I've checked his temperature (around 75 degrees F on the warm side of the tank) and his humidity (about 60%). From what I can see they seem to be okay.
There are three hiding spots in the tank. One on the warm side of the tank, one in the middle, and in the cooler side of the tank. The cooler side seems to be the favored source for hiding but i'm not sure it that has more to do with the size or with the temperature. So far he goes there when he feels threatened or wants to hide.
He doesn't have any symptoms of shedding so I don't think that this could be a problem either.
There are brown specs in his water bowl but I'm not sure if this is from mites or if it is just dirt from the rocks and wood in his enclosure. We tried to wash things off but it apparently didn't work as well as I had hoped.
How do I know if he has mites? I've looked under his chin, around his eyes, and generally along his body (trying to look under his scales) as he slithers by. So far I haven't seen any dark patches around his scales except for around his tail. These dark patches look uniform and seem to be more of his patterning than of mites. I also wasn't able to see any movement of bugs on him. I wanted to try washing him and drying him on a white t-shirt/paper towel but I figured that it isn't best to handle him quite yet as I just caught him yesterday and I'm trying keep him calm and stress free. I was hoping to clean his tank and monitoring his water afterward but the same problem of creating stress has stopped me.
Any suggestions on how to best check to see if mites are a real problem?
Additionally, I have read some articles about quarantining my snake for about 60 days to prevent disease spread. My biggest concern is internal parasites (worms). Any advice on finding out if this snake has any (I don't see any bulges or lumps on the body outside) and any advice on effectively treating them?
Please let me know if you need any additional information that would help with answering my questions.
Thank you for your help.
I've been researching snakes for quite some time before I deciding to own one but, as with everything new, I've found that I have run into some questions.
I have a WC Wandering Garter that I've had for a day now. I had the habitat set up and was planning on leaving him alone in there for a few days before attempting to feed him. While watching him from across the room today, I have noticed that he has soaked in his water bowl for a good part of today. He will explore around his tank, climb up some of the wood inside it, bask on a rock on the warmer side of the tank, take a dip for 5-10 minutes (sometimes longer) in his water container, then repeat the process all over again.
I've spent a lot of today trying to figure out how much soaking is normal and how much is a sign that something is wrong.
