doctor i got a problem

[jwolfe152]

well i mowed grass again at my mom and dads and caught another one this makes 3 easterns now. i have not got the opportunity to sex this one its a bit jumpy i'm surprised i was even able to grab it. as soon as it was in my hands it was rubbing its little butt all over my arm i'm not sure what it was doing because i smelled my arm and hand but couldn't smell any musk. this will be the last one i grab from my mom and dads unless i injury it with the mower or trimmer. i don't want the population to dip just because i like them or anything like that, i don't think taking 2 is going to hurt things much, if at all.

[guidofatherof5]

Probably not but you don't actually know where the population numbers are.

[jwolfe152]

i know there are more of them there are at least 2 darker ones around that i have seen but still 2 sounds like a good number to stop at from one location. there is a good bit of woods behind the house and a little creek back there too. i cant wait for next spring i want to look around for dens when they start mating to see it in person the pics are impressive but i would love to see it first hand.

[jwolfe152]

Ekoh
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/3B5823BD-orig_zpsef6950a8.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/3B5823BD-orig_zpsef6950a8.jpg.html)

new guy
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/6E4A11F1-orig_zps0677d30e.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/6E4A11F1-orig_zps0677d30e.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/3432C790-orig_zps3902f27f.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/3432C790-orig_zps3902f27f.jpg.html)

Amaunet
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/F38966CE-orig_zpsc1200580.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/F38966CE-orig_zpsc1200580.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/8535AC7C-orig_zpsd8b30cdd.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/8535AC7C-orig_zpsd8b30cdd.jpg.html)

i know the last 2 are a little crappy just looking for an opinion on sex guys thanks

Edit: i believe its 2 males and a female

[jwolfe152]

well i went to do some weed eating at my parents i checked the pieces of cover i placed seen a few babies and some a little bigger i decided not to bother them and just look. well i was about half way done with the trimming and i took a swipe with the trimmer and then her head poked up i got closer and grabbed her not much in the way of fighting at all just a few seconds and the big brown beauty was just laying in my hand.

i checked her out and i don't know if it was me or not but she has a bruise that starts at the corner of her vent up the side of her body. well i brought this beauty home with me because when she was going through my fingers it felt kinda bumpy and soft but she doesnt have any bulges that i can see im going to get a few pics as soon as i can.

[jwolfe152]

full body shot
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/FC212A05-orig_zps8d080eff.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/FC212A05-orig_zps8d080eff.jpg.html)

not just a bruise like i thought at first looks like i just barely got her
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/EFDBD76A-orig_zps09c93fa4.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/EFDBD76A-orig_zps09c93fa4.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/12F00918-orig_zps56ec37bf.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/12F00918-orig_zps56ec37bf.jpg.html)

this is her in just a little water to clean her and the wound abit
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/E106E967-orig_zps6f6b551c.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/E106E967-orig_zps6f6b551c.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/E5282065-orig_zps306c1efe.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/E5282065-orig_zps306c1efe.jpg.html)

right after taking her out of the water i towel dried her and put some iodine on her. i'm hoping it doesn't break open every time she defecates because of where it is. oh and the weird bump i felt looks to be an old wound because there is an indent and a few of the scales above it are a tiny bit deformed, but it doesn't look bad it is barely noticeable

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking snake. That wound/injury doesn't look very new.
Is this problem area at the vent directly, meaning are we seeing the vent/cloaca also in the photo?

[jwolfe152]

now i think i have the terminology right. the wound starts where the bottom of the anal plate meets the subcaudal scales and it is maybe 1/8 of an inch toward the dorsal scales and maybe 1/2 inch on the ventral/subcaudal scales. after a closer look at the would it actually took one side of the subcuadal scales the ones right after the anal plate and i think you can see the cloaca just a bit but i am almost certain it barely missed it

9332
User:AshLin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:AshLin)
Author of photo

and the cut is deep considering it went through scale and skin to muscle but its not very deep in the muscle at all but i put some iodine on it last night and she did not mind so i'm hoping she is not in much pain

[guidofatherof5]

Any chance you can post some photos in natural light? Having an injury at the cloaca/vent is problematic since the wound comes in contact with fecal matter. It is certainly something to keep a very close eye on. The photo you originally post of the injury looks good(the injury not the photo) but some better lit photos would be helpful.
Thanks for taking the time to help this snake.

