Wandering Garter questions (Soaking and parasites)

[Lcrest]

I have a Wild-caught Wandering Garter that I've had for a day now. I had the habitat set up when I brought him home and was planning on leaving him alone in there for a few days (3-4) before attempting to feed him. While watching him today, I have noticed that he has soaked in his water bowl for a maybe a 1/3 of the day. He will explore around his tank, climb up some of the wood inside it, bask on a rock on the warmer side of the tank, take a dip for 5-10 minutes (sometimes longer) in his water container, then repeat the process all over again.

I've spent a good portion of today trying to figure out how much soaking is normal and how much is a sign that something is wrong.

Some information that may be helpful to note:


I've checked his temperature (around 75 degrees F on the warm side of the tank) and his humidity (about 60%). From what I can see they seem to be okay.
There are three hiding spots in the tank. One on the warm side of the tank, one in the middle, and in the cooler side of the tank. The cooler side seems to be the favored source for hiding but i'm not sure it that has more to do with the size or with the temperature. So far he goes there when he feels intimidated or wants to hide.
He doesn't have any symptoms of shedding so I don't think that this could be a problem either.
There are brown specs in his water bowl but I'm not sure if this is from mites or if it is just dirt from the rocks and wood in his enclosure. We tried to wash things off but it apparently didn't work as well as I had hoped.


How do I know if he has mites? I've looked under his chin, around his eyes, and generally along his body (trying to look under his scales) as he slithers by. So far I haven't seen any dark patches around his scales except for around his tail. These dark patches seem to be more of his patterning than of mites. I also wasn't able to see any movement of bugs on him. I wanted to try letting him soak in a different bowl and then dry him on a white t-shirt/paper towel but I figured that it isn't best to handle him quite yet as I just caught him yesterday and I'm trying keep him calm. I was hoping to clean his tank and monitoring his water afterward but the same problem of creating stress has stopped me.

How can I check to make sure my snake doesn't have mites?

Additionally, I have read some articles about quarantining my snake for about 60 days to prevent disease spread. My biggest concern is internal parasites (worms). Any advice on finding out if this snake has any (I don't see any bumps on the body outside) and any advice on effectively treating them? (parasites are something I'm pretty paranoid with so this is a big deal for me)

[guidofatherof5]

Hello.

Take a wet, white paper towel and hold it tightly around the snake. Just tight enough so the snake can force its way out. Do that a couple times then inspect the paper towel for mites. Look for anything moving, very small black spots. Use a magnifying lens if possible as young mites are microscopic.
Is the snake doing any scraping along the ground/substrate?

Be sure to introduce yourself in the "Welcome Lounge" so that we may give you a proper hello. I will also give you a link to the care sheet which is always a good read.
Welcome Lounge (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/welcome-lounge/)

Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

[chris-uk]

A few of my garters spent a lot of time in their water bowls while they were settling in. They slowly started spending more time out of their bowls. Something you may be unaware of is the length of time they can spend completely submerged, I've timed one of mine under water for over ten minutes. The first time I saw one spend that long under water I prodded to check he was still alive.

Do the check for mites that Steve suggested, it's certainly worth knowing what you may have to deal with.

[Lcrest]

Thank you Steve. :) I'll try that out.

And No, I don't see him doing any scraping but I'll keep an eye out for that.

[joeysgreen]

In the wild gartersnakes often flea to the water to escape predators; hence the water dish may actually be the preferred hide in this case. Further, it could simply be where he is used to finding food.

Do you have other snakes/reptiles? There is a quarantine discussion in another thread; find and read it.

Your wild caught snake has parasites. They all do. If you are paranoid, take it and a fresh fecal sample to your reptile experienced veterinarian.

Ian

[guidofatherof5]

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/7224-quarantine-talk-thread.html

[Lcrest]

Thank you for information on the water dish. I was really concerned about that one.

I've read most of the quarantine discussion already. Thank you.

I will look into that. Thank you. :)