Hi, i'm new to all this, always loved snakes but always been a little weary of actually getting one, recently went to a pet shop with my partner with the intention of getting a gold fish for our 6 year old and somehow came out with a little garter snake. Not really sure how it happened but here we are. We got it an 20x20x20inch terrarium, with a heat mat and a true light bulb and we put in some dirt, woodchip and moss substraite along with some bits of wood and bark to create hiding places for him and my partner has put in a little fresh water aquarium which he seems to love swimming in and chasing bubbles and tadpoles in. He seems to be eating well, we've given him some worms which he litterally snapped right up and we think he's knicked the molly out of the fish tank as cant find that anywhere Is there anything else we can do for him to keep him happy and healthy?

Welcome to HerpCenter! Garters are interesting little snakes!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Welcome to the neighborhood! (I don't know to much about snake care but the one thing that caught my notice was the wood chips? if these have sharp edges you might want to rethink them...)

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Hi and welcome to Herpcenter.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Welcome to HC. I am not sure if you realize it, but your garter didn't kick the molly out of the fishtank, he ate the molly. lol You should add some feeder fish to the tank as the garter will take them without issue.

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.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

Welcome, and yeah molly was food. Good luck and any questions you have let us know, someone here will know or be able to tell you where to find it.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



TKE:TT:118

welcome to the board.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

I did kinda think that he'd eaten it but when we got the molly we thought it would of been too big for him, oh well, is there any other fish he will enjoy? as the aquarium is more for him than for us.
Oh and is it normal for them to go mental in the water? when he first went in it shocked us, one for how long he can stay down but mostly because it was the fastest we'd seen him move, he looked really odd chasing bubbles and tadpoles but even more so when it didn't look like he was chasing anything at all, just madly swimming about the tank.

Chasing fish requires rapid movement. I recall you saying your "partner" so I am guessing you are from the U.K. I am not certain what they would be called over there, but we sell a type of goldfish over here that are used as feeder fish. They are sold to people with pacos, demseys, oscars, etc. They also make great food items for garters.

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.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

also i'd read that some of the fish and the crab that were keeping like slightly salty/brackish water, if I do this will I need to put in a separate water source for him to drink from?