Thoughts on the color of this wild caught garter in NE.

[Tommytradix]

they are not mites and looks like a white sided from where im sitting.

[guidofatherof5]

I can't comment on proventamite as I have never used it, but in all of my years I have never caught a wc snake with snake mites so hopefully it's just dirt. Usually snake mites are contracted from other collections or reptile shops or shows. I have found snakes with ticks on them and even a few with small leaches in their mouth, but never any with snake mites. Now internal parasites is a different story. I do agree with Steve that the animal should be quarantined and monitored closely though to make sure it's not mites. I have treated mites in the past and they are a pain in the neck, but with proper treatment can be eliminated. I do daily soaks and get as many visible mites off the snake as possible and cage change every day with paper towels as the substrate. What i'm about to say is how I treat my arrivals that have visible snake mites, but I am not in anyway recommending this to anyone just giving my opinion on how I treat mine. I use a hotshot no pest strip in a well ventilated cage twice a day for 15-20 minutes and have never had any problems with this method. I know people have had bad reactions with no pest strips too, but most of them left the no pest strips in too long or didn't have enough ventilation. Bottom line is toxic chemicals are dangerous to anyone and should be used with caution as a last resort. I have also used mineral oil on eyes and infested cavities to smother them out. I hope a breeder gets this snake and can reproduce it! I feel in my heart that the pied eastern a few years back was indeed a recessive trait. I just wonder if it ever produced babies or if it died and the owner did something shady to recoup the money they lost. I guess we will never know!

I've caught garters in NE with mites before.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

That's strange. I guess we just don't have a big problem with mites in wc snakes here in sc. I know i have caught thousands of snakes here and have never found one with mites on it. Most of the time though if i get one from a pet shop or show they have mites.

i've caught garters in ne with mites before.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

White sideds usualy have somewhat of a normal pattern on top. This ones pattern is all distorted. Also whitesideds usually have cleaner white sides with very little pattern. I would lean towards pied, but until more visual offspring are produced it's hard to tell. What color are the eyes?

they are not mites and looks like a white sided from where im sitting.

[Albert Clark]

they are not mites and looks like a white sided from where im sitting.

They should be treated as mites until proven otherwise. A picture can be telling but visual inspection is what vets and medical establishments go by.

[guidofatherof5]

These are the main areas that made me think mites.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

It's something that's for sure. Looks like either mites or dirt and the big patch even kind of looks like a stuck piece of shed.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

WHERE ARE YOU SITTING TOMMY? LOL! SORRY, I HAD TO DO IT.

they are not mites and looks like a white sided from where im sitting.