Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My kids and i found a checkered garter snake out in our yard one evening when mowing. I caught it for the kids to look at for maybe a day or so and now we have ended up keeping it and buying alot of equipment for it. Right now we have just been feeding it night crawlers. I tried to feed it fish one day, but it was the day i changed it to a new and bigger tank and it didnt eat any of them. I would like to get it to start eating mice if i can. I have read that its healthier for it. Can someone point me in the right direction here. The snake is about 18 inches long, give or take a couple. Is it even big enough for me to start it on pinkies?
Another question i have is what are some good signs that it is shedding. I think thats what it is getting ready to do but not for sure. It has not come out from under its hide log at all lately in the last couple of days. I lifted the log this morning and its eyes were milky looking. I thought i read somewhere that i might want to increase the humidity a little in the tank when it starts. How would i go about doing this?

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rich

To your shedding question, When garters are about to shed you will notice a white film start to develop over the eyes, and small bubbles on the skin. Its best to give it something rough like bark or rock to rub up against, and always have fresh water. Hope that helps with that question.

>To your shedding question, When garters are about to shed you >will notice a white film start to develop over the eyes, and small >bubbles on the skin. Its best to give it something rough like bark >or rock to rub up against, and always have fresh water. Hope that >helps with that question.

Yeah i think for sure he/she is about to shed. I took a good look at it today and the eyes have the film and the rest of his body isnt shiny and down toward his tail its real rough and looks like..... you guessed it, dry skin. His hide box, is not really a box but a piece of log and its rough all over, and it also has a rough rock in there.
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rich