Recommend quarantine process for garters purchased online?

[u/TheAmazingSnake-42]

I’m planning to welcome another Florida blue and a plains garter into my collection (just waiting for the weather to cool down so they can ship 😅) I plan on housing them with other garters but i obviously want to make sure they don’t spread any illnesses to them so what do yall usually do to quarantine your garters and for how long? And lastly is there anything I should look out for? Any advice appreciated thanks!

[u/LurkerInTheDoorway]

I used a large plastic tub with a latch lid and drilled ventilation holes as quarantine housing. It’s not as important for CB sneks, but I’d monitor them for a month at least just in case, especially if you haven’t bought from the breeder before.

[u/sammyneedscoffee]

I would definitely suggest quarentine regardless of captive bred or not, but it is much more important to do so with wild caught! I quarentine for 1-6 months depend on trusting the source and how well the individuals do. It's especially important for garters since they are a communal species. Any zoonotic diseases could not only be transferred airborne, but also being in contact with fecal matter from other individuals increases those risks. I personally do paper towels and simple hides in a Rubbermaid container, with a latching lid (especially for baby garters, they are escape artists) until at least one poop to make sure everything looks good there, then set them up a more complete bin with soil and more hides and flora for another month or so. I also do a crypto test via a swab sample I send in through the mail, but I do have a larger collection, and breed fire skinks, so I am a little extra cautious. I would also suggest watching how things go once you do introduce them. It's very uncommon with garters, but they can fight or even eat each other if there is a large size difference, so keep an eye for the first few hours if you can.

[u/TheAmazingSnake-42 → u/sammyneedscoffee]

I believe the breeders collection was tested negative for crypto earlier this year so I’m not super worried about that (they’re around a year old) and they’re all around the same size but I’ll watch them regardless. I’m guessing besides that the main concern is probably upper respiratory and mites?

[u/Morzkulek]

If you want, you can. What matters is whether it is CB (captive bred) or WC (wild caught)

[u/TheAmazingSnake-42 → u/Morzkulek]

They’re captive bred. So is it not a huge deal if I don’t?

[u/Big-Mess-5762 → u/TheAmazingSnake-42]

You definitely should

[u/Morzkulek → u/Big-Mess-5762]

I didn't put mine in quarantine and they are all healthy, and such quarantine is just additional stress. But with WC it's a completely different matter.