Tips with San Fransico Garters

[zirliz]

I'm thinking of getting a pair of San Fransisco garters,

are these hard to breed?
What market is there for them?

[reptile3]

I did a Google search on them, WOW they are very nice looking garters.

[zooplan]

These are easy to get throughout Europe, not the easiest to breed and the price is actually about 80 -130 € but decreasing.
If you live in the USA, don´t even think of breeding them ,
they are protected by law in all states.

[prattypus]

That's it, I'm moving to England!

[mtolypetsupply]

Maybe this is a silly question, but why are they easy to get in Europe, but banned from ownership *here* where they could be bred to be reintroduced to the wild? It just seems that garter enthusiasts would do a great job of it, and actually *care* about these little guys, while I doubt tetraenia is high on the list for breeding and reintroduction by the "officials" who have banned them.

Maybe I'm wrong, though, and maybe there's a ton of money in Grants out there for a breeding program, and wildlife officials are in heavy competition for the priviledge of breeding them. (sniff, sniff, Smell that??? Yeah, smells like sarcasm to me too!)

[JSI]

Maybe this is a silly question, but why are they easy to get in Europe, but banned from ownership *here* where they could be bred to be reintroduced to the wild?

Well the main reason is hobbyists breeding animals and reintroducing them into the wild is a recipe for disaster. Sure yes, your heart is in the right place but the potential for introducing disease and impurities into wild populations is huge.

Jeremy

[Stefan-A]

Maybe this is a silly question, but why are they easy to get in Europe, but banned from ownership *here* where they could be bred to be reintroduced to the wild?

Not at all a silly question. In the case of the SanFran, habitat loss is probably the biggest reason why they are endangered. In other words, there's nowhere to release them.

It just seems that garter enthusiasts would do a great job of it, and actually *care* about these little guys, while I doubt tetraenia is high on the list for breeding and reintroduction by the "officials" who have banned them.

Ordinary enthusiasts are not the best possible people to take care of that. They can offer little more than manpower, when any form of breeding aiming for reintroduction needs to be thoroughly planned and controlled. It's not as simple as just producing large quantities of individuals.

[zooplan]

All European SanFran Garters are descendants from very few individuals that were donated to the zoo of Jersey.
They bred so successfully that they had to give away the offspring to other zoos and those gave some to privat people.
The beauty of this subspecy made all keepers to try breeding harder than for any other specy.
So we have lots of them here now but would need a few more wildcaught specimens to refresh (and expand) the gene-pool.

[infernalis]

Thamnophis Infernalis (California Garter Snake) IS available to private collections within the USA and have almost the same markings that make the S.F. so attractive.

[Snake lover 3-25]

SWEET!!!!! i wish i had known that!!!!