[jwolfe152]

yes i will get better photos of it, right now its overcast skies and sprinkles all day, and i will get the better camera i use my phone because of the snapbucket app, photobucket.com/mobile (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/photobucket.com/mobile). as long as the phone has internet, i take the pictures and it automatically uploads to my photobucket account. when applying the iodine i use a cotton swab and wet it with the iodine to the point that its about to drip and then apply to the wound, my question is, is there another/better way to apply it?
this is what i use
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/EE87E606-orig_zpsa05a7498.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/EE87E606-orig_zpsa05a7498.jpg.html)

[jwolfe152]

ok here are some better pics i hope you can see everything better

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02827_zps3dc67ccf.jpg?t=1375315988
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02829_zps227b74e1.jpg?t=1375316008
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02836_zps1d82968e.jpg?t=1375316093

i left them large because photobucket likes to change the resolution and there were not as detailed/clear if you can think of a better view for a picture let me know. these were taken with a sony cybershot DSC-W120 with the Carl Zeiss and i can't get it to take good close ups if you know how to use it and get a good close up with it let me know please lol

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think this was done by a weed trimmer. They inflict much more damage. This male looks good and the wound/injury looks like it is healing nicely.
Is the snake pooping fine?

[jwolfe152]

yea as far as i can see i have not seen him poop just after wards. honestly just the size made me think female its the biggest garter i have ever seen. whatever the sex i know its been through a lot as in attacks there are probably 4 or more old marks that look like scratches from birds or other animals. it amazing with all the marks that its still alive.

[guidofatherof5]

From the tail photos you posted I think it's a male. Post up a photo of the tail hanging straight and perpendicular to the camera for a better look.
You very well could be right.

[jwolfe152]

ok i can do that maybe not tonight but tomorrow definitely. i know size is not a reliable way to sex a snake especially by an amatuer like me who has never even seen a full grown male or female garter lol ;) i need to get all of them and do that with the tails so i can sex them and know who to pair with who if breeding comes into the picture. i got to look at the laws here in wv all i have seen pertains to "game animals" or "in season" animals just need to be sure i don't go to jail (never been except when visiting my grandpa that died in jan)over a snake lol

EDIT: i also went and bought some aspen bedding for them (it probably has not been a month but i will be damned if the tanks start smelling) they seem to like it better than the reptibark probably because it is a lot easier to burrow through lol they love to burrow don't they

[Foxrun402]

Ooooo!!! that Aspen will not only look good but I find it smells pretty nice... Or well... the room its in will somewhat take on the scent.... Its very absorbant and I just spot clean and replace what I take out with fresh aspen.... About once every 2 months or so I empty tanks and use wipeout or disinfecting wipes to clean it and replace all the aspen with fresh stuff... My buddie uses a carpet because he wanted "low maintenance" but those things look like more work to me lol... cleaning them constantly lol

[jwolfe152]

i had an iguana and a savannah monitor and used astroturf and it was a PITA to clean up. the only reason i cleaned out the reptibark was i dont want anything to smell my savannah ate live mice and i kept them and bred them and i don't know which one was worse (probably the mice lol) if neglected even a few days late, boy did it smell. hell it was my mom and dads idea to breed the mice to save some money, well soon after we started breeding the mice they took the mice and iguana somewhere idk where to get rid of them while i was in school (i was in middle school at the time) it really pissed me off when i got home and my pets were gone. i was the one that took care of them and they for some reason didnt think that a savannah and mice was going to take so much maintenance, which from what i remember, was not that bad but they thought it was apparently.

but like i said im a lot older and more responsible now and just want to keep clean enclosures and happy herps :)

[jwolfe152]

these are the best pics i can get it looks like its tail is off center in all of them but these 3 are the best

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02840_zps6130f89f.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/DSC02840_zps6130f89f.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02838_zpsb0d7c446.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/DSC02838_zpsb0d7c446.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/DSC02837_zps866997b9.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/DSC02837_zps866997b9.jpg.html)

[guidofatherof5]

Male. The injury looks like it is healing fine.

