Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got two approximately 7-month old eastern garters which I would say are pretty well fed. Currently they're on mostly fish through the winter. I will need to travel for 10 days and am trying to decide how to set them up during that time.

Would it be better to fattem them up a bit and just leave their heat/light on a timer, and a good amount of fish in their tank, or might this be an opportunity to give them a brief cooling period (mini-brumation), i.e. just shut everything off and just leave clean water etc? Not quite sure I am comfortable having the heating system plug away unattended for that long...

Any experience with this kind of situation would be appreciated. Thanks...

leave plenty of water they should be fine if otherwise healthy...

Id turn off the heat rock if you use one

They'll be fine. I would turn off "extra" heat sources as long as your home will not get terribly cold while you are gone. You might provide them with 2 or even 3 water sources in case they defecate in one of them. If they catch their own prey from the bowl you can leave a few extra minnows if you want. But 10 days is really no big deal.
IF, on the other hand, you plan to let their temps drop to true brumation temps, then stop feeding them several days before.
I would keep them at "room temp" more or less, with no extra heat, and plenty of fresh water. They'll be AOK. Duffy