Garter Snake Burrowing?

[spaztik]

Alright, I was at my friends house last night for his birthday, when my dad calls me up, asking if i moved my snake anywhere. I said no, it's in the tank, look under stuff. So he did, and he couldn't find it. Then i had to go home and find it....well, i took out every rock, stick, plant, and he wasn't there. I stir around the substrate (peat moss by the way) and still can't find him. Then my dad tries, and ends up finding him burrowed all the way in the back corner...I woke up this morning, and he burrowed again, (but this time there's a little opening in the substrate, so i know he's there)
Okay, here's the question, is it normal for Garter's (I have a Butler's Garter, I believe), to burrow? How do i get him to stop burrowing? He's really boring when he's underground and i can't see him.

[awesometony]

can you not try to fill the viv with some other substrate like fake grass or wood chips
my corn just stoped doing this lol and it seemed to like the hooter side of the viv
also if you have a heater mat try sticking it to the side it might be trying to get the the hotter part of the tank if its that side it keeps going too

[zero&stich]

Most colubrids WILL borrow. That is their nature. If that is a problem, a boid might have been a better selection.

From your other post, it just sounds like you jumped too quickly in selecting a pet snake. To give my opinion, they are diurnal but a shy species. My theory is one it might be burrowing because it might feel stressed. Are you offering lots of hiding places?? But like I said before, it is natural for them to burrow, don't stress it. However, can you give us a detailed discription of your setup??

A rosy boa or a hog isle might have been a better choice as they both stay under 5ft and do well on a rodent diet. And I don't believe they usually burrow. I think I mentioned it already but 'pending on the sex of the garter, they can reach 5ft. I know cause I've caught a couple from the wild. Not sure if it's common to find or not, but anyway, be prepaired that your snake might get larger than you think.

Hope that helped and I would probably do a bit more research. This site is pretty good for caresheets. Good luck! Garters are one of my favorates.

[spaztik]

The burrowing isn't a problem...I'd just rather see him out more...
He/she is ~18" long, in a ten gallon tank. I plan on getting a bigger tank in the near future, but as for now it's fine. There are 2 main hiding places, one under a rock-cave thing, and another under a log. It's a peat moss substrate, as stated before, and there is a lake-type thing i made that takes up about 1/4-1/3 of the tank. Sorry I don't have any pictures. Hope that's enough detail...and again, it's not that the burrowing is a problem, I'd just like to see him more......anyway, thanks in advance for any help.

[zero&stich]

You said the snake burrowing made the animal boring. I was just stating it a normal behavior. :) Colubrids aren't always underground, they do come up and check "things out".

Sounds like your setup is pretty good, although, have no idea what your temps are or humidity. A peat moss subtrate, I'm not entirely sure was the best subtrate to use, since it can hold humidity very well and most North American snakes usually but not always prefer a lower humidity level. I'd keep the humidity at around 40-50%. Just giving you a heads up and maybe should monitor it, as well temps. My garters did well on newspaper, paper towels or aspen bedding.

Take some pics of it! :D Garters are one of my favorates. I was gonna get a CB checkered garter at an expo. Oh well...:(

[spaztik]

Sorry...the temps are from 75 on one side to 90 on the other, give or take a little. I don't have a humidity tester thing (I know, I know, I've gotta get one, but my memory sucks...) Anyway, as soon as I can get my hands on a digital camera I'll take a bunch of pics.

[zero&stich]

I think 90 is a bit too warm. That might be one reason why hes burrowing. To exscape the heat. I'd drop it down to 85. But that's just my opinion. What are you using to measure the temps?

Look forward to seeing your little guy! :D

[spaztik]

I have 2 of those 'sticker' thermometers...I don't know what they're called, the thin ones that stick on the glass......one on either side.
Also, I noticed that the peat moss was getting really wet and gross, so i switched it to newspaper....and he's managed to burrow under that too
How would I get the temp lower? Can I buy a dimmer, or am i just going to have to buy a weaker bulb?

[dr greenlove]

Originally posted by spaztik
How would I get the temp lower? Can I buy a dimmer, or am i just going to have to buy a weaker bulb?

By turning the thermostat down?

Also those sticker things are really much good, get a digital doodad with a probe...that way you will know exactly what the temps are in your cage.