Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got the rescue ribbon home today; he was thin so I tossed in 10 rosy reds. He's still hunting down the last one It's been at least 8 years since I've watched a Thamnophis hunt and I'd forgotten just how cool it is.

I have a question: I have a red ear slider in a *very* large tank, and I tend to keep a hundred or so rosy reds in with him. Is it OK to use ones from that tank to feed the ribbon or is the possibility of cross contamination too high? He's parasite free, I know that cause I ran fecals on him. It'd just be easier to scoop them outta there than run to the feeder store every few days.

Glad he ate for you,
My oppinion would be that if your "very" large tank has a turtle and fish load of less than 1" of turtle and fish per gallon and you do regular and consistant water changes, that using rosies out of that tank is just as if not safer. I am also in the oppinion that you at least consider rotating rodents into that snakes diet, as well as rotating some type of vitamin and mineral fortified turtle stick such as reptomin into your turtles diet, maybe you are already doing that?
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Jeff Benfer
gartersnakemorph.com

Heh, my turtles get a smorgasboard. Grapes, melons, kale, collared greens, spinach, broccoli (rarely), chopped carrots, whatevers seasonally available out of my garden, fish, worms, turtle diets.
I'll try to get him to take pinkies; he's so tiny, not too much bigger than a baby corn snake. I guess I can just scent a thawed pinky with fish?

Try this, It's by far the easiest way....

Buy a frozen fillet of Tilapia or Salmon at the grocery store.

When PARTIALLY thawed, cut into strips.

Now freeze the fish in bags so that you can get out one or two strips at a time, and shake it in front of the snake with tongs.(thawed out of course)

Nearly all of my Thamnophis eat tilapia and salmon without any effort.(on my part)

You can order "extra small" pinks, and rub some of the frozen fish on it.

Another concept, I put 2-3 pinks IN the water bowl with a fish.

The motion of the fish will trigger a feeding response, and the snake will most likely take the pinks too.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Thamnophis US
Dances With Reptiles

1.1.0 Thamnophis Infernalis- California Red Sided Garter Snakes
1.1.0 "flame" erythristic Eastern Garter Snakes
1.2.0 Melanistic Thamnophis Sirtalis Sirtalis
?.?.1 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis Albino
2.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Iowa Snow
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow/Nebraska Albino double Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter baby
0.0.3 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
0.1.0. Green Anole "Crystal"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.5.0 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & others
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
1.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.