Reptile & Amphibian Forums

They are very active snakes, not picky eaters, minimal heat requirements, stay fairly small, and they are very easy to breed.

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If you're talking about the people who are giving out reccomendations to snakes for new owners its basically because the people who are suggesting either dont know anything about them or have a personal grudge against them, lol. i fall into the ignorant catagory.
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

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I usually don't because everyone wants something they can 'handle'... most garters aren't great at sitting still and I don't want people buying them expecting them to be something they're not. They're much more entertaining to watch in their tank than, say, kingsnakes, but sadly most newbies don't appreciate stuff like that.
Also many of them are wild caught, which is bad for a first snake. Unless you catch it yourself. But CB garters are cool for first snakes if you understand their little garter personalities.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

I have kept them but just really don't care for them all that much.

Also they can be higher maintenance than some of the others (special trips to th baitshop for food etc...). So I stick usually to lizard or rodent feeders.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

All the sources I found say that checkered garters can eat rodents when they get bigger... so a juvenile CB checkered garter would be a lot like a mini ratsnake... I don't have to personally enjoy something to (ball python) recommend it to people.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

I love Garter Snakes. I have close to 40 representing 12 varieties. I am a bit reluctant to recommend them as a first snake. They are often too skittish to be held and most people want to be able to handle their first snake. Getting musked will hardly "endear" a “newbie” to the hobby. Garters can also require various "tricks" to keep them eating consistently or at least to get them onto a healthy/efficient diet of rodents. Someone brand new to snake keeping may get frustrated or discouraged with issues of mouse scenting, thiamine deficiency etc. Garter snakes as a genus can be quite variable in their responses to the captive environment and husbandry techniques. This can also true among individuals within a species. Most are easy to keep but they may require a bit of experience and experimentation to get them over minor issues. This can make them a great snake for someone wanting to continue the hobby. They are a TERRIFIC snake overall and could be a fine first snake, but they wouldn't be my first recommendation for the average person, nor would I discourage someone who wants one as a first snake.

I am under the impression that Plains Garters (T radix) are friendlier to hold but I have only dealt with a few of these. I have found Wandering Garters (T e vagrans) to also adapt well to their owners as a rule. Checkered Garters (T marcianus) are reported to be terrific but I have never kept this species.

Randy

It isn't that people don't recommend them, it is that they aren't always a good choice for a first snake.

I have kept Wandering, Eastern, Red-sided, Black-necked and Checkered Gartersnakes. Frankly, the only species I would recommend for beginners would be Wandering or Checkereds. They are both reasonably handleable (they don't bite, they are just wiggly) and will eat anything, including appropriately sized F/T rodents. Other species aren't as easy to keep on rodents or other commercially available foods.

The other problem is availability. CB babies of most species are TINY and hard to get started on pinkies. Few species are available as CB babies.

Gartersnakes also have higher food requirements than other, more sedentary snakes like kingsnakes and ratsnakes. Therefore, you may have to feed a gartersnake 2-3 times per week whereas a kingsnake does fine on 2-3 meals per month.

Some of the albino gartersnakes that are available are simply stunning and blow away any albino king or corn. I have an albino marcianus and it is a breathtakingly beautiful animal, IMHO.
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Chris Harrison

I actually made a comment in another forum yesterday that I think garters and ringnecks and the such suck which was very harsh. Not the best way to put it but I was a little heated at the time. I've found them very difficult to keep. I wouldn't recomend them to any that wasn't expierenced. There is no question about the beauty or how rewarding it can be though.

I wouldn't actually say that garters are a snake for more experienced people as they are fairly easy to keep. They just have some problems that are UNDESIRABLE for a novice. I started out keeping all matter of small, local snakes such as Virginia, Thamnophis, Nerodia, etc. Really, the largest problem I see for beginners is that Thamnophis are squirmy and WC. Other than, they have always been fairly easy to maintain. Ringnecks on the other hand can be a bit trickier and I agree with you that they are not for anyone starting out in the hobby.
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Andy Maddox
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Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"Some things will never change. They just stand there looking backwards. Half-unconsious from the pain. They may seem rearranged. In the backwater swirling. There is something that'll never change-The Meat Puppets"

Captive born garters are very easy to keep if you ask me.........can be switched fairly easily to frozen thawed pinkies ..........they can be squirmy........but thats garters.........we breed them.........all captive born........thanks, chris' coubrids......pikiemikie@aol.com

ouch!

I've had garter snakes for the summer, not much experience i admit but it's some. Anyways I have 2 wc wandering garter snakes and feeding them is breeze. Infact they both will flick and nip at my hands if they smell like frozen pinkies. Keep in mind that they are both quite young.

I keep them in rubbermaid containers with a rock and a dish of water and some newspaper.

Anyways I'd say garters are a good starter snakes, eventually they will quite musking you.