I is the new!

[count dewclaw]

Welcome, welcome!

[Stefan-A]

Thank you all for the greetings, glad to be here!

well after hearing this i decided to take the garter snake back to petco.

Seems to me that you returned the wrong snake.

My original intentions were to breed the two i got, hopefully possibly maybe. but seeing as how one is not a garter, i figured i would wait till it warms up around here and get some garters for free

I recommend that you get them from a breeder.

are keelbacks easy to care for? are they similar enough to garter snakes to treat it as one? do they give birth to live young as well? should i be interested in breeding it? if i could do that it may be easier to sell babies to the small pet stores around town. maybe even raise awareness to the differences to garters and keelbacks.

They are supposedly easy to care for, although that's hard to say for sure considering that almost all of them die prematurely. Most people keep them like garters. The striped keelback lays eggs, unlike the garters.

i will keep a close eye on its health and if anything seems to be wrong ill seek out verteranary care.

I would actually start out with having a vet look it over. They tend to hide the symptoms for as long as possible and we know that they're wildcaught.

[Quibble]

Seems to me that you returned the wrong snake.

I recommend that you get them from a breeder.

They are supposedly easy to care for, although that's hard to say for sure considering that almost all of them die prematurely. Most people keep them like garters. The striped keelback lays eggs, unlike the garters.

I would actually start out with having a vet look it over. They tend to hide the symptoms for as long as possible and we know that they're wildcaught.

well these keelbacks seem quite interesting to me. it seems that so much is unknown about them. im checking out vets in my area, i will have it looked over. im willing to invest money and time to learn about these snakes and in the end i hope to raise awareness about them. with this i can also help persuade petco not to mislabel them.

is there anyone here that breeds Xenocrophis? maybe ill take the one i have back to petco as well and start off with keelbacks with a good history.

as for garters, yes i suppose getting them from a breeder would be the best way to go. are they expencive though?

[Stefan-A]

To my knowledge, there are extremely few people who have bred their striped keelbacks. Some have, but it's not a snake I'd start with.

The price of an ordinary, common species of garter from a breeder is pretty low, especially compared to what it costs to house and feed any snake, not to mention the time you will be spending on it. In the long run, the acquisition price is practically negligible and in my opinion, it's the wrong place to save money.

[Sid]

Normal morphs of the more common species for Garters can be purchased from breeders for as little as $25 US.

[Quibble]

after hearing about the chances of survival for these keelbacks, i suppose the best thing to do is give this one the best quality of life i can possibly provide, it certanly wont be any better off if i return it to petco. i only thought about breeding them, i had high hopes for the future, but im lowering my expectations. im glad i joined this forum, there seems to be plenty of people with truly excelent advice and/or experience.

ill stay with the forum and learn as much as i can about garters before i jump into the responsibility of owning more than one snake. when my little Xenochrophis passes on ill be sure to sterilize tanks and get new supplies for the next addition to my hobby. XD

thank you for all the advice!

[jitami]

Welcome

[misskris]

Welcome Pictures are alway's appreciated. hint hint

[anji1971]

after hearing about the chances of survival for these keelbacks, i suppose the best thing to do is give this one the best quality of life i can possibly provide, it certanly wont be any better off if i return it to petco. i only thought about breeding them, i had high hopes for the future, but im lowering my expectations. im glad i joined this forum, there seems to be plenty of people with truly excelent advice and/or experience.

ill stay with the forum and learn as much as i can about garters before i jump into the responsibility of owning more than one snake. when my little Xenochrophis passes on ill be sure to sterilize tanks and get new supplies for the next addition to my hobby. XD

thank you for all the advice!

Hello, and welcome!
I like your outlook about this little Keelback. I hope that with a good vet, and better luck, you will be one of the successful ones. They haven't been known to do well in captivity, and those who wish to breed them are struggling, but if people who care keep trying, then we can still hope to see a captive-bred keelback population someday. Best wishes!