Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two wild-caught Garters from last summer, both males:

Northwestern
Red-spotted

Oddly, the Red-spotted male was the most squeamish & timid when first caught, very leery when first out of the bag. The Northwestern was docile & mildly curious.

After awhile, roles reversed. The Northwestern is continually squeamish and avoids handling; the Red-spotted handles well and is quite curious.

Feeding is my BIG concern. If not resolved, I'll need to return them to the wild this spring.

Northwestern eats earthworms regularly; has eaten a pinkie only once; shuns fishes.

Red-spotted ate an earthworm once just after capture; never again; shuns pinkies & fishes. Aside from the tree frogs that he ate last autumn, he has not eaten since November. Yet, he's active every day and is not noticeably thinner.

Any tips you can give for getting mine to feed on earthworms, pinkies or fishes?

what would you like them to eat? you can rub what they have been eating oon the food item u want them to be eatng and it will take the scent and they might eat it

It sounds to me like they need to be cooled. Try to cool them to about 55f for a month or so. After warming them back up to normal temps offer them each a fish. If they eat them, and you want them to eat mice, first wash a mouse with soap & rinse it off, then put it in a baggie with a fish (smelt work great for this), and rub the two all over each other and offer the mouse to the snake. Do this a few times, but rub them together a little less each time and eventually your snakes should take unscented mice for you. This has worked for me with garters & water snakes with great results. BTW the baggie is so your hands dont smell like fish. Good luck.

D.E.

I have taken fish or a frog and put them in the blender with a little water and puree them. I will then freeze it. When it's feeding time I will break a small piece and melt it and dip the mouse in it. I have never had a garter refuse a mouse by doing that. Yes it is gross, but it works!

That's actually a great idea, good way to strech out the scent and keep it fresh. So the next weekend when your guests said, " hey this Margarita tastes fishy" you replied,"hmm that's funny I don't taste anything"
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1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
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1.1 red-sided garter
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0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake

Thanks for the replies & interest.

My dilemma is that my Red-spotted has only eaten frogs. I can't scent with fishes or worms - they don't work.

To scent, or worse still, to make the puree frog concoction, would need to wait until spring when they come out. Plus, collecting them in most places is illegal.

I will ponder your suggestions, and whether it's really worth the effort to try to change his diet so significantly (not his choice).

At times like these, constrictors are easier to keep due to easier prey items.

Fed on two earthworms! Took about 4 minutes to swallow the prey.

First worm: 13:28 - 13:32
Second worm: 13:34 - 13:38

He was out exercising, basking in the living room on the coffee table, inside the container with the Emerald Gems. I dropped in the worm just inches in front of him. He struck immediately!

After he fed, I wondered if he would take another, and if his feeding response was due to fast, sudden movement, or smell of the prey.

I dropped in the second worm. He did not strike immediately, but within seconds inched forward to sniff & investigate. Within about two seconds he struck and took it. (Clearly aware that it was not a darting frog.)

Later, he was left alone to bask under the heat lamp in the same container on the coffee table. When I got back from a bike ride 2-3 hours later, he was still there, contentedly basking, coiled in a round circle.

That's my (wild-caught) boy!