Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a new garter snake and I was wondering how many minnows it should eat every 2-3 days. The minnows are about 1 inch and a half long and look rather small. I was told at Petco that they only eat 2-3 minnows every 2-3 days. Um...I don't think that's right as, when I got mine home, she (I think it's a she) ate 7. Yeah. I didn't think she'd eat any, but she chomped down the first 3 I bought within 5 minutes of being put in the cage and when I went back and bought another 4, she ate all of those within about 20 mins. Go fig. How much is too much? I plan to feed her every 3 days as she looks plenty full, right now. She's about...1ft and 3 inches long. Not sure how old she is and I haven't picked her up yet to find out, for sure, if it's a boy or girl as she ate so much, yesterday. Any pointers? I plan to supplement her diet with a feeding of worms every other week. That sound alright? Thanks for any help

Don't overfeed, especially at first, or you may wind up with a puking snake. You are right not to handle the snake after a meal for the same reason. If the minnow is large enough to make a small lump in your snake, then 1 or 2 should do. If you have to feed more than 3 or 4, you may wish to move to larger prey.
I have found bait-store minnows to be very cost effective.
Now my garters are on pinkies. One swithced over really easy, and the other just switched a few weeks ago. He was on a feeding rampage after not eating for 3 months during the winter, and it seemed a good time to try again. He took the pink without hesitation and has ever since. Good luck with your new snake. Duffy

I was thinking about moving her up to larger minnows or something because she ate so many, but I don't really think goldfish are good for her. That and her head is about the size of a minnow, so I don't know that she could really eat anything bigger. Any other kind of fish that's a bit bigger that is safe for them to eat? I'm thinking I'm probably just going to feed her again on Tuesday and I'm gonna grab some worms and fish, too. That way, if the fish aren't enough, she'll have both. She's been very active, today. Scared me to death a few minutes ago. I checked her cage and didn't see her anywhere. Turned out she was hiding under some bark *rolls eyes* At least she's ok Thanks for the info

Duffy's right about the risk of overfeeding, but I think it's less of a risk when feeding a larger number of smaller items (vs. 1 or 2 bigger minnows, which might turn out to be too large to digest comfortably). I would stay with smaller minnows for now and let the snake decide how many; he'll know enough to stop when he's had his fill.
-----
MichaelB

You would probably be fine sticking with the minnows for now. Any good bait stores in your 'hood? I can get a "dozen" minnows at a local bait store for 80 cents, and they usually give me more than a dozen (once, I swear, they gave me 60!). If they are as big as your snake's head, 2 or 3 should be fine for now.
Remember, your snake will be able to handle a prey item that is about 1.5 times the diameter of the snake at its thickest part.
I just fed a couple of my ratsnakes actual adult rats for the first time...WOW! Talk about a meal!

Question...If I get too many minnows and a few die in the waterbowl, should I just put them in a seperate bowl and leave them in the cage or take them out, altogether. I don't want them to get moldy and bleh.

Take 'em out and dispose of 'em, the sooner the better. They'll get moldy and bleh real quick, which in turn messes up the water and threatens to kill the remaining minnows, and maybe even your snake. They're cheap (80 cents a dozen at the tackle shop, where a dozen is usually between 20 and 60), so no pressing need to conserve.
-----
MichaelB

Alrighties. Thanks so much for the information. I've tried looking on the net, but there's so much conflicting information, if there's any at all.

First off, I found her a name: Arwen. She has a cute yellow dot on her head that looks like a crown, so it seemed fitting. Well, Petco only had wax worms, nightcrawlers and all of the really small worms, so I went to Walmart for live bait...Uh...They're too big So, worms are being taken care of, for now and hopefully, they will live past Arwen's (my snake's) first molt. I put one beside her and she looked at it like, "That's bigger than I am!" So, she went after the fish, instead. She did eat 4 out of the 5 fish I gave her, today, so she looks quite well off. She's been sleeping in her pet grass for most of the day and seems quite content. Do you guys know of any "pet fish" that these snakes would normally eat in the wild besides the small minnows? I'll have to move her up to bigger fish, eventually, and I don't want to give her goldfish. Thankies

besides the small minnows? I'll have to move her up to bigger fish, eventually, and I don't want to give her goldfish.

There's nothing wrong with goldfish IN MODERATION. I've had my garter for 9 years (WC as an adult) and it's eaten all sorts of stuff, goldfish included. I wouldn't feed ONLY goldfish, though.

