Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I'm not having any luck feeding this poor baby. He just seems to get to stressed when I take it out to see if he'll eat anything. The feeder fish minnow things are still in the bowl. I just transfered the snake to a 10gal. aquarium, with just paper towels at the bottom, even though he really liked burrowing in the care fresh in the critter keeper. Now I'm going to put some pinky parts in the tank with him, close to his hide, so maybe he'll eat. How long do you think, before I start to worry about him not eating? I'm not going to handle him anymore, I'll just keep the tank covered and hope he gets hungry enough to eat.

Wish me luck!

Cyndi

It normally takes a week or two for snakes to adjust to captivity. Keep handling to a minimum during this time. I would put the feeder fish inthe bowl and check on them daily and remove any dead ones. Babies that size generally need scented pinkies before they take them...I would leave the fish in the bowl and just wait...that little snake could go a month or two at least with no ill effects.

Wow, that long! Good to know. I'll keep my motherly worrying to a minimum then, lol! I have a feeling that the baby won't eat the fish at all, just like my other garter wouldn't. Where I found them, in the woods, there is maybe one little running stream, and it's not even that close to where they were found. And there isn't any fish in that stream. I think my other garter was eating toads and mice and probably worms, that's why when I first got her, she wouldn't take to fish at all, but loved the f/t fuzzies from the start.
I'll keep an eye on the assortment of food I offered the baby, and keep the tank covered and not handle him, and hopefully he'll eat something.
I might be planning on releasing him once spring really does show up. This weather is crazy, they're calling for 6-8 inches of snow today and tomorrow!

Have a good one and THANKS for your help!!

Cyndi

just go out catch an apropriate sized worm, get the dirt off and just put it in a small container in the cage. the little one will smell it and come out to investigate, hopefully eat
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

Ok, I'll try that too! Couldn't hurt right? I guess if I leave a buffet of things for him to eat, he's bound to eat something! I hope!

Thanks!

Cyndi

i dont know about a buffet, that could be stressfull, one worm is good, just enough to get thier attention. another thing about worms is that they dont move that fast, crickets scare the crap out of them.
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jake

my addiction:
0.2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
0.1 amelenistic corn snake (maizy)
0.1 blizzard corn (blizz)
1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
hybrid breeders association
hybrid haven

babys mostly go for worms or fish.try letting a fish flop on the floor or its cage,sometimes the moving and jumping will get them to feed.cutting a worm in half will also make them dance.i have never had or seen a garter eat a cricket.my checkered garters will eat can cat food as a treat sometimes.you can also try salamanders,slugs,snalls and tadpoles.good luck!

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ball pythons
pastel,het&PH albino,het&PH hypo,PH pieds,PH clown,and norms!!
borneo ST,black,& red blood pythons
1.2 black SSTP
2.1 borneo STP
1.2 red bloods
garter snake morphs easterns/checkereds
w.hognose morphs
1.1 super kids Memfis Lance and Linda May(co-dom)

Well no chance on me finding worms, really! I woke up to about 8 inches of snow on the ground. The feeder fish are dead in the baby's bowl and the pinky parts are untouched. I guess, time to try something else.
Thanks for your help guys! I'll keep trying!

Cyndi

I'd wait a week before trying again. I got about a foot of new white evil snow the past few days. right before I was finding some snakes and stuff
wayne

Hi Cyndi.

Have you tried the sporting goods dept at your local Wallymart? Mine has night crawlers along with leaches and all sorts of other nasties all year long. Worms are really the way to go for baby garters. I had a newborn garter get out of it's cage and resurface three months later, a little skinny, but in good shape. I don't know what he ate in my basement, but he was good as new. Anyway, they can make it longer than you'd think. Good luck!

Joe

Well, I did try worms. I dug some up last weekend. Had to dig under the snow, but I found a few.....still no luck though. He wouldn't touch them. I left them in the tank till they died and shrivelled up. I've been putting a pinky in the tank everyday, hoping he'd eat sometime, but still no luck. I plan on releasing him, where I found him, once this frickin weather breaks and it gets warm again. I really hope he atleast eats once during that time with me. I have been leaving him alone, though, because he's so skittish, nothing like my other garter.
Thanks for your help, though!

Cyndi