Quote Originally Posted by MasSalvaje View Post
snakes use to reproduce are rarely brought up. It has been shown in multiple studies that garters are a multiple paternal species. This study,

Multiple Paternity in Wild Populations of the Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, James M. Schwartz, Gary F. McCracken and Gordon M. Burghardt, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol. 25, No. 4 (1989), pp. 269-273,

estimates that up to 73% of garter litters exhibit multiple paternity. I don't often hear this as a possible reason for the number of jellies and stillborn babies in captivity. We know that in the wild garters are involved in mating balls; how many of us provide "mating balls" in captivity?
And which garter almost always the subject of these studies? Yeah that's right, canadian parietalis' and what do the scientists do? Study that one and make it sound like their conclusions apply to all garters. And I got news for you. None of the garters in my area even form mating balls. I hardly consider two males chasing a female a "mating ball" and you sure as heck don't see thousands piled up like you do in manitoba. Yes I know some do have multiple paternity. Northwesterns do, and they can even control when eggs are fertilized. Gestation doesn't have to begin at mating time but I can tell you it always does when it comes to concinnus and once she mates by choosing one male, she doesn't even attract males anymore so it wouldn't make any difference if I let 10 males go at her. She'll only mate with one and the rest quit trying after that. One male is quite enough to fertilize all the eggs she can produce so if you're implying they didn't all get fertilized because one male didn't give her enough sperm well that's just absurd. And just because we see a yolk or a bunch of yolks (or a total slug out) come out doesn't mean it ever had a viable egg with it to be fertilized in the first place.

And Thomas, I've caught I don't know how many wild gravid garters and had them give birth in captivity. Not once have I seen the pathetic slug-outs and/or low numbers we see very often in captivity and I don't think that observation is mere coincidence.