Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had several species & specimens of kings, and have occasionally fed reptile food.

One Cal King ate a leopard lizard, anoles, skinks & fence lizards. One Cal King years ago ate rubber boas and garters, I think. He was the only one to take garters.

I have tried to feed Garters, which are numerous here, but with no success. A prior Mexican Black ate a small Northwestern Garter, but soon regurgitated (first time).

My current Cal King didn't even look twice at the garter I gave to him. They became basking friends. A former Cal King showed similar disdain.

Have any of you experienced this situation? Is there a scent or other factor that repels kings against garters?

Have any of you had success feeding garters to kings? If so, what species of king??

I had one king I fed stillborn garters too. It was a brooks king. Later on I tried feeding him an adult, and they just coiled together like they were friends.

I've tried on a few other occasions to feed adult garters to other Florida kings, and none have ever taken them.

I put a baby garter in with my female baby speckled king last year so they could cuddle. The speckled was lonely from there on out.

I have a garter snake that will eat a small kingsnake. It will eat anything except other gartersnakes. It tried to eat a baby rattlesnake once, but the rattlesnake bit him and then he left it alone. He wouldn't eat anything for a couple weeks after that.
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

the rattlers bite didn't kill him, I didn't think garters have immunities to snake venom like kings do? And why in the first place were you feeding a rattle snake to a garter snake?

I though for sure he was going to die from that, but he recovered just fine. I never said I was trying to feed one to the other. I was simply trying to keep them together. They were found close by each other and have different habits and different prey preferences (at least that's what I thought at the time, but that garter is a definite mouse killer and even uses constriction which is not supposed to be characteristic of garters). I figured I could have them setup together. I learned pretty quick that that garter snake is one of the most bada$$ snakes I own. It is one of my favorite snakes for sure. Very active/alert and full of behavior. Its a melanistic (solid black with purple hew) thamnophis elegans, and its personality (or snakiality for Jeff) reminds me of a cobra. A very cool snake!
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

I've seen a fair amount of pics of eastern kings taking down garters, so I'd imagine they would be fair game when they cross paths. Link to a good site of some eastern kings and garters, as well as a few other species as well. Steve
Link

May be a better idea to feed them mice as WC food can have intestinal bugs.I use snakes as food only on problem feeders and I like to freeze it to help kill the bugs.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

I can only offer that they probably don't eat toads either! Bufotoxins?
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Todd Hughes

I met some guys out west that were catching those and smoking them
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

I caught one in Arizona the size of a small plate. (colorado river toad I believe). Scared me more than the rattlesnakes when I saw it!!

Hi Todd, I watched a wild mohave eat a large Sonoran river toad(then happily crawl away)(the most toxic of our native toads) of course most thought that does not occur. But indeed there are old records of this.

I also found a Az. Ridgenose that consumed a bullfrog(both were small). This is uniqe in that its a rare score for the snakes. As most of the time the bullfrogs are the ones eating the snakes. Cheers

For every cloud there is a silver lining! At least sometimes the snakes get the bullfrog! Just a thought, I read somewhere that the cane toads were killing lots of different snakes in Australia, but lately the tide has turned and the snakes are being able to consume them without problems.
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Todd Hughes

Funny how evolution works...It just takes one individual that can eat them!
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"Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!" Charlie Papazian

I've had both eastern black and eastern kings feed readily on garters in the past. If you live in the NW, a possible explanation is that the garters up there may be feeding on some VERY toxic newts-even though the garters may have evolved an immunity, kingsnakes from other parts of the country won't have. Of course this is mere speculation on my part....
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

It was a Northwestern Garter.

Unlike the Red-spotteds, which do take newts, these feed primarily on worms & slugs.