After wanting to for a very long time, I'm finally in circumstances that allow me to add the final couple of snakes from my bucket list - one being a Dumeril's (haven't found one from a breeder I trust yet), and the other being a cohab setup with Garters. A couple of weeks ago I took the plunge with four baby female Oregon Red-Spotted Garters.
Maybe I'm biased because I've wanted to do it for so long, but I am so glad I did this! These little snakes are active all day long; they are curious and interact with the world and with each other constantly - they love to bask out in the open, and also love to swim and climb. I could pull up a chair in front of their enclosure and just watch them for hours. Right now they are just wee souls, so they are in a 20 gallon long. As adults they'll be in a 4x2x2 (or larger if needed). Three of the four little ladies are pictured below. I'll try to update with photos as I can - it's hard to get them to stay still!
I will say that even though I have a strong stomach thanks to years of work as a vet tech, and having grown up hunting and fishing, I still hate chopping up live nightcrawlers for these guys. So far they're not really interested in either salmon or tilapia, though I'll keep trying to offer garter-safe fish along with the worm bits. Next week I think I'll try chopping up frozen day-old pinkies and including them with the worms. I'm just hoping they eventually decide that they like to eat SOMETHING that doesn't involve massacring live nightcrawlers.
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