Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so the garter we found just shed. but he still hasn't eaten anything. i put some rosie reds in a bowl and put him and the bowl in a large sweater box but he hasn't even touched them. any ideas as to what else i can do? bobo shed beautifully. thanx for helping out everybody.

give him a couple of days. Almost nothing with pet-keeping goes like clockwork.
Even though snakes are 'supposed to" be hungry righ after they shed, it doesn't mean they are, nor does it mean they will be comfortable enough to eat.

Give it Time and privacy.
Could be your snake is not used to feeder fish.

After a few days, If it still hasn't eaten any fish, try a live pinky mouse.
If you have any ponds near the house, a small frog would be JUST the ticket, but that gets to be a real pain. Your best bet is fish right now.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

what about earthworms? oh and he's about 16" long, what size tank should he be in?

I've had good luck with earthworms, but they are low in calcium so you'll need to supplement and the snake will need to be fed more frequently and the poo will be really messy. If he takes worms, you can get a pinki freeze and wash it and rub it on the worm and offer it to your snake. Treefrogs also work well for scenting. I keep a pet treefrog for this purpose. I think mice are one of the best staple diets for captive garters. Some older wc garters can be difficult to switch over and if he has no experience with fish, he may never accept them as food. I keep my garters (about the same size as yours) in 10 gallon tanks on aspen shavings, with a hide, water bowl and under tank heater.

-Alice

worms don't really carry enough nutrients to sustain a large garter like yours.

I'd keep it in a 10 gallon or bigger. If its male it'll max out under 2', most likely. If female, It'll get up to around 3', so a 20 gal would be best.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

>>so the garter we found just shed. but he still hasn't eaten anything. i put some rosie reds in a bowl and put him and the bowl in a large sweater box but he hasn't even touched them. any ideas as to what else i can do? bobo shed beautifully. thanx for helping out everybody.

have you tried salamanders?
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until next time make mine slither.herb
www.housesnakes@yahoo.com

In my experience Garters usually adapt relatively quickly to captivity. Alice offered good advice about feeding worms and scenting and I agree with her. Worms are not a good long term diet but do not be afraid to use them for a while following Alice's advice. Your particular snake should not be too problematic to switch to rodents but in your situation my gut tells me to establish it on feeder fish first. One trick that has worked with me is to place a thawed scented rodent in a small shallow dish so the rodent is only partially covered by water. Place a feeder fish with it and the snake will often eat both. You may then omit the fish all together, then the water bowl, and then probably scenting all together. The snake may take to f/t mice immediately anyway. I recommend against using any amphibians as feeders except maybe for scenting as Alice described.

The first thing you should do is review several good care sheets and trouble shoot your husbandry. Make sure the cage size, temperature, the snake’s sense of security etc. are all within proper parameters. Make sure it has a good hide and place it in a low traffic area for now. Your snake may simply be to nervous to eat. Keep handling and watching to a minimum until the snake starts feeding regularly then you can start increasing the amount of time you interact with it.

Keep us posted
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Randy Hallman
Firehouse Herps