[Cazador]

As you know, that's a really tough one to answer concisely because the answer might change from day to day. However:

- Their diversity is a huge factor.
- The fact that they're small allows you to keep more of them... you get to experience more of the variation first hand.
- They eat so many different foods, that they're easy to care for.
- Their activity levels are great, and it helps that they're active during the day.
- I really like how some of these little snakes come in with great big attitudes, but they soon calm down and seek out your company.
- I love the way some of them actually come to the glass and want to be taken out of their enclosures.
- I like that they're fairly cheap, so you can keep more of them.
- This is kind of strange, but it's nice that they don't live to be 25 years old. Again, you get to enjoy more of them.
- The live-birth issue is really cool from a physiological perspective, and it separates them from a lot of other snakes.
- I appreciate their incredible diversity. That lets you set up breeding programs to accentuate different traits over time. (I've been selectively breeding my T.s. concinnus to have brighter red heads).
- I like that they're small and not intimidating to my children. I'm not worried about them getting hurt by one, and at the same time, I can use them to teach my kids a lot about reptiles, ectotherms, hibernation, nutrition, life, death, and so much more.
- There are a lot of fascinating issues that one learns about when keeping any reptile, but garters seem to be good representatives for snakes, in general.

I'm sure there are a ton of other reasons, but those pop right to mind.

Rick