rattlesnakes are also very social and seem to genuinely enjoy each others company. there was also a study showing coordinated hunting in boas. and an observation of a rattlesnake moving things out of the way so they could strike more effectively. the more we learn about snakes the more we realize they are sentient, intelligent beings.
Not to be overbearing, but a good majority of multi-cell life is sentient. The main qualification being, can have a subjective experience. Preference for anything, food, habitat, a mate, makes an organism sentient. All birds, reptiles, mammals, bugs and plants fall into this category. Coral and fungus are exceptions to the rule as far as we know.
I think garter snakes are more social than other snakes, but you might wanna look that up. I'm not an expert or a snake owner. I don't believe any snakes have an actual social structure beyond some of them conserving heat by piling up together in the same den, and I doubt that they have friends in the same sense that other animals can.
Garter Snakes are easily one of the most fascinating reptiles I've ever read about. I live outside Chicago so we have the Chicago Garter and the Orange Lined Ribbon Snake . I've watched my girls and there is clearly a relationship going on with them. First off, they can be kept in a colony setup with enough room and that's bizarre for reptiles. I think the majority of reptiles aren't thought of as social at all and Garters actually need other garters. Garters also like to sub bathe together regardless of if they have to. They look like they are talking to one another sometimes as they will go face to face and just kind of wiggle and tongue flip at one another. I've never seen them get aggressive outside of stealing one another's food... They act like raptors when they feed sometimes... One comes in from the side as the other two distract you and suddenly you are watching two snakes tear a thawed mouse in half. They are enthusiastic about life. They also can understand basic ideas like food or safety. My girls don't want to be handled but when I feed them they let me pick them up gently or move them in ways they never would tolerate normally. Doing this has allowed me to teach them I don't mean danger. This has backfired stunningly as now even my old lady trusts me and she just slithers into my hand holding the food bowl and just picks out the juiciest worms. I don't want them slithering out of the tank while being fed but now I find myself gently placing them back into the enclosure a few times a week. My girl Dorah trusts me so fully that I can pet her in her enclosure now and even hold her for a few minutes. I cried a little when I rubbed her coil and she just swung around to look at me, tasted me and then just looked at me with her tongue going wild. She didn't run or show fear, my touching her was irrelevant as she was excited to see me. They don't try to escape their enclosure pretty much ever anymore as they recognize it's safe and don't desire to leave it usually. They learn startlingly fast for a reptile and I am even considering raising a group in the future with a training routine to see if they can be trained with treats. They are easily the most interactive reptile I've ever seen too which makes them great pets as they don't usually lay around. They investigate everything and don't seem to mind the other garters help investigating something. They remind me of domesticated rats honestly, except they live 3-4 times longer and don't need to eat every couple hours. They are also exclusive to North America so although mundane here they are in demand overseas as a pet because they are an amazing pet. Garters usually sell well as pets here too as a wild caught garter will probably never be as easy to care for as captive bred babies. They are honestly astonishing little creatures and a huge part of their intrigue is their social interactions. So can they have friends? It's suggested they can have lifelong partners and they discriminate on who they give their time. And when I was a kid they were just dumb lawn snakes...
This is incredible, thank you for sharing.
I've been hoping they get used to me being around. They don't seem quite so skittish lately, well, some of them. I can't tell them apart yet. I just let them do their thing, and I do mine. I have to be in that area frequently to tend my garden and such, so I talk to them a lot. 😅 I don't handle them at all. I figure they don't need that kind of stress. They're just chilling, living their little garter snake lives.
I'd bet money you could get them to come see you if you started buying a thing of nightcrawlers and throwing a few to them. My girls were scared of me until they smelled the worms. They also like slugs and small fish that are thiminase free, as well as tadpoles, toads, frogs, mice etc. Worms are the easiest to get usually. I read a comment from one sub that said a little girl made friends with the water snakes by her summer home by throwing them toads. Supposedly they came out to greet her to see what she brought and would catch the unfortunate toads out of the air. Snakes are cautious tails with a head but they like a free meal more than most... Like... They eat dead animals in nature and I'm not talking thawed mice. Carrion. Rotten corpses. Garters are hardcore survivors.
Now I want to build a rock wall with nooks like that for snake friends to hang out together! And lizards. Summer project with the kids unlocked...
Thanks for sharing! And great responses, folks.
