Would like to buy a 2nd garter?

[RedSidedSPR]

I would like to buy a second garter. I currently have 1 male red-sided garter.
I don't have very much room for another 20gal tank.
That makes me think it would be easier to just put him in with my other snake.
It would be hard for me just go and buy a second tank, whether it's for a second snake or for quarantine, but I will if I need too.
As for quarantine:
1. Is it necessary?
2. How big would the quarantine tank have to be?
3. How long would I have to quarantine?

And if you can handle it, are there any snakes that should NOT be in the same tank with my other snake(red sided)?

Sorry. That was a lot of stuff to answer...

[mb90078]

The easiest thing to do would be to get a second captive bred male garter of similar size, and to be safe, one that isn't known for showing occasional cannibalism.

If you do that, you can probably skip quarantine, provided it is purchased from someone you trust. You can always get a small plastic box to use for a feeding tank, or as an emergency holding area if you ever need to separate them.

[guidofatherof5]

I feel quarantine period should be observed no matter who the seller is.
Second guessing a good quarantine policy can lead to disaster. Just my opinion.

Check out www.craigslist.com (http://www.craigslist.com) in your area for some usually cheap reptile supplies.

[RedSidedSPR]

All it is, is looking for signs of illness, right? So if you know he's healthy what is there that would be noticeable? Not excusing quarantine at all, just curious to what I would really be looking for...

I've looked at craigslist. They don't have anything cheaper then I'd find anywhere else.

[guidofatherof5]

All it is, is looking for signs of illness, right? So if you know he's healthy what is there that would be noticeable? Not excusing quarantine at all, just curious to what I would really be looking for...

I've looked at craigslist. They don't have anything cheaper then I'd find anywhere else.

Yes and no.
You're looking for signs of illness and any illness developing. Your watching stools to normality. Watching for parasites both internal and external. Watching for abnormal behavior.

There are many great breeders/friends on this forum and I trust them but I also have a very strict quarantine policy that applies to all.
No disrespect to any of them or their snakes.
Quarantine has to be a policy for all new snakes no matter what.

[Stefan-A]

Essentially, you're waiting to see if the new animal dies from any illness.

You don't know if the animal is healthy and you can't tell without testing, that's why you need the quarantine period to see whether it develops any symptoms. Only after you've had it long enough, that it should have already shown some if it were sick, is it safe to introduce it to the ones you have. The minimum recommended is 2-3 months.

[RedSidedSPR]

That just seems excessively long, but okay.... You make it seem like I'll kill my snake if I put a new one in there, so I guess I kind of have to. So I will. When I get one.
Does the quarantine tank have to be very big? What's recommended size?

And your saying that any snake that's not cannibalistic, I can put in with him. No wandering garters or whatever, but I can put, lets say, a black-necked garter in?

[guidofatherof5]

That just seems excessively long, but okay.... You make it seem like I'll kill my snake if I put a new one in there,

That is what quarantines are to hopefully keep from happening.

Same sex, same relative size.

[mb90078]

Let me clarify, I do highly recommend following a quarantine. Like anything, you can take a calculated risk, and minimize the risk as much as possible. But yes, a quarantine is a good idea.

A male black neck of similar size should be able to coexist with your male red sided.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

I once had a customer who bought about 7 snakes from me. He kept them for over a year and they were all perfectly healthy. He brought home a pair of gaboon vipers from a reptile show that he put in the same room with all his other snakes without being cautious he didn't know they had mites which spread some type of disease that killed his whole collection. I felt sorry when i heard the story so i gave him a new snake. You should always quarantine every new reptile. Problems don't always show up when you first examine a snake.

[sirtalis01]

if you wait some time ill give you a nice baby albino checkerd all you have to do is pay for the shipping....they should be born at the end of may....:)

[RedSidedSPR]

if you wait some time ill give you a nice baby albino checkerd all you have to do is pay for the shipping....they should be born at the end of may....:)

Appreciate it, but I'll probably go with Scott Felzer. I live only a few miles away, so I wont have to pay shipping.

[RedSidedSPR]

So, how big would the quarantine tank have to be? Could I just find a used 10gallon and be okay?

[BLUESIRTALIS]

A ten gallon would work just fine.

[RedSidedSPR]

That makes it easier..

[RedSidedSPR]

What if the one I already have is the one that's unhealthy (not that he is). I mean, what if I quarantine the new one, but he's perfectly healthy, while my other isn't.... How would I know... by just watching him?
What do I watch for exactly (on any snake)?
And let's say the one I have is unhealthy, and I put a new (supposedly healthy, after quarantine) snake in. Could they both die (or get sick or whatever), or just the new/heathy one that I put in?
This is confusing.:rolleyes:

[mb90078]

You have to study their behavior, their physical condition (skin, eye, size, etc), and their fecal matter. But true, even then, you can't know for sure that the one you have is in perfect health without a vet visit.

