4 Newcomers

[guidofatherof5]

Shedding

Make sure they have access to water immediately.

[Finalflash50]

They have access alright. They all went straight to the water immediately and gulped down all they could. I've never seen a snake's jaws move like that. They were thirsty. Anyway how long should they remain in quarantine? What I did is I separated them in different plastic containers, but I was debating if I should put them together or not, since they were together in the lab, the transfer to my container, and the ride home.

I just hope they all want to eat the same thing.

There's a funny story. The hole that is in this container had already been there I guess for the food that it is meant to contain. I taped over it in a way that the breeze would still get in, and the snakes couldn't get out. When I got home, I took the tape off, and came to these forums for information. I looked at the snakes when the page was loading, and there were only 3 inside. The 4th one, the biggest, was chilling on my desk next to the container. I just laughed, picked him up and put him back in. He didn't struggle a bit either. He's the one that is shedding.

Now for some description on the snakes.

One of them is about the same size as lightning, but a smaller head. Unlike lightning, his side stripe does not connect with the color on the bottom of him like on lightning. It is a separate stripe. He has the signature 3 garter snake stripes. The traditional dark green/blackish color, with the bright orange/yellowish stripes. He is a very good looking snake with shiny scales.

There are two that look identical. They are both very small. Smaller heads than lightning, and they are probably 2 inches shorter, which is very small. They look the same as the other one in color. They are both very active. These are the only two I am going to have trouble telling apart.

The last, but not least, the big one. I can tell this is the oldest of them. He has a bigger head, and body than all of the other ones. He is colored differently. He has more of a minty green color to his stripes. Also, his side stripes connect to his bottom color in the same way Lightning's does. He also has the orange color towards his neck and head. I think this one is genetically the closest to lightning. He is colored the most similar (With the exception of the green.)

They are all beautiful snakes. None of them show any aggression at all. I'm happy to have such a sweet bunch of garters. I am looking forward to the next few months when the quarantine finishes and I can hopefully combine their homes.

[Dan72]

Well I'm new to this so I'm sure someone with experience will jump in here for this one. BUt IMO, my understanding of quarantining new animals is to not infect your collection be that 1 or 100 snakes with anything the new animals may pass on. So if they were all together up until now I would think they could stay that way. Might even be less stress for them in trying to get used to their new environment.

[guidofatherof5]

There are different sides to this housing coin. Separating them during quarantine allows for individual observation, which is a good thing.
Keeping them together will lower their stress levels since this is a new situation for them.

This thread should answer some of your quarantine questions.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husb...lk-thread.html

[Finalflash50]

One of the two small ones shed his skin. I'm starting to think more and more that the 3 smaller ones are ribbon snakes. They have a thin body with more distinct stripes, with a slight dot on the head. They have just as much of a forehead dot as that of a regular eastern garter though, so I'm still debating it. If I had a camera that could help anyone here tell or not, I would get it out in a jiffy. Anyway, the good news is they are all up for eating the same thing as Lightning, which means I don't have to change up buying the food. I can keep it the same.

[guidofatherof5]

We would love to see some photos You know, to help ID the snakes

[Finalflash50]

I'll have some photos soon. I have some names in mind.
One of them is going to be named Plissken, named after character 'Snake Plissken' in the movie Escape from new york. I think it's going to be the second to biggest. The small one is really fast. He moves through the cage in seconds. I might call him Sonic, after Sonic the Hedgehog. The other one could be named Flash. I'm still thinking of a name for the big one.
Edit: I just now realized that a replied user on this thread actually has Snake Plissken as his profile picture. That is the movie character that one of my boys are going to be named after.

[Dan72]

I'll have some photos soon. I have some names in mind.
One of them is going to be named Plissken, named after character 'Snake Plissken' in the movie Escape from new york. I think it's going to be the second to biggest. The small one is really fast. He moves through the cage in seconds. I might call him Sonic, after Sonic the Hedgehog. The other one could be named Flash. I'm still thinking of a name for the big one.
Edit: I just now realized that a replied user on this thread actually has Snake Plissken as his profile picture. That is the movie character that one of my boys are going to be named after.

That movie seems to have left an impression on those of us that have seen it, for sure if you caught it at the right age where the films of your early childhood never go away. There is another forum member that uses an image of Kurt Russell from this film for their avatar, they go by Plissken on the forum. I just switched mine not to long ago, had watched the movie and was feeling inspired. Three 80's movies I could watch again and again.... The Thing, Escape From New York, and Big Trouble in Little China. Notice any connection....

[Finalflash50]

I used my dad's camera to get some nice pictures.
The first one is Lightning, just to finally get a good picture of him, then I captured some other people. There's only one that I didn't capture, and that's because he was sleeping in the coconut and I didn't want to wake him up.
100_4631.jpg100_4638.jpg100_4639.jpg100_4640.jpg100_4644.jpg

And those are classic movies.

[Invisible Snake]

Hey what type of garter is Lightning?