Why are red sided garters so expensive and hard to find?

[guidofatherof5]

I wasn't aware there was a difference between CA red sided garters and red sided garters (like I said I'm totally new to this). The reason I was so interested in those was for the bright red and turquoise coloring.

That answers the question as to which snake you were talking about.
Looks like Scott F. has a few for sale.

Scott Felzer's Garter Snakes, specializing in aberrant garters

[chris-uk]

Infernalis are a fantastic species. My infernalis girls are not the friendliest snakes I keep, they like to be in their viv and are skittish for a minute if I take them out, but they settle quickly. They have been one of the easiest to feed as well. And they look beautiful.
Parietalis are fine, and some of the lines bred for red have a lot of red. They aren't infernalis though. :-)