Buying a new snake

[suzoo]

Hello Everyone,
Has any one of you ever bought a snake from "Reptiles-N-Critters.com"?
Do they have decent animals? Are they parasite free and healthy when recieved? Anyone?

[Cazador]

Hi Sue,
This is a new one on me. They might have great garters and be a wonderful company, but I see some warning signs. I did a search for the keyword "garter" on their website and found the following:

They're calling a checkered garter snake that's heterozygous for albinism a "T. sauritus," and they're selling it for less than their normal checkered garter, which they simply call "Thamnophis sp." Whether it's het for albinism or not, a checkered garter is a T. marcianus.

They list a "Northern garter snake" as T. sirtalis, and they have two separate prices for it ($24.99 and $27.99)? Maybe they're selling a "common garter snake," but who knows?

They're also advertising an "Oregon garter snake" as T. sirtalis and selling it for $52.99. I suspect they're selling "Oregon red-spotted garters," which are T.s. concinnus because Oregon garter snakes (T. atratus hydrophilus) are rare in collections and would probably be more expensive.

Again, they might provide nice healthy snakes, and they might be learning the nomenclature; but there are some warning signs here. It's a good thing you're checking them out. You'd have to request pictures of the actual snakes for sale to know what you'd actually receive. Ask Kitkat about ordering one subspecies/morph (flame) from a breeder and getting another (fitchi, as I recall).

Rick

[rtcphoto]

I bought a Wandering Garter from him about 2 months ago and she has been great. It is a class pet and has acclimated nicely.
The order was sent promptly and was exactly as described. "Slick" began eating immediatley and has been a total joy for my class.
I believe he is a middle man and has arrangements set-up with different breeders depending on the species you require.
The home location is located in NY, but the animal arrived from Nevada,
Anyway, it was a good experience and he responded to all questions.

Bob

[ssssnakeluvr]

hmmmm...I'd be leary of them right off when th ey spell garter "gartner".... They have a red sided garter listed just as thamnophis sirtalis...should be thamnophis sirtlais parietalis...and until I see the pic on the other one....don't know what it is...

[ssssnakeluvr]

oooops...cut off my post before I was done....some odd stuff.... they have a pic of a wandering garter, have the scientific name right, but it says "Garder snake - wandering"... the checkered garters have the wrong name....and they are less than the normal checkered that just say "thamnophis ssp"....duh.....then theylist albino checkereds for 39, normals for 50????? then I found black headed garter snakes coniophanes fissidens. Did a google search, its a yellow bellied snake...no relation to garters....never heard of a tropical garter snake either....thamnophis marcianus preocularis...that is a Mexican species of checkered garter.... found these and others on the other snakes list....gotta wonder when they get names all messed up like that......

[suzoo]

Thanks Guys!
I did notice that they used T. Sirtalis for like every Garter, lol. And I would DEFINATELY want pictures of the snake I was recieving, and a guarentee that that is the snake they're shipping to me. I had hoped maybe I could get a Red-sided for a little less money, but I would not want a sick, parasite infested snake, or a different species altogether!
So I really appreciate your input!!
Thanks, Suzoo

[Stefan-A]

Not surprising that they call them T. sirtalis. For anybody who doesn't know any better, it's just a garter snake and the most likely name to appear in literature or on Google, is probably sirtalis.