Genetics

[Stefan-A]

I don't see anything terribly wrong there, to be honest. Garters really don't get lonely and don't need to be kept together. It's of course convenient that they can be kept together more readily than most other snakes, but it's not necessary for their sake. There are a couple of situations where separating the snakes is better.

However, it seems to me that the person who wrote that part was taking something that's true for most snakes and applying it to one group that it isn't entirely true for.

That thing about being too young to breed, may well be true. The larger the individual, the safer it should be for it to give birth or lay eggs. I've also read a few times that breeding them too young will stunt their growth.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I don't see anything terribly wrong there, to be honest. Garters really don't get lonely and don't need to be kept together. It's of course convenient that they can be kept together more readily than most other snakes, but it's not necessary for their sake. There are a couple of situations where separating the snakes is better.

However, it seems to me that the person who wrote that part was taking something that's true for most snakes and applying it to one group that it isn't entirely true for.

That thing about being too young to breed, may well be true. The larger the individual, the safer it should be for it to give birth or lay eggs. I've also read a few times that breeding them too young will stunt their growth.

well, there's nothing wrong there, but you can still just tell that they are not entirely sure of what they are talking about and it just annoys me when people who own one garter snake are instantly an expert, kind of like that guy i talked to at the show (see shunned at the show thread)

as for the growth stunting... I heard that too, and I do believe there is a such thing as being too young/small to breed even if their body physically makes eggs. A female bred too small has a huge, huge risk of eggbinding. As for the growth stunting, when I was stupid, and kept my corns together and they bred and she was still too young in my opinion... for a while after laying her eggs she was considerably smaller than the male. But now a year has gone by, I fed her well to make up for that and she has surpassed the male in size and weight and is now large enough to comfortably carry a clutch. And indeed... she is gravid this year! So, maybe sometimes it will stunt their growth but luckily at least in this case, that did not happen

[Stefan-A]

well, there's nothing wrong there, but you can still just tell that they are not entirely sure of what they are talking about and it just annoys me when people who own one garter snake are instantly an expert, kind of like that guy i talked to at the show (see shunned at the show thread)

I have slightly mixed feelings about that. That's something that works both ways. Some people with one snake behave like "instant experts", but I have also met a lot of people who seem to believe that a large collection makes them experts on everything. I've had a lot of questionable claims come from people who have kept snakes for several decades and have collections of several dozen snakes, but who have never actually kept garters. I've even heard some pretty astonishing nonsense come from people who have kept these animals for a long time. On the other hand, I've seen very young people with an impressive amount of knowledge about garters. I don't know if anybody's really noticed, but I try to show it when I'm unsure.

I think it's important to not be fooled into believing what people say just because they happen to have a high profile in some circles (moderator on a forum or high post count, lots of subscriptions on YT, face on TV etc) or because he's likable. The claims that people make should be judged on their own merits, regardless of the source.

as for the growth stunting... I heard that too, and I do believe there is a such thing as being too young/small to breed even if their body physically makes eggs. A female bred too small has a huge, huge risk of eggbinding. As for the growth stunting, when I was stupid, and kept my corns together and they bred and she was still too young in my opinion... for a while after laying her eggs she was considerably smaller than the male. But now a year has gone by, I fed her well to make up for that and she has surpassed the male in size and weight and is now large enough to comfortably carry a clutch. And indeed... she is gravid this year! So, maybe sometimes it will stunt their growth but luckily at least in this case, that did not happen

It's great to hear this type of personal experiences. I feel I learn a lot more from them, than from simple claims that it's either true or false.