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  1. #11
    Forum Moderator Stefan-A's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    Quote Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe View Post
    I will assure you that these guys are NOT deprived of thiamine! they have been this way since birth, and they are constantly pumped with vitamins and i specifically buy the one with the highest thiamine content. I do not feed gold fish or F/t fish, just rosy reds and pinky parts. As well as your occasional worm lol! Mom herself never did anything like this nor ever showed signs of a thiamine problem. Trust me, I have seen the havoc thiamine deficiency wreaks on a garter snake. I tried to save someone else's pet but it was too late...
    I don't doubt you, I just meant that stargazing might have another meaning when talking about garters, compared to corns.

  2. #12
    Subadult snake
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    Stargazing does in fact refer to the symptoms - ie the way the snakes seem to look upwards. I posted a link to this on the corn snake site and a breeder there that knows the most about stargazing in corn snakes and is also a vet brought up an excellent point. The mother of these babies was ill while she was gravid so it is very likey that the babies were infected by a virus and there was some neurological damage.

    The only way to know would be to do a necropsy. You could breed the male to his Mom and you would expect half the babies to be like him.

    Joanna
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  3. #13
    Moderator adamanteus's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    In my experience thiamin deficiency causes rather more extreme symptoms, such as convulsing and a more 'cork-screw' type of locomotion. In advanced cases I have seen Garters coil themselves so tightly that they actually prolapse. If the snake were new to you, I would suspect early deficiency, but in view of the time you've had them and your familiarity with correct diet, I would guess this is a simple birth defect brought about through selective in-breeding. As Roy suggested, a recessive gene.
    James.

  4. #14
    Forum Moderator aSnakeLovinBabe's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    lol sorry but I'm not going to breed him to anything! and im not sending him off to no lab!!! because even if i were to do that it would just mean more snakes that have to live with a disorder of some sort. I am quite content just keeping him here and giving him the best possible life, upside down.

    Like I said, Mom was very ill and I believe that the illness was what caused this malfunction. Like I said she had a LOT of infertile slugs come out too. Almost 15!

    Mom and dad were for sale right next to their last litter when i picked them up! all 30 something of them looked fine! i do not beleive this is a genetic defect as this pair is 4 years old and previous offspring appeared normal. Normal breeding is scheduled to commence in about 3 weeks when I bring them out of brumation. I do not expect this year's litter to have any problems.

  5. #15
    Moderator adamanteus's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    Quote Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe View Post
    a LOT of infertile slugs come out too. Almost 15!

    So that would be.... what? About 14?
    James.

  6. #16
    Subadult snake
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    Quote Originally Posted by aSnakeLovinBabe View Post
    lol sorry but I'm not going to breed him to anything! and im not sending him off to no lab!!! because even if i were to do that it would just mean more snakes that have to live with a disorder of some sort. I am quite content just keeping him here and giving him the best possible life, upside down.

    Like I said, Mom was very ill and I believe that the illness was what caused this malfunction. Like I said she had a LOT of infertile slugs come out too. Almost 15!

    Mom and dad were for sale right next to their last litter when i picked them up! all 30 something of them looked fine! i do not beleive this is a genetic defect as this pair is 4 years old and previous offspring appeared normal. Normal breeding is scheduled to commence in about 3 weeks when I bring them out of brumation. I do not expect this year's litter to have any problems.
    I certainly agree that it sounds like this happened because she was ill. I was not suggesting that you do anything to prove if this was genetic but discussing the ways in which you could do it.

    Good luck with this years litter.
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  7. #17
    Thamnophis Addict Sid's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    The little guy is definately unique. The important thing is he's healthy and looks great. Never seen the behavior in a Garter.
    Sid
    9.14 T. s sirtalis, 2.2. T. ordinoides, 1.1 T. e vagrans, 1.1 T. s parietalis,
    1.0 T. s sackenii- Peninsular Ribbon

  8. #18
    Subadult snake Serpentine99's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    cool little garter you got there, best to luck with him in the future, also how does he eat?
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  9. #19
    Forum Moderator aSnakeLovinBabe's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    he eats like a pig. He eats every three days, he gets rosies and pinky chunks. He will gorge until he looks like a little sometimes-upside-down sausage.

  10. #20
    Subadult snake Serpentine99's Avatar
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    Re: a very "special" checkered garter....

    what i mean is does he eat upside down as well?
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