Bad Luck

[Quibble]

Well I am sort of distraught about recent problems I've endured. I thought someone would be interested in hearing about this, perhaps someone has some words of wisdom to keep my spirits up. I appologise in advance for any rambling.

It all started with my first group of garter snakes from July of '09: 1.1 puget sounds, 1.0 oregon red spotted, and 1.0 plains. And of course my garage monster Gimpie (female butler's) who I had a few months prior.

Within 3 months of owning the group of 4, my female puget (who arrived with a lump in her back) stopped eating, became thin and ultimately parished. I didnt worry too much, assumed she was previously injured and it was her time. Soon after that, the male puget recieved the same fate. I assumed the shipping was too much stress on him.

Things seemed to be going well up until this past Month. My Gimpie began eating minimal ammounts, lost a lot of weight, then stopped eating. She was deficating small bloody spots before she lost her fight and passed. Being so focused on her I failed to notice these early signs in Quentin, my plains garter. Before I knew it he was going limp. Luckily I got him in to see a vet, unfortunately, he was passing as we got into the office.

SO...

There was no examination charge, because he was dieing on the table. However, the vet offered to keep him untill he was completely gone and do a free necropsy and see what she could find.
Next day I get a call and hear they were able to find a small ammount of stool to test and they found a parasite. Now this may not have been THE ONLY fatal problem, but its all I could afford to have them look for. (its $100-$300 for lab tests.)

They tell me it was Spirochetes. Another vet told me this and didnt even spell it right. Through my research it is a parasite mainly spread by ticks, but I cant find anything more specific, and they dont know much more than I could assume on my own. But hey I have to trust the pro's (as hard as it is for me to truly trust anyone).

In a desperate attempt to make things right, my last two garters will be taken 2 more times for deworming meds. This includes Ralph, and Akasha (axanthic plains f/ Scott Felzer) who has been kept in an entirely different room as the others, fed different times, and used uncontaminated equipment for the entire time i've had her - because shes the youngest and I have confidence in her good history. I couldnt forgive myself if somehow she had come into contact by mistake with something infected from the others and I didnt prevent it.

So by the time I'm done with these two I would have spent over $200. (A logical part of me could replace everyone for that price.) And Im not even positive this will fix everything.
It sure would be a great time to have a job. Especialy one thats not temporary.

Thanks for reading, any and all input is welcome, in fact appreciated.

[gartermorphs]

thats awful I hope your others are okay i cant say much else but i would have brought themto the vet a tad faster but I think you've realized this


anyways I know this is really off subject but have any of you guys noticed how many beths there are on this forum its kinda wierd

[guidofatherof5]

Very sorry to hear about your troubles and losses. Keeping these garters is a learning experience and one that at times is sad.
It sounds like you are doing what you can to make sure this type of thing won't happen again. There are so many things we don't know when it comes to garters. It seems no real studies have been done about the diseases of garter snakes.
Hang in there.

[Quibble]

There are so many things we don't know when it comes to garters. It seems no real studies have been done about the diseases of garter snakes.
Hang in there.

Thank you, Steve. That same sad fact is also what draws me to garters. The fact that they are so misunderstood makes me want to be a part of the learning process. Someday I hope to rule the world with my insignificant revelations!

[infernalis]

So sorry Beth, hope things start looking up soon.

[drache]

how awful
I sure hope your other two will be fine

[snakeman]

Nothing you did wrong.Even if they go off feed.That is totally normal.Every summer half of my snakes go off feed.It is very hard to tell when they are sick.