Housing question

[KephrenJorgensen]

I am also interested in tetrataenia, they are the most visually attractive garter snake to me (know that I am not into garters for the visual factors, its their personalities). Would they mix "better" with the snakes than the infernalis? I would definitely not be disappointed if I had a trio of concinnus or a pair and a pickeringii. I would prefer to have males at this time. I would make arrangements of course as the snakes get too big for the 30 gallon. I'm housing my melanistic female ordinoides in it currently, and she seems to have a little more space than she wants, tending to cling to the middle area. I would like to find one beautifully erythristic male and keep it in a much larger enclosure in the future with 3 or 4 females. I just love the polymorphism factor, and by then I should have a permit to release wildlife after captive breeding. The garter population in my locality has dropped recently. I have no official figures, but I easily see 100's less than what I saw when I first moved here. Anywho, What l x w x h would be sufficient for three fully grown concinnus and/or pickeringii? Im going all out on the ordinoides enclosure, so it will most likely be huge.

[ConcinusMan]

Anywho, What l x w x h would be sufficient for three fully grown concinnus and/or pickeringii? Im going all out on the ordinoides enclosure, so it will most likely be huge.

About a 55 gallon long tank is more than adequate. (floor space of 48 inches X 12 inches and minimum 12 inches high) Also depends on what you mean by "fully grown". For concinnus' and pickeringii, this can mean over 3 feet for females. You can certainly house more than 3 if they are smaller.

The question of how many snakes you can house in a certain space can't be answered precisely. One must always observe snakes and watch for signs of social stress. Also, no matter what size you use, the amount of space a snake needs is not the only factor. Must also consider how much space is needed to provide an adequate temperature gradient. This is why I prefer to use long tanks even if this means you will have less space. Also consider how fast a tank will get dirty. Obviously, more snakes crammed into a small space will get dirty fast.