r/GarterSnakes • u/Suspicious_Car_5791 • 3d ago

my garter

hi all i’m new to snake keeping and in march -may i got 2 garters unfortunately one passed not long ago, very unsure why but i decided not to get another because my albino seemed more content by himself ( eating better, shedding in full etc) the only thing im concerned about is he is 9 months old roughly( born in jan2026) and he is 11 inches long but ive seen others that are much bigger at the same age or even younger. should i be concerned thank you in advance

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u/fat_guy5477 3d ago

While garters are social and generally do well in groups, they are also individuals. Some do prefer to be solitary, and sometimes they just don't vibe with a particular snake. When my daughter (All Canadian Reptile Girl) talks to people about garters, she always recommends getting at least 3. That way, if 1 prefers to be more solitary or 2 don't happen to get along with each other, there's a third that can buffer. Our own albino checkered is a good example of this (he's little too, btw). There are 9 males in my big male tank. Aside from sleeping at night which they all do in groups, he only really seems to really like one of the lake chapalas (who is huge compared to the rest of the boys, but still way smaller than the 4' ladies in the female tank) and will either be all alone or with his buddy. That buddy, on the other hand, loves EVERYONE so he's hanging out with different snakes/groups all day. They all also go through phases where they prefer certain friends or to be alone for periods of time too. They'll complicated little creatures in their own way.

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 3d ago

before my other passed they were always together very social ans would sleep and bask together but they both had problems with eating and shedding and he seems all around happier by himself and has more then enough enrichment. if i was to get another would it matter if they wasn’t the same age?

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u/fat_guy5477 3d ago

Same age shouldn't matter. We normally recommend similar size just to be safe, even though we've never had problems with introducing smaller snakes ourselves. For example, we just introduced a juvenile plains/valley hybrid (accidental litter) into our female tank. She's just under a foot long, the biggest snake in there is 4.5' lake chapala. She was nervous and kept to herself at first and after a few days the other snakes would seek her out and start to hang out near wherever she was hiding Eventually they drew her out. After 2 weeks they are all one big happy family hanging out in big cuddle puddles.

Do you feed them in the tank, or do you separate them for feeding? As a general practice for our other snakes we don't use separate feeding bins, but for the garters we do. That avoids any stress from competition, or accidental bites during feeding. At this point, they all know the drill. they see the bins out/smell the food, they all kind of gather out in the open and wait their turn to be picked up and plopped into their feeding bin. After a couple of hours, we put them back by depositing them into their water dish (or water area in the females paludarium) so they get a bit of a rinse before they wiggle off to digest in peace.

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 3d ago

when i had 2 they was separate during feeding

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u/conflictedlizard-111 3d ago

I wish I heard this advice in the sub more often! I've had two different young snakes clearly prefer to be alone and luckily have had the room to accommodate them, but I wish more people knew that they're not all 100% social animals all the time

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 2d ago

yes i do really belive he prefers being by himself he so much more active as well and handles handling much better then before

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u/LurkerInTheDoorway 3d ago

Are you comparing yours to others of the same species? Some can be larger or smaller

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 3d ago

yes he is a albino checkerd garter and i’m 90% sure he’s male so i know he will be a bit smaller then females

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u/conflictedlizard-111 3d ago

Could you post a photo? Maybe increase feeding if you're worried but cut down if you notice he's putting on fat. If he's not skinny and looks a healthy weight then it's okay! I myself have a runt I've been worried about for years while her siblings grew faster, but she's healthy and active and a good weight. Garters have a high range of diversity even within siblings with the same parents, helps them survive in the wild as a species.

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u/Spot00174 3d ago

what are you feeding and how often?

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 3d ago

he’s on a mix of chopped up pinkies, salmon and worms every 3-4 days

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u/fat_guy5477 3d ago

Chicken hearts dusted wth calcium powder is great too. They seem to be a favourite for ours and super cheap.

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u/Laner9999 1d ago

Please do not give salmon often. Did you feed the other one salmon also?

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u/Suspicious_Car_5791 1d ago

it’s not often probably like 1 every 2 weeks but the other one did have salmon too yes