Sooo you want to put a garter snake in a 6ft cage...(Reddit snake advice)

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Originally Posted by Toad37

I think they could get optimal use out of the cage with a colubrid, especially a garter snake. Garter snakes are one of the only reptiles that do well communally so they could set it up for 4 or 5 females with multiple hot spots on one side and a ton of enrichment. If done correctly that would almost be a moving/living piece of art.

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I was thinking this as well. It could be a good enclosure for a group of garter snakes.

I don't think there's an issue putting a smaller snake in a larger enclosure, it's just like anything else if it's done right it'll work. The issue I think here is the same issue that you see on the aquarium forums, and especially on Reddit, which is notorious for giving poor advice. Someone asks a question and 99 people will tell them they shouldn't or can't do it, but 1 person will say they can, and OP who wanted to do it in the first place, goes and does it. Then we end up with an unhappy or dead animal.

This may not be the case in this particular situation, but I've seen some of the very worse advice given on Reddit, and then users coming back a week later complaining. I guess this can happen anywhere so I really shouldn't direct this at one forum site, but I hope you guys get what I mean. I just think when people suggest things like this it should come with an explanation of how. A good example is keeping betta fish in community aquariums. You can do it, but you have to stock it a certain way, not just throw a betta in with anything, but again 1 person will say "well I did it" and OP throws their betta in with a bunch of barbs that proceed to fin nip it to death.

I guess my point is, I think we have to police ourselves and be sure that we're presenting all the facts to people when telling them they can or can't do something.

Big tanks are great for a few Garter snakes especially those vibrant Albinos ... loads of branches , bark pieces and fake foliage can look stunning .. have a substrate mix of eco-earth and orchid bark and a lush layer of rooted moss over a lot of the floor area ... even a water area.

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Wow those terrariums look amazing Zincubus! Are they yours? Makes me want to keep garter snakes too, it must be a lot of fun watching them and feeding them since they are diurnal, eat a lot of different kinds of food, and can hunt for prey like minnows!

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

Wow those terrariums look amazing Zincubus! Are they yours? Makes me want to keep garter snakes too, it must be a lot of fun watching them and feeding them since they are diurnal, eat a lot of different kinds of food, and can hunt for prey like minnows!

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Sadly those ones aren’t mine , just taken off line although I have had many similar ones in the past .. I get loads of branches and moss from the local woods / parks .
I’ve heard of guys keeping little communities of Garters in tanks like I described but with a water at the shallow end and having guppies or White Cloud Mountain minnows /Zebra Danios happily swimming around ( until they get eaten)

Here’s a couple of photos of my Garters from years ago ...

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First one shows them eating chopped up fish and worms ..

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Sadly those ones aren’t mine , just taken off line although I have had many similar ones in the past .. I get loads of branches and moss from the local woods / parks .
I’ve heard of guys keeping little communities of Garters in tanks like I described but with a water at the shallow end and having guppies or White Cloud Mountain minnows /Zebra Danios happily swimming around ( until they get eaten)

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That sounds like wonderful enrichment for the garters and it would be really cool to have a tank with water and fish in it as well! Your garters are super cute, I love the photo with the 3 sticking their heads out together.

Did you find that garters can be handled easily, or are they skittish? Do they musk a lot?

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

That sounds like wonderful enrichment for the garters and it would be really cool to have a tank with water and fish in it as well! Your garters are super cute, I love the photo with the 3 sticking their heads out together.

Did you find that garters can be handled easily, or are they skittish? Do they musk a lot?

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They were all very young ones - three albino sisters and a separate black female ..

All very skittish ..and they did musk ..

Maybe they calm down with age


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Funny post - gotta love Reddit. I'd think a rat snake would be a great addition. I don't think I'd ever recommend a solitary garter snake (sorry if anyone reading has just one, no offense intended). They just do so much better in small groups, and they're a delight to watch - the person asking that question could definitely keep a group in an enclosure that size, with climbing and swimming options. My group of four female Oregon Red-spotted Garters is endlessly entertaining. I'm just waiting for their 4x2x2 enclosure to arrive.

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If you are really into garters I could see doing that, but somehow I don't think that was the kind of idea the person had when making a 6' long, 3' high enclosure. I wouldn't personally waste 3' high on most colubrids, though there are a few arboreal colubrids it would be perfect for.