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Atlas / Library / Colubridae / Checkered Garter Snake
Colubridae

Checkered Garter Snake

Thamnophis marcianus

Part of this is not on the page we cite. We opened it on 10 Aug 2026 and some of the degrees above are not stated there. The values above may still be right, but we cannot show you where they came from, and nobody here has checked them against a second source. Anything about a sick animal goes to a qualified exotic vet, not to a page. reptilesbymack.com

Photograph: John Rosford · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. The sheet states a night temperature, so the rail follows it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/thamnophis-marcianus

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end30–35 °C
cool end21–27 °C
Enclosure70×50×50

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
21–27°Cool side
30–35°Warm side
18–22°Night

Day: a real gradient, 30–35°C warm against 21–27°C cool, so the animal chooses. Night: 18–22°C.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet stateswarm 30-35 °C / cool 21-27 °C / night 18-22 °C

Identity

Origin

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

30–35 °C70 cm50 cm
warm side
50100150200 cm
70 × 50 × 50 cmWidth × depth × height
35dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataHides: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesa terrarium for an adult couple measuring 70 x 50 x 50 cm should be sufficient, but 100 x 50 x 50 cm is better

Temperature
warm 30–35 °C / cool 21–27 °C / night 18–22 °C

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Common questions

Is it a good beginner snake?

Yes for someone who wants an active, visible snake. It is small, hardy and awake during the day.

What does it eat?

Fish and earthworms mainly, with some individuals taking rodent pinkies. It eats little and often.

How big does it get?

Usually 60 to 90 centimetres, so an ordinary tank is plenty for life.

Does it bite?

Rarely, and the teeth are tiny. The musk when it is scared bothers people far more than the bite.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 70 × 50 × 50 cmbecause enclosure — a terrarium for an adult couple measuring 70 x 50 x 50 cm should be sufficient, but 100 x 50 x 50 cm is better
A heat sourcebecause temp — warm 30-35 °C / cool 21-27 °C / night 18-22 °C
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — warm 30-35 °C / cool 21-27 °C / night 18-22 °C
A thermometerbecause temp — warm 30-35 °C / cool 21-27 °C / night 18-22 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — warm 30-35 °C / cool 21-27 °C / night 18-22 °C

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

stevenbolgartersnakes.com — lu le 2026-08-04vhm-abc.com — lu le 2026-08-04reptilesbymack.com — lu le 2026-08-04gbif.org — lu le 2026-08-08

Others in this group

Corn SnakePantherophis guttatusWestern Hognose SnakeHeterodon nasicusCalifornia KingsnakeLampropeltis californiaeEastern Hognose SnakeHeterodon platirhinosMexican Black KingsnakeLampropeltis getula nigritaSpeckled KingsnakeLampropeltis holbrookiEastern KingsnakeLampropeltis getulaGrey-banded KingsnakeLampropeltis alterna

What this sheet states

62%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 4 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: humidity instrument and audit, day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.