Keep or not to keep

[Steveo]

I keep a few. My education is in biology and I'm a volunteer observer for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. I see some snakes on bike rides and I see about the same number when I'm herping -.- but when I do find them I catch them, mark the location with my GPS, record the weather, and take a few pictures of the area. Then I take them home, ID them (if I didn't immediately know), weigh them, sex them, and report everything to the CDOW. CDOW keeps a database on the web of all observations, so I can see who is finding what and where. I don't go hunting for certain herps, I just look at the local parks and such close to home for whatever I can find. If I happen to be going somewhere (like a camping trip), the database helps me to know what is locally common and what is not - I usually look for herps that haven't been reported but should be in the area. Lots of people report amphibians but not many mess with snakes.

Usually I keep them for a night for observation and release them back where I caught them (using the GPS) the next day. A couple weeks ago I found a really pretty adult male gopher snake. None had been previously reported in the area, so I put him back. I don't know what the local population is like but I don't want to mess it up if it's just a few individuals. There are lots of groundhogs in the area so they should be thriving, but I just don't know.

This past weekend was cool and wet so I didn't have much hope of finding anything, but I found a female wandering garter under a log that I had already checked (with no success) a few times the previous week. Wanderings are very common in the area and this one doesn't seem to be very flighty or bitey, so I'm going to keep her. She slammed a f/t mouse a few hours after I brought her home and I think she might be gravid; if that's the case, I'll probably keep a few and then release her and the remaining youngin's.

If people are going to keep any WC snakes, just remember to quarantine them for 3-6 months. I quarantine essentially forever; my CB snakes never go near anything involved with the WC snakes. (I'll use old CB equipment on the WC snakes, but never the reverse.) I'd suggest treating for mites and worms if you really intend to keep it regardless of whether they have symptoms. I'm not going to treat this wandering chemically because she's probably gravid, but I still have to use a separate set of everything and wash my hands profusely so I don't transfer anything to my healthy CB snakes. I try to avoid even dealing with both sets in the same day.

[EasternGirl]

What a great job you have. People discuss winning the lottery...and how they would use the money. Many people say they would never work again...sit on the beach, etc. I would go back to school and get a doctorate in zoology, or biology. I would do something in which I could then work with herps in the wild. That or become a herp vet. I like your philosophy to herping. As far as keeping WC snakes...we always recommend a strict quarantine like you are describing, on the forum. We recommend that for WC snakes and any snake bought in a store or from an unknown breeder. We recommend a fecal test, check for mites, keeping the snake in a separate room, washing hands before and after handling, and not cross contaminating anything used with the new snake and other snakes in the house.

[Steveo]

What a great job you have. People discuss winning the lottery...and how they would use the money. Many people say they would never work again...sit on the beach, etc. I would go back to school and get a doctorate in zoology, or biology. I would do something in which I could then work with herps in the wild. That or become a herp vet.

It's easy to romanticise about biology but the reality is that the fun, popular jobs don't pay much and are hard to get due to high demand. My volunteer "work" and my own personal recreation are the extent to which I really use my education. My first job out of college was sewer work :P I had to cut off all of my long hair.

[ConcinusMan]

Personally, I've never found a wild garter snake with mites. Plenty of pet store ones though. Found ticks on gopher snakes though, and on lizards in the Southwest.

I've been wondering about this myself a lot. I think it all comes down to if your taking specimens that won't affect the local population. To take specimens and endanger the local population should be a crime. Saying that I have been toying with the idea of locating a decent population of local grass snakes, taking a couple to breed and then releasing them at the same time the following year, but only if it won't effect the local population.

we can never really know if there is an effect or not but i suspect that the population will do just fine in spite of me having taken a few. rounding up every snake i can find just to sell them however, is another matter. unfortunately, in some states this is legal.

But virtually all wild garters carry nematodes and/or tapeworms so i do deworm them regardless. They do much better in the long term if i do.

[Invisible Snake]

Personally, I've never found a wild garter snake with mites. Plenty of pet store ones though. Found ticks on gopher snakes though, and on lizards in the Southwest.

But virtually all wild garters carry nematodes and/or tapeworms so i do deworm them regardless. They do much better in the long term if i do.

How do you deworm them?

[ConcinusMan]

In the past I used pyrantel pamoate in combination with Praziquantel in dry form. I had to weigh the dosage according to the weight of the snake with a special micro gram scale, and put it in a piece of food. it was a pain.

Now i have those drugs in liquid form. got them from a horse keeper. now i measure the dose with a 1/2 ml syringe in .01 ml increments and inject it into a pinky or piece of fish. Correct dosages for reptiles can be found online. two weeks later, i do it again. a week after that, i follow up with a bird/reptile probiotc.

one drug is broad spectrum, the other is specifically for tape worms.