pet shop near me has garters

[diane1888]

Hi, I just phoned my local pet shop, its not the best but hey ho. It jas garters,the guy said they are just eastern garters,then he added red side in..he said they are last years and he only feeds them grubs n worms which I didn't think was varied enough. They are £29.99 . Doea this sound like fair price or better to get one from this years lot somewhere?

[drache]

you should get in touch with Greg (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/member.php?u=2733) - he's in Scotland (in Perth) and may know more about sources there

[gregmonsta]

Hi, I just phoned my local pet shop, its not the best but hey ho. It jas garters,the guy said they are just eastern garters,then he added red side in..he said they are last years and he only feeds them grubs n worms which I didn't think was varied enough. They are £29.99 . Doea this sound like fair price or better to get one from this years lot somewhere?

I just answered your PM prior to finding this post :D .... first of all I'm fairly certain that these will be WC. It's rare for CB to make it to the shops up here, but I may be wrong. If you see any scale damage/scars small lumps here and there they will definatley, without doubt be WC.

The diet they've been using is terrible. As I've 'rescued' a ribbon snake which was WC from a shop you would be looking at doing the following -

- Quaranteen and fecal checks.
- Moving onto a better diet with supplementation of vits and calcium (the shop diet will have been very low in calcium unless supplemented).
- The person you spoke to doesn't seem very certain of species/sub-species so you also want to get a proper ID on the snakes you buy (especially if you're considering breeding in the future).
- £29.99 is the average price of WC in the majority of pet shops in Britain (considering they will have cost the shop between £4-£6). A private sale from a breeder would be cheaper depending on colour,etc yet delivery/courier options will mark that price up - but you also know that it's CB.

There's every chance a WC snake will do well for you if you take the actions above. It's your choice :)

[ConcinusMan]

Hey greg, you forgot to mention the signs of a healthy garter vs. a distressed and unhealthy one. If you buy one, choose carefully.

There's no reason at all that a WC garter cannot be in perfect health and make a fine pet, even if they have internal parasites but when you get a wild snake and put it through all kinds of stress and poor diet for an extended period of time, like what could be the case here, then I wouldn't buy it. There are signs to look for when choosing a healthy snake.

Anyone want to list the signs to look for? I gotta go for now.

[diane1888]

Hey,I ended up getting the snake. He's went from a small dirty cage to a 4ft viv. I had to give him a bath, I think he enjoyed it. If I sit next to the viv he comes out his hide and sits uo at the glass wherever I am. Hes very active, eats like theres no tomorrow. I know I maybe shud have left it a bit before feeding but the shop hadn't been feeding him right. He'd never had fish or pinkies, just a worm every few days. I fed him n he kept going bk to the food bowl and hitting his head off it then looking at me lol. Greedy bugger. He ate a worm out my hand too. He's sleeping in his warm hide just now. Only concern I have is some bits on his body..there's three.....not lumps or sores but its like rough bits where it looks like his scales have been pulled the wrong way if that makes sence...only 3 small bits reat of him is fine and he is a great snake. Ill try n put pics up.

[diane1888]

http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz5/diane1888/2010-05-19200241.jpghttp://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz5/diane1888/2010-05-19200257.jpghttp://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz5/diane1888/2010-05-17181206.jpgsorry not the best quality

[ConcinusMan]

He looks young and in pretty good shape. The wound doesn't look bad. I wouldn't worry too much about that.