[jwolfe152]

ok cool, i hate sexing snakes i swear they look female when i hold it and male in the pics maybe im just doing more wishful thinking lol. that and i was not sure that males got that big but if he is this big then wow the girls are going to be, at least a little bigger, which makes me happy. i really like big snakes like the juvenile pythons how they are long and thick, but i dont like adult pythons they get to "fat" to much girth on them.

[guidofatherof5]

This thread can be very helpful. Scroll through the photos and guess, then look at the answer. Sexing garters is easy until it's not.;):D

[chris-uk]

these were taken with a sony cybershot DSC-W120 with the Carl Zeiss and i can't get it to take good close ups if you know how to use it and get a good close up with it let me know please lol

The Sony website says that your camera is capable of macro shots as close as 4cm when fully zoomed out (unfortunately it's 50cm fully zoomed in). I've not gone as far as downloading the manuals (big pdf files are a PITA on the phone) but at a guess there will be a button on the phone that puts the camera into macro mode, it's going to have a flower icon (looks like a tulip usually). In macro mode the camera will throw in some electronic trickery which allows it to focus much closer. You will want to use good ambient light and disable the flash, built-in flash and macro photography doesn't work.

[jwolfe152]

ok i will go download the manual and see what all i can do with it. i don't know why i didn't think to go do it in the first place :confused: oh and i happened to see a DNR (department of natural resources) officer at the post office across the street and i can collect garters anywhere except state property, and if i do decide to breed and sell all i need is a permit. now all i must do is see how much the permit is to see if its even worth it on a small scale.

[jwolfe152]

5 days now for the big one with the vent area clipped and i was holding him for a bit and i put him back in the tank watched him for a few minutes and he lifted the vent area like when they evacuate. well it didn't last long and i did not see or feel traces of urates or feces, but, he has yet to eat either. also a few minutes after that i cleaned the water dish and as soon as i sat it down he headed for it and started soaking. now he is very dull like Ekoh was before his shed(Ekoh also soaked the same way for a few days before he went blue), i am guessing it could be that he is soaking for his shed, or maybe, could it be where he tried to evacuate feces and that area is dry and hurts and is trying to soften the scab/dried muscle tissue?

[EasternGirl]

He is definitely a beauty...and I know what you mean about males and size...I also thought that any large garter I found around here must be female because I had never seen any large males...they were always significantly smaller than the females. But I have a large eastern that was brought to me last year...and I am almost positive it is male...he is almost as big as my large female. Your guy is definitely male...but if it makes you feel better, I am pretty bad at sexing snakes too.

Have you seen him actually defecate at all? The wound looks like it is healing, but if he is having trouble defecating, I would be concerned about an internal injury.

[guidofatherof5]

Not sure what substrate you are using but putting the snake on paper towels will allow to see any feces passed.

[jwolfe152]

no i have not seen him defecate at all but its only been 5 days and there is no way for me to know when he even ate last ya know. but when i first picked him up her urinated on me and then the next day he musked me pretty good, but, thats all liquid. what i am thinking of doing is going and getting some small fish because only one of 4 have ate since i have had them. i know it can take awhile for them to adjust but i want to do what i can to get them to eat asap.

[jwolfe152]

right now i got a thin layer of aspen shavings its pretty easy for me to see the feces in the other tanks but the paper towel would probably be better in case he is burrowing and going on the bottom underneath the aspen

[jwolfe152]

i got 4 pics of this blue eyed girl (im pretty sure its female, probably 90%, she has way more girth and shorter than Ekoh or the one with the clipped vent) what do you guys think


http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02847.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02847.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02848.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02848.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02849.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02849.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02850.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02850.jpg.html)


and here are just a few pics i snapped real quick

http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02852.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02852.jpg.html)
http://i1314.photobucket.com/albums/t579/jwolfe152/Snapbucket/DSC02853.jpg (http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/jwolfe152/media/Snapbucket/DSC02853.jpg.html)

[guidofatherof5]

#1- female
#2- female
#3- female
#4- female
#5- female
:D

[EasternGirl]

Yep...clearly female.

[jwolfe152]

alright i finally got one right, i guess that happens when ya always think female :rolleyes:

[jwolfe152]

wow i think with her being so close to shed i cant see any of her markings or anything. i can in the photos but just picking her up this morning i couldnt tell it was a garter because i can not see a single spot on her