Hello people.

[Tarzier]

I've researched quite a bit about Garter Snakes before buying him, so I know all about the thiaminase, which is why I wanted to get him on Pinkies besides the fact they're more nutritional. I haven't looked into a Vet as of yet, which I know is not a good thing. It's just that the closest Herp Vet is about 1hour away or so. I live in a farming community so most of the Vets here take care of Cats, Dogs, and other farm animals. I have a quick question though, I've already asked in the Husbandry forum, but I'll ask here as well; The closest pet shop(PetCo) is 40min away, so I was thinking of just getting frozen fish fillet to scent with. I read that notice about the chemicals in pre-packaged fillets could be dangerous so I don't plan on feeding the fillets to him, but would using them to scent the mice be dangerous?

[guidofatherof5]

Do you have a college near by? If they have a biology dept. they may do the fecal float for free. The other thing would be to get a weight on the snake and see if a Vet. will give/sell you some panacur to treat it with. I don't usually recommend treating without a positive test but this species is noted for having a heavy parasite load. You can also purchase Panacur online and dose it yourself.

Store

[Tarzier]

Ah, well, I already called up the Vet and made an account for myself and my snake. I plan on setting up a visit next week. I was a little worried about the price but it was quite a bit cheaper than I was thinking, about $20 for a check-up and $40 or so for the Float, as they send it to an outside lab with better equipment. I'm glad you guys have pointed me in the direction I need to go on this, as I just assumed that since he was at the pet store it was captive bred. Will there be any physical signs of parasites? Because I haven't noticed anything that looks odd. The only thing was that during this last shed, before he actually did shed the skin, he was a little wrinkly where his body turned and when I picked him up to see if something was wrong(I never noticed a blue phase, so I didn't know he was shedding) he would let out little bursts of air. I just thought he was trying to be threatening with those once I figured out he was shedding.

But his shed went completely fine, it wasn't a 1-piece shed, but it wasn't alot of pieces either, only 2 or 3 and they all came off easily, so I'm not too worried about that....Unless I should be?

[guidofatherof5]

You won't see any signs of most parasites in the feces.
If a shed is in pieces then all the pieces should match up and equal a complete shed. The eye caps and a complete tail shed being most important to see.
Here's a shed box video. Shed boxes can be a snake saver. Retained sheds are deadly in most instances if not removed.

[Tarzier]

Ya, I seen your video in another thread, and the last time he shed I wasn't expecting it and the shed didn't go too well and I had to help him get the last of it off his tail. I didn't look for the eyecap sheds and can't now as the shed is sitting at the bottom of my trashcan, but I remember reading that if the caps didn't come off, or come off the right way, his eyes might appear to be sunken or something along that line. His eyes look fine though as I did check for that and I can't find any evidence of old skin left on him. It may not have been a perfect shed, but it was very good and was interesting to watch him do it.

Since I have a rather large water dish for him to swim and soak in, unlike the first time, I think it helped alot. Specially since I use that... Reptisafe water cleaner, and I think it has stuff in it to help in that regard. I also didn't try matching up the pieces, but I was watching him for pretty much the whole time he was working his way out of the skin, I'm pretty sure they would have. Is it normal for the shed skin to look longer than the snake itself? Cause it did, I figured it was because the skin stretched. And he doesn't let out those small bursts of air anymore either, that stopped the day he shed, so I think it really was supposed to be 'threatening'.

[Tarzier]

By the way, thanks for all the information you've given me, I appreciate it and the time you've taken to give it. I may know alot of it already, as I've done alot of research beforehand, and continue to do so now, but it's always nice to hear it again and from someone with experience. It's also a bonus(For me at least) to get information from multiple sources, especially if it's something repeated often, as it cements it as truth for me. Especially from the actual Breeders and Caretakers that have years, if not decades of experience with the subject.

I'm not naive enough to believe everything you read in Care Books, as I've found most experienced people disagree with alot of that information. That's one of the reasons I decided to finally make an account on here instead of just browsing the Forums.

Once again, thanks.

[guidofatherof5]

Ya, I seen your video in another thread, and the last time he shed I wasn't expecting it and the shed didn't go too well and I had to help him get the last of it off his tail. I didn't look for the eyecap sheds and can't now as the shed is sitting at the bottom of my trashcan, but I remember reading that if the caps didn't come off, or come off the right way, his eyes might appear to be sunken or something along that line. His eyes look fine though as I did check for that and I can't find any evidence of old skin left on him. It may not have been a perfect shed, but it was very good and was interesting to watch him do it.

Since I have a rather large water dish for him to swim and soak in, unlike the first time, I think it helped alot. Specially since I use that... Reptisafe water cleaner, and I think it has stuff in it to help in that regard. I also didn't try matching up the pieces, but I was watching him for pretty much the whole time he was working his way out of the skin, I'm pretty sure they would have. Is it normal for the shed skin to look longer than the snake itself? Cause it did, I figured it was because the skin stretched. And he doesn't let out those small bursts of air anymore either, that stopped the day he shed, so I think it really was supposed to be 'threatening'.

I've never seen a sunken look on retained eye caps, guess it's possible.

You are right. Most sheds are longer then the actual snake because of the skin not only scales that come off.

[Tarzier]

Ah, I guess I never realised they shed their skin too(I just said skin out of habit, never put much thought into that exact wording), I thought it was just the scales. Makes sense though, otherwise it'd be like growing new teeth and the old scales would just be pushed off by the new ones. By the way, I've been watching some of the videos on your Youtube channel, and they're great videos. Just watched the one of the Plains giving birth, that was really interesting.

And about the retained eyecaps, maybe I'm just remembering wrong, or it was about a different kind of snake. What other signs would there be for them? Cloudy-looking eyes?

[guidofatherof5]

Cloudy eyes is in the beginning of the shed(opaque phase, blue phase, Ecdysis) process.
If it were me, I'd grab another trash can or trash bag and find that shed

Thank you for your kind words about my videos.

[Tarzier]

Well, after looking through some more info on Striped Keelbacks, I think I may go ahead and buy some of that Panacur now. I didn't realise how dire the situation could possibly be until I ran across a thread on here about them. I hadn't really thought about looking through here for info on them, but searching goggle brought me to the thread. It was there I found that alot of people have major problems with them, and that for them, they had a tendency to die, even if they were doing well. I'm not too worried, but I will now definately take him to the Vet.

Also, most of the info you find on these things tell you pretty much the same thing. To use Garter care sheets but with slightly higher temps and humidity, with a larger water dish. And to take them to a Vet.