New Checkered Baby ♥

[kimbosaur]

I decided to drive down to the reptile store on Thursday to check out what they had. I couldn't resist taking this baby home. According to the guy, it's a "she" but I'll have to get a tail pic to see what you guys think.

She's been great so far! At one point she came straight out of the dixie cup and onto my hand. She seems very curious and will chill on my hand just looking around at her surroundings. She also took silversides straight from my fingers this morning. Currently, she's in a little 2.5 gallon aquarium. I plan on moving her into a 5g that I need to empty/clean later today.

These were taken the day I brought her home :




To get an idea of size, those squares are almost exactly 1 inch. Yay for ugly sheets.






The light is an LED that produces some heat - not enough to get burned when touched though.

The petstore guy said that she was feeding on pinkies and goldfish. I'm worried because those feeder fish can be pretty gross. Do you think it's necessary to de-worm her, or just wait til she's a little older?

[Mrs N1ntndo]

Shes very pretty . I love her markings. Congrats on the new addition.

[chris-uk]

It's not good if they've been feeding her goldfish. Probably OK if it's had pinkies mixed in though, but you should avoid goldfish. Not sure about worming her, someone else with greater knowledge will give advice on that.
Pretty snake though. I like checkereds.

[snakehill]

How COULD you resist! What a cutie!!!

[Mrs N1ntndo]

I agree about the goldfish . Sorry I didnt say anything before cause I seem to have missed that part. Goldfish are a no no for sure. I have heard that a lot on here. But like I said before she is very very pretty.

[guidofatherof5]

Good looking snake.
She's probably under enough stress settling in to her new home.
You can probably wait awhile on the de-worming but it would be wise to get it done at some point so you have some peace of mind.
An underside tail photo would help determine the sex of your little treasure. Here's a link to a thread that will show you what to look for.
This way you can do-it-yourself or post the appropriate photos and we'll help.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/bree...xing-pics.html

[kimbosaur]

Thanks guys!

It's not good if they've been feeding her goldfish. Probably OK if it's had pinkies mixed in though, but you should avoid goldfish.

I know, I was iffy when he told me that but I figured it should be okay if I stop feeding them. I used to be really into fish-keeping and even those fancy goldies sold as pets are almost always filled with all sorts of nasties. Even if goldfish were a "safe" fish, I would still avoid them.

You can probably wait awhile on the de-worming but it would be wise to get it done at some point so you have some peace of mind.

I think that's what I'll do. Thanks for the advice!

An underside tail photo would help determine the sex of your little treasure. Here's a link to a thread that will show you what to look for.
This way you can do-it-yourself or post the appropriate photos and we'll help.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/bree...xing-pics.html

I'm going to wait until I move her to the other tank. I feel like I'm bugging her too much.

[Chondro788]

Good looking snake.
She's probably under enough stress settling in to her new home.
You can probably wait awhile on the de-worming but it would be wise to get it done at some point so you have some peace of mind.
An underside tail photo would help determine the sex of your little treasure. Here's a link to a thread that will show you what to look for.
This way you can do-it-yourself or post the appropriate photos and we'll help.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/bree...xing-pics.html

This is not say Steve is wrong, or deworming is wrong, this is just how I see it.

I know deworming them can give us peace of mind, but in other species I have found deworming, when not a neccesity, can be very hard on the animal. Even with WC, I like to watch them for a long time before I decide to do a deworming. I lost a few chondros and emeralds back in the day due to deworming. And you must remember, some bacteria in your snake is good. There are lots of normal flora which are killed off when we deworm our snakes, and it is my opinion that the snake needs some of these and that is where the harmful part comes in.

I by no means am an expert, nor a vet, but this is just in my experience. On the other hand, I have had snakes with parasite loads and I had no choice but to deworm, and they did fine. I just never consider it as "must" just because the animal was WC or "could" have worms/parasites.

[kimbosaur]

Not that they will change but you might inform the pet shop about the dangers of recommending and feeding Goldfish to garter snakes.
At least they would have been warned.
Just an idea.

I didn't even think of saying anything to them. If I ever go back, I'll be sure to casually bring it up.

Very nice T. marcianus. Looks to be female, just a guess. Great to read that she is feeding so soon,they do grow quickly so plan on a larger housing unit in the near future. again congratulations!

Thanks! I have a few empty tanks lying around. I just like the 5 gallon for now because it seems like a good size for her. I feel like she'd get lost in a 10.

I just never consider it as "must" just because the animal was WC or "could" have worms/parasites.

I guess I'll keep an eye on her and see how things go. Thanks for the input.

[ConcinusMan]

This is not say Steve is wrong, or deworming is wrong, this is just how I see it.

I know deworming them can give us peace of mind, but in other species I have found deworming, when not a neccesity, can be very hard on the animal. Even with WC, I like to watch them for a long time before I decide to do a deworming.

Agreed. She's too small and young to go through deworming. Never do it on a snake that young, and observe any WC adult and get them eating well first. Only if they appear to be in relative good health.

Just get her on a proper rich diet no thiaminase period and she'll be OK. She probably won't need deworming and if she does, it won't be until much later. You need to wait until she puts on size. Just my opinion. Even if she did pick something up she's not in immediate danger.