-
- Common Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis
-
-
-
- "Maverick," Eastern Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
- Taxonomy
-
- Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Subclass: Lepidosauria
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
- Superfamily: Xenophidia
Family:
Colubridae
Subfamily: Natrincinae
Genus: Thamnophis
Species: sirtalis
- Subspecies: annectans, concinnus, dorsalis, fitchi, infernalis, pallidula, parietalis, pickeringi, semifasciatus, similis, sirtalis, tetrataenia
|
I. Introduction
Although garter
snakes have had the reputation of being a "worthless, beginner's snake" (especially in America), garters can be very interesting and are not too difficult to keep.
The common garter snake has the widest range of all North American snakes, and this species yields twelve different
subspecies, several with strikingly beautiful patterns. Garters range from 46-130cm (18-52"), and are long, slender snakes. Colour and pattern is variable amongst the subspecies:
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis is probably the most easily recognized subspecies, it has one stripe on its back and one on each side, all three being yellowish on a black or dark green, or dark brown background. It has a yellow, gray, or bluish underside.
-
-
Eastern garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis.
|
-
-
A natural red phase of the eastern garter snake (T. s. sirtalis) exists.
|
The Texas garter, T. s. annectans, has a large orange stripe down the center of its back, and its sides are black or dark green spotted irregularly with greenish-blue.
The red-spotted garter (T. s. concinnus) is easily recognized: the snake is black with a white/pale yellow stripe down the center of its back, and it has reddish-orange spots down the length of its sides, and its has the same colour on its belly.
The valley garter snake, T. s. fitchi, is brown or dark gray with a light stripe down its back, and its head is noticeably darker, even black.
T. s. infernalis, the California red-sided is black with a line of red markings on its sides, the top of its head is reddish-black,, and a gray-yellow stripe runs down the center of its back.
The New Mexico garter, T. s. dorsalis, black with red spots much like those of the California red-sided garter except further apart, white-yellow line down center of its back, black head.
The maritime garter (T. s. pallidula) resembles the eastern garter, but its back stripe is faded or absent, and spotting along the side stripes is more apparent.
T. s. parietalis, the red-sided garter snake is black or dark brown with red or orange markings on its sides against a dark background, the top of its head is olive green.
The Puget Sound garter, T. s. pickeringi, is black with a white, thin stripe down its back, and a dark head.
T. s. semifasciatus, the Chicago garter, is dark coloured with lighter breaks along the stripes on its neck.
The blue-striped garter, T. s. similis, is dark brown with a yellowish or tan stripe on its back, and it has bluish stripes along its sides.
The San Francisco garter snake, T. s. tetrataenia, has a yellow stripe down its back, which is bordered by black stripes, a set of red stripes, and another black stripe that blends with its yellow sides. The top of its head is red, and its belly is bluish-green or yellow.
II. Behaviour
While a garter may expel the contents of its bowels, thrash and bite when first picked up or caught, they generally tame down nicely after a few days to a few weeks. Until tame, they may have the habit of "musking," which is releasing a foul smelling liquid from its cloaca.
These snakes will generally get used to handling, and can even be hand-fed earthworms or other food items. When holding your garter, allow it to freely explore your hands (try not to close your hands around it, this may scare the snake), and try to have as much of the snake's body supported by your fingers, palms, or forearms as possible.
Northern species of garter snake require
hibernation if you want to breed them. Lower the temperatures to 3-4°C (37-39°F) for about 3 months, then warm them back up and resume feeding as usual. If you choose not to hibernate your snake, keep it at normal temperatures, but you will usually notice a decrease in how much it eats.
III. Diet
|
Garters are not picky eaters. In the wild they eat just about any living creature they can get their jaws around. In captivity, T. sirtalis' many subspecies will consume live prey items such as feeder guppies (not goldfish, as goldfish contain an enzyme called thiaminase which destroys thiamin, if fed in excess this can cause a vitamin B deficiency), pinky mice, and nightcrawler earthworms.
Be careful NOT to feed the earthworm known as "red wiggler" or "garden worm." Although the exact cause of this is not proven, these worms have been known to lead to the death of many captive garters about ten days after being eaten, a theory is that the worms contain toxins lethal to (at least) garters.
A young garter should be fed daily, but a grown garter can be fed only a few times a week (if small prey is offered).
Clean water should always be available in a dish large enough for the entire snake to soak in.
Garters have fast metabolisms compared to other snakes, they typically eliminate daily or once every two days. |
-
-
VIDEO: Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis) eating an earthworm.
|
IV. Housing
An adult garter should be housed in no less space than 95 litres (25 gallons), but a larger enclosure can allow for a more elaborate setup. Generally they should be kept alone, but a larger enclosure, 76L (20 gallons) per adult snake, with several hiding spots and water bowls will house more than one garter. If you do keep several garters in one enclosure, however, you should not feed them together, instead, temporarily separate them into their own, smaller containers to feed each snake.
Garters need an enclosure that has a dry
basking area; dry hiding spot, water to soak in, and it must be escape proof. Naturally, these snakes live in meadows and sometimes forest areas, often near water such as ponds or streams.
Substrate could be either something simple like paper towels or butcher paper, or it could be a more aesthetically pleasing mix of potting soil and bark. Both are acceptable, but a younger or new snake is more easily monitored on the simple substrate. An empty box or container with a hole cut in the side makes as effective a hiding spot as a half-log or other pre-made spot.
Your snake will also need a water bowl large enough to soak its entire body, and must be cleaned daily and whenever soiled. Don't fill the dish to the rim so that when the snake enters the water, the water won't displace so much that it spills on the substrate.
If the substrate gets wet or when the snake defecates, it should be cleaned immediately so that there is less chance of harmful bacterial growth in the enclosure.
V. Heating, Lighting, and Humidity
An ideal year-round temperature for most garters would be about 23°C (72°F), even though garters can remain active in temperatures as low as 15°C (58°F). Southern species can be kept a few degrees warmer. This temperature is easily obtained without an additional heating source, but if you live in a cooler climate a low-wattage incandescent bulb or undertank heating pad should serve your needs.
Many snake keepers debate over whether ultraviolet lighting is necessary for snakes. While many hobbyists claim that they maintain healthy snakes without the special fluorescent bulb, some say that their snakes seem to be healthier with the additional lighting. Until this topic is further researched into, it remains up to the keeper to decide whether their snake requires the extra light source. If you choose to provide UVA/UVB lighting, the following brands of fluorescent bulbs have been proven to emit an "adequate" amount of ultraviolet rays: Zoo Med's ReptiSun, Zoo Med's IguanaLight, Durotest's VitaLite.
Humidity should remain at around 40%; make an effort not to allow the relative humidity to become too high to decrease the chance of harmful bacterial growth in the enclosure. If you choose to have a lower humidity, be sure to provide a humidity box or large water dish so that the snake has access to a wet place (this is to prevent some shedding difficulties).
Last modified: Friday, March 10, 2006
Sources:
- Chlebowy, J. 1999. "The Snake Server - Thamnophis.com." (http://www.thamnophis.com/)
- Francis, A. 2003. "Garter Snake Homepage - Alan Francis." (http://www.gartersnake.co.uk)
- Kaplan, M. 2002. Anapsid.org. "Garter Snakes." (http://www.anapsid.org/gartcare.html)
- RELATED LINKS
