Can I keep it?
Setup
The numbers
Temperature
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
The sheet states35-60 %
UVB
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"
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.
Enclosure and conditions
Enclosure
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
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.
What it needs
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.
Food
Diet
Feeding rhythm
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
Daily life
Behaviour and handling
Health
When to see a vet
Active diurnal beginner snake; rare social-tolerant species. Vary the fish (thiaminase risk). Live-bearer.
The species
Identity
Reproduction
Good to know
- One of the few snakes that can be kept socially: and it gives birth to live young.
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.
Questions & sources
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.
https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/thamnophis-sirtalis
Others in this group
What this sheet states
Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.
UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 420 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.