*Question* Which type of garter stands out the most color wise ?

[GarterGuy17]

Yea i'm getting a female now, hopefully get a male next and see what happens after.

[ConcinusMan]

That would be the best bet. Female first. If you want to breed later, it won't matter if the male is much smaller and younger as long as he's sexually mature. But it will matter if the female is smaller. Females as a general rule, mature later than males, and should be bigger than the male at breeding time, or roughly the same size. Females also usually grow to a larger maximum size than males.

You can breed a 3 ft, 5 year old female to a 1 ft, 18 month old male, but not the other way around. Grow your female up. You can always get a younger male later.

[GarterGuy17]

Then I will do that , what would be the possible outcomes if I get a flame since they vary in color ( male ) and a red sided ( female ) ?

[ConcinusMan]

Then I will do that , what would be the possible outcomes if I get a flame since they vary in color ( male ) and a red sided ( female ) ?

The outcome would be hybrids. You don't want to do that. Flames are T. sirtalis sirtalis. Red sided is T. sirtalis parietalis. They are two different subspecies. "flame" is just the name of the color morph. Flames are eastern garters. Red sided is a different snake.

[EasternGirl]

But you want to make sure you know what you are getting into before you decide to put a female and a male together. Breeding is a huge undertaking and not something that I would even do by choice at this point in my venture as a hobbyist...I just don't feel that I know enough yet...I am going to have to learn fast because Cee Cee may be pregnant. But I would not choose to mate snakes yet. Taking care of babies is a huge responsibility. If you plan to get a male soon after getting a female, I would recommend planning on having separate enclosures for them.

[GarterGuy17]

But you want to make sure you know what you are getting into before you decide to put a female and a male together. Breeding is a huge undertaking and not something that I would even do by choice at this point in my venture as a hobbyist...I just don't feel that I know enough yet...I am going to have to learn fast because Cee Cee may be pregnant. But I would not choose to mate snakes yet. Taking care of babies is a huge responsibility. If you plan to get a male soon after getting a female, I would recommend planning on having separate enclosures for them.

Oh I know If I ever plan on breeding it would be months maybe a year who knows , but it will not be anytime soon.

And oh okay what would be a good pair to breed ?

[ConcinusMan]

Any of them. Just see to it that they are the same species/subspecies. If you want experiment and be surprised by the outcome, you can try mixing different color morphs, as long as they are the same species. Crossing them often results in offspring that aren't near as pretty as either of the parents, and is frowned upon for the most part. I know they do it with kings/milks/corns, but garter fans don't like hybrids. We like our snakes pure.

As far as color morphs go, this is what I mean. These snakes are ALL eastern garters. Same species as the "flames"

Breeding any of these to a flame would not create hybrids because they are all T. sirtalis sirtalis (Eastern Garter Snake)



Melanistic:








I know it's confusing because there are so many species/subspecies and sometimes many color morphs within each species. Just keep hanging around you'll learn the difference between what is a color morph, and what is a separate species. If you pair them up, it's the Latin names that are important. They should both be the same.

[ConcinusMan]

These two snakes may look the same, but are different species, so you shouldn't breed them to each other.

Albino red sided garter (T. sirtalis parietalis)



Red phase Iowa albino T. radix (plains garter)



If you bred these two together you would get hybrids and they would most likely look nothing like this. They would be dull looking "muts"

In contrast, sometimes two different snakes of the same species can look totally different from one another, but be compatible for breeding.

[GarterGuy17]

Ew sounds pretty nasty looking ill be sure to get the same species/subspecies if I ever decide to breed.

[ConcinusMan]

That would be advisable. Let me show you an example of what can happen when you cross two very good looking species.

Checkered garter: (T. marcianus)



Oregon Red spotted garter (T. sirtalis concinnus)



Crossing them produced "muts" shown here: Not nearly as good looking as their pure parents IMO.