Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i caught a garter snake and out of nowhere last night it had babies i woke up this morning to find 12 baby snakes i was wondering what i should feed them any help would be nice thanks!!!!!

Well congrats on the catch and the babies. The babies will eat guppies their first week if they are small and the next week they should be grown enough to take rosy reds. You can also feed them pieces of salmon, pinky parts, and WORMS. (Worms are like their instinctive meal, I think thats what they will manely go for in the wild when they are this age along with the small fish and perhaprs some insects. If you find worms feed the babies seperatly or keep a very close eye on them, because another baby may attach itself to the other end of the worm and one snake is going to go Bye-Bye. This can happen with most food items that are big, but I find it to happen more with a worm since the other end of the worm keeps moving.

so to sum it up:

Worms, Guppies in a shallow bowl with just enough water for the to swim a little, salmon/trout pieces small enough for them to swallow, tadpoles (american Bullfrog are small enough), and pinky parts if you can get a hold of them.

Good luck and by the way what species of garter?? I have had absolutly no luck catching garter snakes in my area this year, it seems that the damn roads have taken their toll on our garters since the edge of the road is the only place I do find one "Dead"

Lu

I actually have to dis-recommend the fish...too high a risk of parasites. And rosy reds can cause thiamine deficiencies in snakes, as can goldfish. Get them started on worms, and don't deal with the fish unless they absolutely refuse the worms.
Worms are very nutritious food items, so don't worry that there's something in fish they really need....to the best of my knowledge, there isn't.

"I actually have to dis-recommend the fish...too high a risk of parasites."

What fish are you refering too?

I'm sorry I ment to say a varied diet is best....OOoooooppss...........N e way the worms are great, I feed my guys worms too, but I do keep guppies in with them also and rosies when they get a little bit bigger at all times.

Like WingedWolf said....seperate them if you can. Deli cups are good, but I only use them to feed the babies in. I use 12qt containers and keep about 5 to a container.(rubermaid) As they grow you will end up moving them around, some will grow slower and will have to be moved with babies their size. Its good to keep them according to size or is it just me? (lol)

WingedWolf.....Get back to me on the fish thing.....I've always fed them fish and never had problems, I feed them many other food items as well, but explain to me cause I have no clue what fish you are talking about and I could be doing something wrong......

Lu

Feeder guppies can transmit parasites. Worms pose some risk as well, though it's not quite as high. Have your vet do a fecal check on the snake each year to catch potential problems before they become serious.

Rosy reds and goldfish contain large amounts of an enzyme called thiaminase. This enzyme destroys thiamine, and feeding large amounts of these fish (and some others) to snakes WILL result in deficiency disease in the long term, and eventually death.

Check the water snake forum for more information on thiaminase in fish.
I personally kept Eastern garters, and was able to scent them over fairly easily to mice. They appeared quite healthy on a mouse diet, and one WC female I had apparently was entirely familiar with eating rodents.
Different species of garters may react differently, and have slightly different needs.

I know all about that (T) thing, but not about the parasites gups transfer. I've always, for about 4 years now been feeding my babies this way and have never had any problems raising them up to healthy sub-adults and even select ones I kept to adults. I dont just use the guppies or the rosies, they are there just incase someone didnt eat much and or someone is still hungry.

I feed the babies Salmon and Trout strips which are pretty good for them. (Alan Francis uses Trout) They do not contain (T) and are somewhat a cheap. As for mice, I dont breed them and I cannot breed them and garter snakes have way to many babies for me to provide pinkys @ 1:00 each every couple of days

Take a trip up to the bait store, and get some small fishing worms. These should be readily accepted.

In my experience, garters will start eating within a few days of birth, though some may wait until after their first shed. Seperate the babies...tough, I know, with so many! But you must, or they may eat each other (or hurt each other trying).
Set them up pretty much the same way you set up mom, only smaller. Be sure that their cages have no gaps, they can compress themselves pretty thin. Some people use deli containers or tupperware. Those new gladware things might be good. Put them on paper towel with a shallow water dish, not too deep, and easy for them to get out of.
Put a little box or piece of bent cardboard in as a hide.