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Atlas / Library / Colubridae / Common garter snake
BeginnerDiurnal · active now
Colubridae

Common garter snake

Thamnophis sirtalisงูการ์เตอร์

Photograph: Tom Kennedy · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Common garter snake is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light. The sheet states a night temperature, and the rail follows it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/thamnophis-sirtalis

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature23–27 °C
Humidity35–60 %
Enclosure120×60×60
Diet3–5 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
23–27°Cool side
18–24°Night
Warm side: not in our data

The cool side, 23–27°C, dropping to 18–24°C at night. This sheet states the cool side only. It gives no warm side or basking figure, so the hot end is not in our data. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet statescool 23-27 °C / night 18-24 °C

Humidity

35–60%Target RH

The sheet states35-60 %

UVB

T5 6%UVI 2–3

The sheet statesZoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia T5 HO Forest 6%; achieve a UVI of 2.0-3.0 in the basking area; With mesh obstruction: 9-12" / Without mesh obstruction: 12-14"

Identity

Family / Order
Colubridae / Squamata
Origin
Temperament
Active, diurnal, quick

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

35–60 % RHUVB tube120 cm60 cm
UVB tube
50100150200 cm
120 × 60 × 60 cmWidth × depth × height
72dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataWarm side: not in our dataHides: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet states48"L x 24"W x 24"H / 120 x 60 x 60 cm minimum

Temperature
cool 23–27 °C / night 18–24 °C
Humidity
35-60 %

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 3–5 dAs an adult
9Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesearthworms, leeches, fish, tadpoles, newts, frogs, young birds, and small mammals; earthworms (chopped as needed), guppies, platies, mice, button quail, quail eggs, Reptilinks; Newborns — every other day / Juveniles — every 3-5 days / Adults — every 4-7 days

Behaviour and handling

HandlingActive; may musk early
HousingCan be kept in groups (one of the few social-tolerant snakes) w/ space + separate feeding
NoteFeed separately to avoid feeding-response bites

Reproduction

Sexing
Male longer tail, thinner
Breeding
Live-bearer (viviparous)!

When to see a vet

A

Good to know

  • One of the few snakes that can be kept socially: and it gives birth to live young.

Common questions

Does it smell?

When frightened it releases musk that really does stink. Calm, regularly handled animals musk far less.

What does it eat?

Fish, earthworms and sometimes rodent pinkies. Small frequent meals rather than one big meal a week.

Can I keep two together?

Often yes, if they are similar in size and you feed them in separate containers to avoid accidents.

How long does it live?

Around 6 to 10 years, noticeably shorter than most pet snakes.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 120 × 60 × 60 cmbecause enclosure — 48"L x 24"W x 24"H / 120 x 60 x 60 cm minimum
A thermometerbecause temp — cool 23-27 °C / night 18-24 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — cool 23-27 °C / night 18-24 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 35-60 %
UVB 6-6% (T5), stated as requiredbecause uvb — Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia T5 HO Forest 6%; achieve a UVI of 2.0-3.0 in the basking area; With mesh obstruction: 9-12" / Without mesh obstruction: 12-14"
Not stated: The heat sourcethis sheet names only the cool side: « cool 23-27 °C / night 18-24 °C »

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation. What the sheet does not state is listed too, rather than left out: a kit that looks complete is worse than one that names its gap.

Sources

The Reptile Database — Thamnophis sirtalisreptifiles.com — lu le 2026-08-04

Others in this group

Corn SnakePantherophis guttatusWestern Hognose SnakeHeterodon nasicusCalifornia KingsnakeLampropeltis californiaeEastern Hognose SnakeHeterodon platirhinosMexican Black KingsnakeLampropeltis getula nigritaSpeckled KingsnakeLampropeltis holbrookiEastern KingsnakeLampropeltis getulaGrey-banded KingsnakeLampropeltis alterna

What this sheet states

92%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 6 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.