To your second question, yes, the one you have right now could potentially have a slowly progressing disease, and could get the other one sick and both could potentially die. However, the chances of this happening are not overly large. It goes back to what I was saying earlier...there's always a risk, but you have to weigh the risks, and minimize the probabilities as much as possible.

[RedSidedSPR]

That's what I thought.

So what would I look for in fecal matter? And a few pointers of what to look for everywhere else would be a help. That's one thing I don't know a lot about with snakes, looking for signs of unhealthiness... Besides behavior.
Thanks

[ConcinusMan]

That makes it easier..

So does using a liner, paper towels, or newspaper. Makes it easier to monitor feces and watch for buggies.;)

[ConcinusMan]

if you wait some time ill give you a nice baby albino checkerd all you have to do is pay for the shipping....they should be born at the end of may....:)

Well, besides the other things we talked about, I am short one albino male checkered. ;) The male that was intended to go with my 2010 checkereds (pastel and albino females) died before I could get him.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

I don't want you to get discouraged it is very important to quarantine, but most of the highly dangerous diseases that wipe out collections usually run in boas and pythons. I think as long as you get a nice healthy snake and quarantine for three or four months you should be ok.

[RedSidedSPR]

I don't want you to get discouraged it is very important to quarantine, but most of the highly dangerous diseases that wipe out collections usually run in boas and pythons. I think as long as you get a nice healthy snake and quarantine for three or four months you should be ok.

I'm sure I will... My only concern now is I don't very much of what to look for during quarantine.
Bugs... but other than that I just don't know what to look for.


So does using a liner, paper towels, or newspaper. Makes it easier to monitor feces and watch for buggies.;)

Not to mention, substrate is freakin' expensive. I'll definitely use something like that.

[ConcinusMan]

Oh c'mon, it's not that bad. Amazon.com: Carefresh Store Use Only 60 Liter: Kitchen & Dining (http://tinyurl.com/Carefresh-cheap-Amazon)

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Don't stress this so much it's not that hard. All you need to do is put the snake in a container lined with paper towels and monitor the snake. Watch for irregular behaviours like head movements and tongue flicks. Keep him in quarantine for a couple of months. Watch for mites and check his stools. You're doing great.

[RedSidedSPR]

Oh c'mon, it's not that bad. Amazon.com: Carefresh Store Use Only 60 Liter: Kitchen & Dining (http://tinyurl.com/Carefresh-cheap-Amazon)

You mean the price isn't that bad? I agree. But it aint cheap when you have to buy knew every month.
But can I ask, what bedding do you use? I was watching one of your YouTube videos, and you said you use natural substrate...


Don't stress this so much it's not that hard. All you need to do is put the snake in a container lined with paper towels and monitor the snake. Watch for irregular behaviours like head movements and tongue flicks. Keep him in quarantine for a couple of months. Watch for mites and check his stools. You're doing great.

Trust me, I'm not stressing it. But when you say "irregular head movemernts", I have no clue what you mean. Check his stools? What do I check for? That's the only concern I have now. But I'll learn those, I guess.
Thanks for your help. (and you really did help.)

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Have you had your other snake for a long time? If so you probably know more about normal behaviour than you think. Just watch how he acts. What do you feed the one you have.

[RedSidedSPR]

I've had him for about 6 months.. maybe more.
I feed him fish and nightcrawlers. twice a week he gets 7-10 fish, and a worm or two. I'd like to start feeding him pinkies... again the price gets me. I don't have any local petstores other than petsmart/petco. Which sucks.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

If you go to the local reptile shows when they come you can buy 100 big frozen pinkys for around $30.00. Once they eat mice they don't have to eat as much.
Feeding frozen thawed mice you don't have to worry about parasites.

[RedSidedSPR]

I can't find any local pet shows that are here or coming any time soon, but that's good to know. I'm not too worried about that though, I'll get that figured out. And I'm sure I'll get the other stuff figured out too.
All the stuff you've told me has definitely helped. I always thought it was more complicated than that. I know it's not now, and I'm sure I'll be ok with quarantine. Thanks for your help on that.

Still... the substrate is still a problem. I think I'll just use Aspen....

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Some people go to lowes and buy bags of cyprus mulch make sure they don't have any pestcides or miracle grow just natural cyprus mulch and it works real well and looks natural. If you use cyprus mulch you should freeze it or bake first though, but you can get a big bag for around 3 or 4 bucks.

[RedSidedSPR]

Awesome. It'll be that or Aspen.

And I was wrong, there is a reptile show coming on the 30th. I'll go check it out.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Reptile shows are lots of fun. I hope you enjoy.

[RedSidedSPR]

I will. I just realized you have to pay admission. Shucks:D