I recently moved to South Jordan, Utah from Riverton, Utah. In our old home we had lots of garter snakes and I tried keeping one once and couldn't get it to eat any bugs (I didn't do any research) so I let it go. When I was over at an old neighbor's house recently they saw a snake and were going to kill it so I rescued it and was planning on letting it loose in my new yard.

My 7 year old daughter, Toria, got really attached to it and named it Sammy and we decided to keep it. At the time I really didn't know anything about snakes, but I've been trying to research them and found a really good book at the library called, "Garter and Ribbon Snakes" by R.D. Bartlett. I am going to buy a copy to keep.

We bought a 10 gallon aquarium and some repti-bark, a half log and large water dish for Sammy's new home. I also bought some frozen pinky mice and got to feed Sammy the first time on Mother's day. It kindof grossed me out having to deal with the dead rodent, but I was amazed watching Sammy eat. It took about 10 minutes with one rewarm the first time, but now Sammy is gobbling his pinkies within about 10 seconds of being placed in the cage.

I'm not sure whether Sammy is a boy or a girl so I'll refer to Sammy as a male so I don't have to keep using his name. I've been feeding him about every five days, but I'm not sure that is enough. I've been afraid to feed him worms or fish because of the parasite issue, but I want to varry his diet. The people at Petsmart told me they prefer gold fish, but I didn't buy any because I wanted to do more research. They haven't heard of anyone being successful using worms so I haven't tried that either.

This morning Toria came in and told me Sammy's eyes were blue. When I checked him he was hiding under his log and seemed very anxious about being held which is unusual for Sammy. He doesn't musk on us and rarely defacates in his cage. His eyes were glazed over and a blueish color.

After doing some research I found that this is an indicator of shedding. I'm leaving to go out of town next Thursday and I'm concerned that I won't be here when Sammy sheds. My mother-in-law is going to be here taking care of my kids, and she's afraid of snakes so my kids will have to care for Sammy. I'm hoping that he'll shed before we go.

From what I've read the shed should be one long piece and should include the eyes and tail tip. They shed skin should be removed from his habitat immediately. That is all I've found out so far.

Sammy does have some bumps and scars, and I'd assume that is from being in the wild, but I also read on this forum about parasitic worms being a problem. I need to find a good vet to take Sammy to for a check up. Does anyone here know a good reptile vet in the Salt Lake County Area? Would it be best to wait until after the shed to take Sammy in?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'd love to find a herpetology group that meets in my area. Are there any resources I could use to find a group like that?

Sorry this was so long and thanks so much!