tank walls or lay them in the substrate?)

By that token, I'm also wondering what the humidity range should be.

4. Water! I've seen several mentions of using distilled or spring water for snakes, to avoid chemicals from the tap. Is this necessary?

That's what I have to bombard you with right now. Thanks in advance for any answers you can give me! I look forward to being part of the community!

[infernalis]

[kibakiba]

I'd reccomend getting a glass tank, I used a critter keeper when I had Snakey and he was only 8 inches long. I would get a 20 gallon long tank. That would give him a big enough living space. -edit- Just clickedd the link you put.. Those are the tanks I was talking about.. Sorry! They have little plastic critter keepers, too, that's what I thought you were talking about.

Heating depends on your opinions. I personally prefer lamps. I use 40 watt spiral bulbs from wal-greens, they're a dollar each. I have little dome lights from home depot. They're just like the lights that you can get at the pet store only cheaper, and more durable.

I don't use thermometers, cant afford them, so I have no comment on that.

We have well water, so I just use that. When I'm able to, I filter the water with one of the brita water jugs (when we can afford filters). I would let some water sit out to get the chlorine out of it. I'm not sure about the other chemicals. If I lived in the city, I'd probably go out of my way to get some water without chemicals.

[ProXimuS]

Hello and welcome! You may want to introduce yourself in the Welcome Lounge for a proper welcome Welcome Lounge

So I will do my best on the questions you've asked. I'm still slightly new, with my one snake!(most members have nuuumerous snakes!)

1. I started mine with a Zilla, with the locking lid and loved it! I think they are a good choice if you can get the appropriate size. Mine started in a 5.5 gal, and now have him in a larger one(don't know what size, it was given to me by a friend) with a lid that just "sets" on top, and I'd much rather that locking lid! I keep heavy stuff on top for now to keep it on, until I can get some clamps for the lid. I'm honestly not too sure how big a 15 gal is/looks like, but I would think for two males, you may want to start at least with a 20 gal(?), but not really sure...I definitely wouldn't go smaller than a 15 gal. for two males...

2. I do believe it's best to have both. I don't know that they need both. I do know that it's good to have the under tank heaters(UTH) for the belly heat, to aid in digestion. The lamp is to provide heat(if needed) and and just a little basking spot. Some like to bask, some don't. Edit: I also use a 40 watt bulb.

3. Thermometers: I, personally, have a Zoo Med digital thermometer, which has a "probe" on a long cord, so you can move it around the cage, from hot side, to cool side, and back, when needed. I like to check the temp. around the bottom where he usually is, on the substrate level, but also will move it up to the top of his basking branch to see what temp. it is up there. I keep the humidity guage in the middle of the cage, middle of the glass.

4. I use distilled water, but also only have one little snake. I know other members use tap water, left uncovered, for 24 hours. From what I understand after 24 hours(apperantly the more surface area exposed, the better) the chlorine and what-not evaporates(?) out and makes it safe for the snakes consumption. I can see how buying distilled water when you have numerous snakes could get expensive!

Hope I've helped...I also feel like I just wrote a novel!


Also when you aquire the snake, pics, pics, pics

[guidofatherof5]

[Invisible Snake]

Hello and welcome

1. Zilla critter keepers are great! I own 1 myself, a 20 gallon long.

2. Both would be great, but if that's not feasible then I would recommend getting the basking light. In the wild garters love to bask on rocks and branches soaking up the sun's rays for warmth and to aid in digestion. If you were getting an albino garter snake then I would say you should get the heating pad because most albinos are sensitive to bright lights.

3. I would recommend in investing in a temp gun with a probe, something like or similar to what ProXimuS has. In my opinion these are more accurate than other thermometers, analog or digital.

4. Humidity should be anywhere around 50-80%, is good in my opinion. The humidity should be above 70% when your snake is entering opaque phase in order to aid in the shedding.

I use filtered water from the kitchen sink and add a couple of drops of ReptiSafe in my snakes water bowls.

P.S. If your friends flake out on the snake you can always check the forums classified section for garters up for sale.

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family!

[Selkielass]

Welcome!

I have a 20l critter keeper I got second hand and it is holding up great. 15 gal might be ok for a smallish male but id feel better with a 20l to allow for more dish and hide spaces. Half the fun of garters is rearranging their habitats and watching them explore.

Light will do, but if your house gets cold in the winter, you may want to add a heat pad.

I use tap water, but I know my city has very low chlorine levels. Use what you feel safe with.

[hissies]

Thanks for all the feedback and the welcomes!

kibakiba, my bad! I meant to write "critter cage", I must have had the name for those plastic ones stuck in my head.

ProXimus, the 15gal is 24x12x12, about six inches smaller length-wise than the 20. I was mostly asking because the place I found them cheapest only has up to 15. I definitely believe bigger is better when it comes to habitats, so a 20l it is! If things work out, I'll have to see if the local shop can order one in.
No problem on the novel, the more in-depth of a response, the better! Plus I pretty much wrote a novel to be responded to, haha!

And of course there'll be plenty of pics if I get him!!

I might end up starting with a light, then, and seeing where that goes. I live on the second floor and it tends to stay reasonably warm up here, although it can fluctuate in the winter (I have a space heater keeping things very toasty when I'm home, but it can get chilly when I'm not.) The digital probe thermometer sounds like a good idea, I'll pick that up if I get to go snake supply shopping!

Good tips on the water, too. I have access to filtered, but with only one or two snakes I don't imagine it'll break the bank for me to pick up distilled, either.

(Invisible Snake, that's true about the classifieds section! I'll have to take that into consideration...)

Another question, how deep of a water dish should I be providing? I know it should be at least large enough for the snake to swim or curl up in. I'm kind of stuck between

this: Water Dish - X-large - 11 in. x 9 in. x 1.5 in. | ThatPetPlace.com

and this: Repti-Rock Corner Bowl - Large - 10 in. x 9.5 in. x 3.5 in. | ThatPetPlace.com

right now.

[ProXimuS]

The first one looks more fun...If I were a snake But the second one might give you more room for other hides and "decor."