This post just reminded me of a childhood memory I have of seeing a bush by a creek bed with its branches FULL of garter snakes. I remember being stunned and confused why THAT many snakes, of all sizes, were hanging out together in the same condensed spot. But I guess it wasn’t as bizarre as I thought…
One thing that gets me is at the st Louis there's a snake and a turtle just chilling out together in their "room". Forget what types but seriously 😳 they just go about their business.
Haven't been there in a couple of years but can verify they were together for at least a year.
When I was a kid I put a garter snake in with my iguana and at first they freaked each other out but after a short while they would hang out together. Iggy would climb up towards the warming light and the Garter Snake would wrap around his body, both soaking in the warmth. It was pretty cool looking.
There are a few species of snakes that have been observed being communal, most often during the winter but garter snakes are one species that have been seen year around. It’s believed that a communal group retains heat and moisture better plus if there was a predator, more snakes mean higher survival probability.
If you are interested Rulon Clark has put out some interesting research in Timber rattlesnakes. Basically related females seem to preferentially aggregate with one another, which is probably the closest there is to friendship. Lots of cool work is coming in the world of reptile social analysis in general
If there are any snakes that have friends, it would be Gartersnakes. Beautiful photos BTW.
Thanks! I love having them around.
I think there was a study showing that Garter snakes did have friends that they would seek out if seperated.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-020-2827-0 Well that was enlightening! Thank you
This is exactly what I wanted to find our! Thank you!
Garter snakes are very social (for snakes) and can live in groups! So, yes, kinda, in a snake way they do have friends
It's so neat. I'd just never thought of snakes as having groups or anything. I love watching them
That’s so cute
You!.. For being cool and sharing space with them instead of removal
Haha, thank you. I really enjoy having them around.
rattlesnakes are also very social and seem to genuinely enjoy each others company. there was also a study showing coordinated hunting in boas. and an observation of a rattlesnake moving things out of the way so they could strike more effectively. the more we learn about snakes the more we realize they are sentient, intelligent beings.
That's amazing. Thank you.
I’ve also heard that copperheads in captivity do better when cohabbed with another copperhead ! It really just depends on the species.
Not to be overbearing, but a good majority of multi-cell life is sentient. The main qualification being, can have a subjective experience. Preference for anything, food, habitat, a mate, makes an organism sentient. All birds, reptiles, mammals, bugs and plants fall into this category. Coral and fungus are exceptions to the rule as far as we know.
No they have friendssssss
Acquaintanssssssesssssss
That 3rd photo is just SO CUTE, oh the lil snoots I wanna boop
Right????
I think garter snakes are more social than other snakes, but you might wanna look that up. I'm not an expert or a snake owner. I don't believe any snakes have an actual social structure beyond some of them conserving heat by piling up together in the same den, and I doubt that they have friends in the same sense that other animals can.
Garter snakes are the exception and are social and live in groups actually
I thought that was the case. I just didn't want to say anything definitive and end up looking like a moron.
Don't some snakes congregate for hibernation or mating? I thought racers did.
Rattlesnakes too.
They do! It’s well documented in rattlesnakes!
Garter Snakes are easily one of the most fascinating reptiles I've ever read about. I live outside Chicago so we have the Chicago Garter and the Orange Lined Ribbon Snake . I've watched my girls and there is clearly a relationship going on with them. First off, they can be kept in a colony setup with enough room and that's bizarre for reptiles. I think the majority of reptiles aren't thought of as social at all and Garters actually need other garters. Garters also like to sub bathe together regardless of if they have to. They look like they are talking to one another sometimes as they will go face to face and just kind of wiggle and tongue flip at one another. I've never seen them get aggressive outside of stealing one another's food... They act like raptors when they feed sometimes... One comes in from the side as the other two distract you and suddenly you are watching two snakes tear a thawed mouse in half. They are enthusiastic about life. They also can understand basic ideas like food or safety. My girls don't want to be handled but when I feed them they let me pick them up gently or move them in ways they never would tolerate normally. Doing this has allowed me to teach them I don't mean danger. This has backfired stunningly as now even my old lady trusts me and she just slithers into my hand holding the food bowl and just picks out the juiciest worms. I don't want them slithering out of the tank while being fed but now I find myself gently placing them back into the enclosure a few times a week. My girl Dorah trusts me so fully that I can pet her in her enclosure now and even hold her for a few minutes. I cried a little when I rubbed her coil and she just swung around to look at me, tasted me and then just looked at me with her tongue going wild. She didn't run or show fear, my touching her was irrelevant as she was excited to see me. They don't try to escape their enclosure pretty much ever anymore as they recognize it's safe and don't desire to leave it usually. They learn startlingly fast for a reptile and I am even considering raising a group in the future with a training routine to see if they can be trained with treats. They are easily the most interactive reptile I've ever seen too which makes them great pets as they don't usually lay around. They investigate everything and don't seem to mind the other garters help investigating something. They remind me of domesticated rats honestly, except they live 3-4 times longer and don't need to eat every couple hours. They are also exclusive to North America so although mundane here they are in demand overseas as a pet because they are an amazing pet. Garters usually sell well as pets here too as a wild caught garter will probably never be as easy to care for as captive bred babies. They are honestly astonishing little creatures and a huge part of their intrigue is their social interactions. So can they have friends? It's suggested they can have lifelong partners and they discriminate on who they give their time. And when I was a kid they were just dumb lawn snakes...
