I cant get my garters to eat!

[Thamnophis]

About the temperature: in most vivariums it is enough to have one lamp at one side. When the temperature at the basking place reaches about 40°C ( 100 °F) this is good. The other side is normally cool enough for the snakes in this way. Only when your vivarium is very big it can be neccesary to put a second lamp in it.
Make sure the basking spot is dry and there must be a dry and a somewhat moist hidingplace present in your vivarium.

[Jigsaw]

thx for all the comments. ill get some pics on soon

[KITKAT]

Originally Posted by Thamnophis

About the temperature: in most vivariums it is enough to have one lamp at one side. When the temperature at the basking place reaches about 40°C ( 100 °F) this is good. The other side is normally cool enough for the snakes in this way. Only when your vivarium is very big it can be neccesary to put a second lamp in it.
Make sure the basking spot is dry and there must be a dry and a somewhat moist hidingplace present in your vivarium.

I believe 100 F is too high for many garter snakes. I keep my hottest spot at 86 F.

[Thamnophis]

I know that many people think 100 Fahrenheit is too high.
But my experience is that, if your vivarium is big enough, this works well.
More important is that there is a place inthere where they can cool down.

In the wild temperatures in the sun easily get 100 degrees F. The snakes takes a sunbath for a few minutes. The shorter the better because when they are warm they can hide themself.

In the vivarium snakes tend to go "baking" for a few minutes at 100 degrees F. and than move a bit to the edge of the heathspot to start sunning at the temp they prefer.

One hundred degrees F. is no must, 68 will do also.