Reptile & Amphibian Forums

These 2 garters I have eat like pigs!I'm just wondering if they can be overfed.They are both fairly small.Their metabolism is unreal! Jeff

What species are your two specimens?

What are they eating? Was it easy to convert to mice?

I have a red spotted and a black necked.They were already eating rodents when I got them.You literally have to watch your fingers when you feed them! Jeff

Yes watch your fingers I use 10" tongs. Also am very careful with hand washing if I am feeding other snakes on that day and then want to handle snake that I am not feeding. Of course I wash hands before and after handling any individual snake or food item, I think it's just good practise.
They do have much higher metabolism than other snakes like corn, balls. Personally I think that when they are growing it's less likely that everfeeding will cause a problem, because they will just grow faster, but when adult; not as healthy to be obeis and should be slowed down, but breeding females and pre-hibernation need some extra energy to spare. I would think it's less likely for a captive snake on a regular feeding schedule to gorge itself to death, I would say that would be more likely with a wild caught that never knew when it's last meal would be and then when the gifthorse of 30 goldfish came it couldn't help itself.
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Upon catching her breath she took a deep gulp and said,"you certainly have been blessed with an impressive set of regius's"
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
1.4 Kinosternon baurii
1.0 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
1.1 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

Jeff,
I think most of them know what they can handle, but when I was 10 years old I put about 30 or so gold fish in a water dish in my red sided garters cage thinking he would eat them over a period of a few days, but he ate them all in one sitting. I found him dead the next day. My temps wernt right, and I couldnt keep my hands off of him so I cant say for sure, but I think he did gorge himself to death.

D.E.

yes, they can be overfed. you can end up with overweight snakes...or on rare occasions, one can gorge on food and die.