Thamnophis (Garter Snake) Caresheets and availabilty

Thamnophis eques insperatus

On this website you can find information about the care in captivity of the different Species of Garter Snakes (Thamnophis ssp.) and Watersnakes (Nerodia ssp. and Natrix ssp.) I am currently breeding or that I have bred in the past.

Under Availability you can check what offspring I currently have available.

Garter Snakes Species

Breeding programs have been set up with the following (sub)species:

Thamnophis atratus atratus – Santa Cruz Garter Snake
Thamnophis butleri – Butler’s Garter Snake
Thamnophis conanti – Conant’s Garter Snake
Thamnophis couchii * – Sierra Garter Snake
Thamnophis cyrtopsis collaris * – Tropical Black-necked Garter Snake
Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus * – Eastern Black-necked Garter Snake 
Thamnophis elegans terrestris (red morph) – Coast Garter Snake (red morph)
Thamnophis eques cuitzeoensis – Lake Cuitzeo Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques diluvialis – Diluvial Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques eques * – Southern Mexican Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques insperatus – Lake Zacapu Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques obscurus – Lake Chapala Mexican Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques obscurus (albino) – Lake Chapala Mexican Garter Snake (albino)
Thamnophis eques patzcuaroensis – Lake Pátzcuaro Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques scotti – Scott’s Mexican Garter Snake
Thamnophis eques virgatenuis * – Durango Highlands Garter Snake
Thamnophis marcianus marcianus – The Checkered Garter Snake 
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens (melanistic & red morph) – Mexican Black-bellied Garter Snake 
Thamnophis ordinoides – Northwestern Garter Snake
Thamnophis proximus proximus * – Western Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus – Redstripe Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis pulchrilatus * – Yellow-throated Garter Snake
Thamnophis scalaris * – Mexican Alpine Blotched Garter Snake
Thamnophis scaliger – Short-tail Alpine Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus – Oregon Red-spotted Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis – California Redsided Garter Snake
Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii (blue morph) – Puget Sound Garter Snake (blue morph)
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (normal & melanistic) – Eastern Garter Snake (normal and melansitic)
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (flame) * – Eastern Garter Snake (flame)
Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia * – San Francisco Garter Snake

Watersnakes Species

Currently I am breeding:

Nerodia fasciata confluens * – Broadbanded Watersnake
Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer * – Diamonback Garter Snake
Nerodia sipedon insularum – Lake Erie Watersnake
Natrix maura – Viperine Water Snake
Natrix tessellata * – Dice Snake

Color morphs

For some species breeding programs for special color morphs have been set up.

• I breed Melanistic (mostly black) Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. I also keep melanistic specimens of  Thamnophis melanogaster canescens but I do not expect many offspring in the coming years.

• Of the second species (Thamnophis melanogaster canescens) I am also breedings specimens which are very red (“high red”).

• With Thamnophis elegans terrestris the focus is also on the “red morph”.

• With Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringii I have set up a breeding program for the “blue morph”.

• With Thamnophis ordinoides breeding programs have been set up with a “onestripe” morph beside the more regularly seen “3 stripe”morph, but this species is so highly variable that every individual snake has its unique pattern and coloration. I also keep some eryhtristic specimens and I try to breed with those.

• Thamnophis eques obscurus is usually bluish-grey in coloration, probably the entire population could be called axantic (missing yellow pigment) or hypoxantic (very low amounts of yellow pigment) but very recently albinos have been born.
  These are the first albino’s ever reported of the Mexican Garter Snake.

• With Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis I am focussing on the original “flame” morph as they occur in the wild in southwestern Quebec, Canada. I also keep some axantic specimens from the same geographical area but I have not set up breeding programs for those.

Caresheets and terrarium

On this website you can find under Publications the different articles that have been published in the past years. The article about Thamnophis atratus atratus could serve as my general guideline (care-sheet) for most species of american and canadian gartersnakes. For the different subspecies of Thamnophis eques and for Thamnophis melanogaster canescens my recent article about Thamnophis eques scotti is more relevant. My very recent article about T.scaliger is applicable for T.scalaris and T.conanti. In these articles you can find recommendations how to keep and breed these species in captivity.

“Certificate of origin”

Certificate of origin

Each snake is accompanied by a “certificate of origin” on which several facts are mentioned like: date of birth, correct name of the (sub) species, information about the family tree and the exact locationon “County” -level where they come from (when this information is available).

This provides relevant back ground information on number of generations in captivity, to what degree the snakes are related, the natural habitat, the climate and hibernation. This can be taken in consideration in the way one takes care of the snakes: decoration of the terrarium, yearly fluctuations in temperature, duration of (and temperatures during) hibernation.

Observations in the wild

On this website you can also find observations done by the author in the wild (mostly North-America).

Observing these fantastic snakes in their natural habitat adds an extra dimension to this hobby.

I have been able to observe many of the species I breed in the wild. Interesting facts on the biology of these fascinating snakes (partly based on own observations) can be found under Publications, Species and News.

Genetic diversity

Inbreeding is prevented as much as possible by selective breeding programs using unrelated snakes of the same (sub)species, if possible originating from the same area. My offspring is hence very suitable to set up breeding programs. Information about origin and heritage are always provided by means of the “certificate of origin”.

Outdoor terrarium

Keeping gartersnakes and watersnakes outdoors is a very interesting and natural way to keep (at least some species of) gartersnakes and watersnakes.

On this website you can find under News some observations done in my Outdoor terrarium.