glad to be back

[jere000]

I caught a good size Garter today, pretty sure it's an Eastern but I could be wrong.Anyways I have this girl on the same rack as my boas, and i wanted to know if I should worry about parasites?I sprayed down her cage and her with some reptile relief which kill any mites and stuff, but can she spread some internal parasites to my boas?
Anyways here's a couple pics of the girl/guy.

[drache]

if you caught her in SI, then she's an eastern - very possibly melanistic, since there is a population of those I've heard rumoured about
please be protective of their location - I'd love for them to be around for a long time
she's beautiful btw - congrats

[ssssnakeluvr]

nice eastern! possibly a gravid female. not melanistic, can see pattern, getting ready to shed. would love to see pics after she sheds! the boas would have to come in contact with her feces to get internal parasites... getting her dewormed is a good idea

[guidofatherof5]

Very nice looking snake.

[ConcinusMan]

Pretty cool looking. Erythristic melanistic maybe? I wonder if her hiding strategy involves sitting really still, curled up, in a yard full of dog poo?

[jere000]

I moved her into a thiry Gal. glass tank away from my boas so there's less risk.I'm thinking she might be gravid too.How much does a deworming cost?If cost to much I'll just keep her until sheds or gives birth then release her and her babies.Then just scrub her enclosure and buy some CB stuff.I missed it when my boa gave birth although I'll get more chances to see that, but I want to catch this girl in the act if she is pregnant.

[ConcinusMan]

If there's any chance she's gravid, hold off on deworming. It should only be done if the snake is in top condition and not under any kind of stress, physical, social, or otherwise. I would wait until after the babies are born and she has had at least a month of feeding very well to regain her body mass.

Then weigh her in grams. Dosage is highly dependent on the the mother's mass and it must be all her mass, wieghed when she is fully recovered from having babies, and fully hydrated, no excess from carrying offspring or from meals taken within 6 days. I have the right meds and access to a scale that can weigh the meds in micrograms/milligrams for the proper dosage. It's a fine line between too little, and too much, and you don't want to do either.

I would be willing to take her body mass measurements in grams, a month after having babies and feeding well, and then send you the proper dosage. No charge.

Other than that, you would have to take her to a vet. Vet will tell you the same thing. She needs to have those babies and time to recover some body mass before dosing her with deworming meds. Proper, effective deworming is hard on a reptile. There is a right time, and a wrong time to do it.

It's worth it for the long-term health of your snake, but here is always an element of risk. Timing and accurate dosage is everything.

[jere000]

If there's any chance she's gravid, hold off on deworming. It should only be done if the snake is in top condition and not under any kind of stress, physical, social, or otherwise. I would wait until after the babies are born and she has had at least a month of feeding very well to regain her body mass.

Then weigh her in grams. Dosage is highly dependent on the the mother's mass and it must be all her mass, wieghed when she is fully recovered from having babies, and fully hydrated, no excess from carrying offspring or from meals taken within 6 days. I have the right meds and access to a scale that can weigh the meds in micrograms/milligrams for the proper dosage. It's a fine line between too little, and too much, and you don't want to do either.

I would be willing to take her body mass measurements in grams, a month after having babies and feeding well, and then send you the proper dosage. No charge.

Other than that, you would have to take her to a vet. Vet will tell you the same thing. She needs to have those babies and time to recover some body mass before dosing her with deworming meds. Proper, effective deworming is hard on a reptile. There is a right time, and a wrong time to do it.

It's worth it for the long-term health of your snake, but here is always an element of risk. Timing and accurate dosage is everything.

Thanks for the offer man that's very generous.I'll definitely take you up on that offer, if you ever get into boas let me know I'll hook you up.

[jere000]

Also should I feed a possibly gravid garter?I fed my boa 3 small meals throughout her pregnancy(November-February), so I wanted to know if I should feed her.I have plenty of rat fuzzies and a couple adult mice left.

[guidofatherof5]

I would try to keep the food soft, worms or fish(no bones). If she'll eat I don't see a problem with feeding her.
I've had a few eat the day they delivered.