toads and snakes

Question
Hi,

My son caught a garter snake yesterday and had a blast with it all day. Even took it for a swim in our pool. We told him not to do that again as the clorine could quite possibly kill it. Anyway, he already has 3 fire belly toads. He was crying this morning because he missed the snake. His birthday is next week and I was wondering if we got him a garter snake, could it be housed with the toads? If so, what size aquarium would be suitable for all of them? Also, what to garters eat? Hopefully not toads. If this would work, in the aquarium now we have bark substrate on the floor, a 7" swimming pool with steps and a rock cave. What else might we need? Thanks so much, Kali

Answer
I hate to tell you this but garter snakes do eat toads and it is pretty much guaranteed that it will eat his if you put it with them.  The size of the aquarium depends on the size of the snake.  I can't tell you much about aquariums because I'm a wildlife biologist, not a pet expert.  To feed the garter, use mice, frogs, and insects.