Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my garter's belly seems very dry , almost "crusty" and chips at certain points...

I think it's related to humidity , think my terrarium is too dry...Can anybody confirm this , for the sakes of two lovely easterns ! Should i spray "a mist " of water daily ? what sould I do , if humidity is indeed the problem?

You want garter cages to be dry, they are very susceptible to skin problems if the cage is humid. I'm not sure what is causing the skin problem, but they doo need to have dry cages.

well , the cage is dry , but not abnormally so i guess that's not the problem.Thanks anyway , i think it be related to my use of a new substrate , bought at another pet store than my regular one....it's more dusty , i don't like it anyway , so it may be the cause... I'll post more when if I find any...

Any idea's are always welcome...

what are you using as a substrate in your cage?

Try a well ventilated cage with a water bowl large enough for the snake to soak in. Not huge but large enough for him to sit in and soak. Try to keep tabs on how much soaking the snake actually does. If snakes are in and out of the water a lot the substrate can remain very damp or wet which is not good. A lot of "splashing around" also raises the relative humidity a lot, thus the need for a well ventilated cage. I am having this problem with my Florida Blue-Striped Garters so I am going to augment the normal vent holes with a screened top (I use plastic storage bins for cages.) I do this with my salamanders as well where I need to keep humidity normal while maintaining a moist substrate. For your Garters the trick is to maintain a dry substrate for them to live on and also provide them with enough water to soak in. If a snake soaks too much that can be a problem but deal with that only if it actually manifests. I am experimenting with various substrates at the moment. Care Fresh is nice but it molds quickly when wet and sticks to wet food. I do not use it if I must feed the snake fish. Snakes can also "toss" it around a lot, usually into the water bowl. I am having good luck so far with aspen shavings as far as keeping the substrate dry and clean. The snakes seem to move around and burrow in it with out issue as well. Newspaper is fine but if it gets wet it will be wet over most of its surface at which point it needs to be changed. Hopefully the snake's dryness will be relieved after a shed or two unless there is some other underlying pathology. Not all Thamnophis species or individuals have the same propensity for "swimming" in captivity and physiologically they probably do not need it. Simply adjust the size of the water bowl to the snakes health/maintenance needs and personal behavior, but keep the relative humidity to a normal level. Most of my Garters have regular sized bowls similar to my other Colubrids. I would enjoy feedback concerning other husbandry techniques and perceptions.

Randy Hallman

well , the garter shed and seems now completely okay. I've changed the substrate back to the old one , things should settle. Thanks anyway !