catching wild garters health concerns

[Mommy2many]

You should get a garter. Just look at their faces. Look at Tami's avatar. How can you resist???

[jitami]

You should get a garter. Just look at their faces. Look at Tami's avatar. How can you resist???

Awww, thanks That's my 'old man' Sly. I had a hard time getting the pic because he wanted to investigate the camera

After quarantine you can have everyone in the same room and handle all in the same rooms... my garters are pretty flighty, but I only handle them when needed. I get all of the enjoyment out of simply observing them interact with each other and their environment. Others (like Steve) have garters who seem to enjoy being handled. It's probably dependent on how much time you invest in letting them get used to you.

[toad772]

Awww, thanks That's my 'old man' Sly. I had a hard time getting the pic because he wanted to investigate the camera

After quarantine you can have everyone in the same room and handle all in the same rooms... my garters are pretty flighty, but I only handle them when needed. I get all of the enjoyment out of simply observing them interact with each other and their environment. Others (like Steve) have garters who seem to enjoy being handled. It's probably dependent on how much time you invest in letting them get used to you.

So how long should I quarantine them for?(I was going on the idea of permanent quarantine cause they will be wild caught but if that is unnecessary then having them all in my room would be great)and how long does it take for a fecal to be done and what is a normal cost for that sort of thing.

[gregmonsta]

So how long should I quarantine them for?(I was going on the idea of permanent quarantine cause they will be wild caught but if that is unnecessary then having them all in my room would be great)and how long does it take for a fecal to be done and what is a normal cost for that sort of thing.

Good practice would be to quaranteen a wc animal for a minimum of 6 months (my only store bought WC had 6 months and is currently still living seperately - ie another 6 months). You would want to do a fecal test within the first 2 weeks and then treat any parasites/flagellates/etc. After any treatment there would need to be another test to see if the animal was clear. A final fecal test should be done at the end too.
Best case scenario - you only have to do a fecal test at the start and finish.
Worst case scenario - you have to do several tests and one or two courses of treatment.
I can't comment on prices but .... regardless of it being a 'free' snake, if you don't have the experience/money ready for the worst case scenario then you might well end up spending more than you would for a CB snake.

Well if I do get one it will probably be one I catch but I would like any info on importing CB garters(like how I would go about it and who I could get them from)

Canadian breeder worth contacting - http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/member.php?u=67

Another who is currently investigating import -
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/member.php?u=7770