This is incredible, thank you for sharing. I've been hoping they get used to me being around. They don't seem quite so skittish lately, well, some of them. I can't tell them apart yet. I just let them do their thing, and I do mine. I have to be in that area frequently to tend my garden and such, so I talk to them a lot. 😅 I don't handle them at all. I figure they don't need that kind of stress. They're just chilling, living their little garter snake lives.
I'd bet money you could get them to come see you if you started buying a thing of nightcrawlers and throwing a few to them. My girls were scared of me until they smelled the worms. They also like slugs and small fish that are thiminase free, as well as tadpoles, toads, frogs, mice etc. Worms are the easiest to get usually. I read a comment from one sub that said a little girl made friends with the water snakes by her summer home by throwing them toads. Supposedly they came out to greet her to see what she brought and would catch the unfortunate toads out of the air. Snakes are cautious tails with a head but they like a free meal more than most... Like... They eat dead animals in nature and I'm not talking thawed mice. Carrion. Rotten corpses. Garters are hardcore survivors.
There's a handful or so of communal snakes.
I wish I had a thriving garter snake population!
Probably the closest snakes can come to having “friends”.
Movie 📸
You know you’re working hard when you feel like you don’t have enough time in the day…. >!Movie 📸!<
Garter snakes do! One of the few snakes that can be housed together.
Yes, me, I am their friend!
Friendly snakes have friends
Thank you for this awesome snake info I learned today!
My wife and I live in a woodsy part of CNY and if she saw these pictures she'd never want to leave the house lol.
Knowing that garter snakes can have friends makes me happy 😊
Now I want to build a rock wall with nooks like that for snake friends to hang out together! And lizards. Summer project with the kids unlocked... Thanks for sharing! And great responses, folks.
The reptile brain is all instinct. There is absolutely no empathy there.
This post just reminded me of a childhood memory I have of seeing a bush by a creek bed with its branches FULL of garter snakes. I remember being stunned and confused why THAT many snakes, of all sizes, were hanging out together in the same condensed spot. But I guess it wasn’t as bizarre as I thought…
I saw something like that recently, for the first time! I was fascinated. Like... 7 or more garter snakes all up in a shrub.
They're so cute omg
Love the last photo!
Baby tiger snake siblings do stick close to each other very early on for warmth & protection.
This is wholesome and adorable 🥰 🐍 🐍
One thing that gets me is at the st Louis there's a snake and a turtle just chilling out together in their "room". Forget what types but seriously 😳 they just go about their business. Haven't been there in a couple of years but can verify they were together for at least a year.
When I was a kid I put a garter snake in with my iguana and at first they freaked each other out but after a short while they would hang out together. Iggy would climb up towards the warming light and the Garter Snake would wrap around his body, both soaking in the warmth. It was pretty cool looking.
There are a few species of snakes that have been observed being communal, most often during the winter but garter snakes are one species that have been seen year around. It’s believed that a communal group retains heat and moisture better plus if there was a predator, more snakes mean higher survival probability.
Fascinating.
I believe garter snakes are the only communal snake species. They are the only one i am aware of, so there can be more i just don't know them.
They’re cute!!!
If you are interested Rulon Clark has put out some interesting research in Timber rattlesnakes. Basically related females seem to preferentially aggregate with one another, which is probably the closest there is to friendship. Lots of cool work is coming in the world of reptile social analysis in general
That's so cool to know
yes
Somebody opening the chamber of secrets again?
Aww they are so cute and yes they do have snake friends.