Help Identifying These?

[DMilms]

Sry, meant checkered eastern garter snake, lol. here are a few more pics of her, and also about the skin sores, when i mist, i use a hand mister, at an angle, and the substrate gets a bit wet, but then i mist straight down onto the very recently put in moss. could she has two hides, and the space under the water bowl that are dry, but could her crawling over the wet substrate cause skin sores? btw, does anybody have problems posting repsonses or threads with chrome, and pictures through photobucket?
pics
top views
IMG_20120129_150342.jpg picture by DMilms - Photobucket
IMG_20120117_193233.jpg picture by DMilms - Photobucket
and a pic of the tank. if you have any comments on it, feel free
IMG_20120129_150514.jpg picture by DMilms - Photobucket
btw, how do you guys feed you garters, because mine can take a full small pinky, and i give her one about once a week, with a 36 ish hour rest period after ingestion. from that feeding, what should the growth rates be? also i forgot to mention that i got her from a nearby reptile lover, who bred garters small scale

[guidofatherof5]

Photo # 5 of his photo bucket album shows a good photo for lateral ID.

[EasternGirl]

There are eastern garters and checkered garters...two different species . Your snake is an eastern garter...T. s. sirtalis. If the substrate is just getting a little moist and then drying quickly, that is fine. You just don't want it to be wet and to stay wet so that she sits in wet substrate for extended periods...that can lead to sores. How big is your snake and about how old is she?

[DMilms]

i got her in september and was told she was a mid july baby. last time she shed, i measured it at 12 inches, but now she may have grown more, just over a foot or so. also, i found her sleeping the the moss today, and she is doesn't really have one predetermined place to stay, she moves a lot. the substrate literally dries out in less than 10 minutes, and i am planning on cutting out a piece of plexi that will make a 3 sided rim around the tank except for one side which will have a hole for the light to shine in to heat the tank. this will hopefully help the humidity. lastly, she hasnt eaten for a while, at all, ofr over a month since 2 weeks ago, now eating fine, so could that have anything to do with it?
thank you

[guidofatherof5]

I did notice in one of your photobucket photos that the pinky had a piece of bark stuck to it.
That bark can cause an impaction which can be deadly.
It's very important that no substrate is ingested.

[DMilms]

she didnt eat the bark but she is very funny about eating. my other snake will eat in a different enclosure, but my garter will actually just grab the food in her mouth, climb out of her feeding box, and slither over to her tank, and just sit by the side until i put her in. then and only then will she eat the food . i am very careful when feeding them, and actually watch them until they eaither finish the food completely, or decide not to eat it. my deakys actually ate a piece a bit too big, and two days later ended up throwing the entire thing up

[EasternGirl]

Well it sounds like she is about the same age as my Hermes...but a bit bigger. He eats a half a pinky or a half a pinky's worth of worms or fish every 2-3 days. If she is eating a whole pinky now...I would say give her a whole pinky about every 4 days...or the equivalent of that in fish or worms. Maybe try putting some paper towels down on top of her substrate in her tank when she eats...or a hand towel...just watch that she doesn't take the food under it. I'm not sure what you are asking. Could her not eating have anything to do with what you are seeing on her vent and skin?

[DMilms]

thanks for your help, im trying to figure out what is happening with the vent, but it doesnt seem to be affecting her. she is soooo picky though, like i just tried to feed her, and instead of going for her mouse, she went for a worm instead . guess she just wasnt that hungry :/ btw, she IS eating, so that is not what im concerned about. btw, could those black spots and the thing happening with the vent be from thiamese? i fed her rosy red minnows for a few feeding, maybe in total 13 little fish because there was a time when she wouldnt eat anything else, so i gave her those.
thank you-David

[guidofatherof5]

could those black spots and the thing happening with the vent be from thiamese? i fed her rosy red minnows for a few feeding, maybe in total 13 little fish because there was a time when she wouldnt eat anything else, so i gave her those.
thank you-David

I doubt it David.

[guidofatherof5]

could those black spots and the thing happening with the vent be from thiamese? i fed her rosy red minnows for a few feeding, maybe in total 13 little fish because there was a time when she wouldnt eat anything else, so i gave her those.
thank you-David

Sorry for my other short post.

I've never heard of thiaminase poisoning showing in any visual change to the snake affected by it.