Go to a real bait shop and ask for "crappie minnows." They're not named such as a reflection on their quality, but because they're smaller and used as bait for crappie (a type of game fish--we pronounce it "croppie" down south).

Your snake will be able to eat things larger than 1.5 times its diameter--remember that the snake will compress prey as it swallows it; you probably won't see a 1.5-time increase in the snake's diameter after eating unless you're feeding an awful lot. When you do feed larger fish, just keep an eye on the snake--there will be trouble (even with smaller fish) when the snake tries to eat one tail-first (or even worse, sideways). My snake has worked on a large fish before for several minutes before finally spitting it out and swallowing it "correctly."

-----
Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

ROFL! I remember going into the fishing store, here (I'm in Texas ) and wondering about those fish. Course, after I went fishing, I figured out what they were for My snake has eatten 1 fish, that I know of, tail first. She finally squished the fish up against something and finished it. In about 2 or 3 days, I'll try the worms, again. I thnk she just liked the fish more as they were more active. I think the worms are about as big as her body can get, when it stretches. She's just a little thing, width wise. She's well over a foot long, though. I put some pet grass in her aquarium, yesterday, and she LOVES it! She curled up into it, last night, and is still there, now. Hopefully, she'll get out of it, today, so I can water it With the goldfish, what do you consider a moderate amount of them per week? Say 2 feedings of them a week and then switch to worms for 2 times or something? I'm tempted to switch from goldfish, to earth worms, to wax worms. I think she'd like a little variety I havn't heard too much about meal worms. I know how to raise those from junior high. Are those ok? Thankies

They won't eat the wax worms or meal worms. Garters don't eat insects. When feeding worms, they are mostly water and they wil pass thru your snake a lot faster! I give my garters a variety....rosies, goldfish, worms, and when they are big enough, I work them on to pinkie mice (frozen/thawed, takes a little work, but nore nutritious in the end, with less feedings needed). Rosies are easier for the little ones to eat since they are long and thin, where goldfish can be fatter and a little harder to swallow.
Enjoy your garter!! They are awesome snakes!!!!

Rosies? Hrm..Will look into that. I'm glad I didn't get those wax worms, yesterday! Thanks so much for the info!

>>ROFL! I remember going into the fishing store, here (I'm in Texas )

So am I.

they were more active. I think the worms are about as big as her body can get, when it stretches.

You must've bought nightcrawlers. That's what's predominantly available.

With the goldfish, what do you consider a moderate amount of them per week? Say 2 feedings of them a week and then switch to worms for 2 times or something?

I don't know--I used to feed goldfish primarily for a couple of weeks, then go to nightcrawlers for a couple of weeks. My garter's almost 3 feet long now though, and eats whole adult mice.

much about meal worms. I know how to raise those from junior high. Are those ok? Thankies

Good luck trying to get your snake to eat them. Garters generally don't eat insects (such as mealworms and waxworms). You can try small toads when your garter gets a little bigger.

-----
Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

Awesome I'm in Wichita Falls. The worms I got are nightcrawlers, but they're a lot bigger than the ones they had at Petco. Those were just way too small. I might switch to mice when she gets older, but I really am against feeding them live ones as not only can the snake get harmed, but I used to raise mice and that's not exactly the sight I like to see very often

I might switch to mice when she gets older, but I really am against feeding them live ones as not only can the snake get harmed, but I used to raise mice and that's not exactly the sight I like to see very often

I use frozen ones. I initially tried live, but they're more than a match for the garter snake. My garter threw a couple of weak coils around it but primarily used a brute-force bite to attempt to subdue the mouse, and it wasn't quite enough--the mouse was biting him as well. Plus, frozen are a lot more convenient to have on hand.

-----
Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

I guess my main problem is that I don't know of anywhere that sells them frozen, around here. Dunno if I really want to freeze them, myself. My mom would have a cow if she found mice in the freezer Will probably stick with fish and worms, unless she gets too big, in which case, I probaby won't have a choice on the matter. I can feed her mice, I just really would rather not. Geez. That poor little feeder fish that I got on Monday is still in there, alive! I'm gonna go grab him some food, today. Feel kinda bad for the little guy. I only asked for 4 fish and they gave me 5, so he was kind of a left-over from the beginning I didn't think he could live in his water for that long. Next month, I might go ahead and set up a minnow tank for the guys that she doesn't eat. That way they don't just die needlessly and with any luck, they might breed and give me more feeders