im currently socialising my young Garters, ive found item association to be quite useful. i have a small feeding bowl and it is only put into the viv at feeding time and then its removed. im not sure how good Garters eyesight is at the moment but if im near the viv with the bowl they get very excited, if however im near the viv without the bowl in plain sight the go and hide away. im still working out if this is pure coincidence atm. but we will see.
i dont handle them very much at present but will spend time with my hands in the viv and they seem to have natural curiosity and have to slide over and have a smell of my skin.
thanks for sharing your experiences with us, they are very beneficial.