Why you should not go away...

[Thamnophis]

Why you should not go away when you are feeding your garter snakes.
I was feeding some of the snakes on my attic and was, in the meanwhile, hanging some laundry to dry.
This adult couple San Francisco garter snakes always eat in piece and never try to steal from each other.
But never say never! I heard the alarming sound of a snake that was in trouble. For that reason I have in every terrarium some dry leaves lying around. When one snake grabs another (by accident or not) these leaves make a characteristic sound.

This situation ended without major consequences. Two minutes after I pulled them apart they both were eating again. If I had not noticed it on time (the male already was about 7 cm in the females throat) I most probably would have found two dead snakes this afternoon.

http://www.thamnophis.eu/bitch.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.eu/bitch1.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.eu/bitch2.jpg

[BUSHSNAKE]

woo..good catch!

[guidofatherof5]

Good advice. Glad you saved them both.

[ShadowBeast]

Nice save and nice idea with the leaf alarm system.

[tress29]

Yikes! I just watch mine because it's cool to watch them squeeze the food down their bodies!

[Invisible Snake]

Holy ****! Good catch! Will he be alright? Was there any permanent damage done to either snake?

[Thamnophis]

No, they are both fine. Garter snakes are tough! I placed the male in the water so he could wash the mucus from his lady off. Two minutes after I separated them they both ate again.

[stevenrudge]

No, they are both fine. Garter snakes are tough! I placed the male in the water so he could wash the mucus from his lady off. Two minutes after I separated them they both ate again.l lost a male Mexican gopher snake through this,l put him in for mating trials gave each one their food at separate ends of their viv with each one coiled round their food ,went back an hour latter to see the female had 3/4s eaten the male,l pulled the male out but its died as a dodo *&%&*"*
its happened before with my Indigos but l managed to get there in time as no harm was done

[chris-uk]

Lucky save there.

I had my first food fight yesterday - albino checkered vrs. normal checkered. Both of them about the same size. I tend to tong feed these two until there's only really tiny bits left in the bowl, but Binky was more interested in the piece that Esk was eating than the piece I was offering. Being on the spot I got my hand in as Binky got her mouth to Esk's lower jaw, and a gentle prod had both of them release. Esk scarpered, Binky stayed and picked up the piece of salmon they'd fought over. :)

[EasternGirl]

Wow...so glad you were able to save them. This is the exact reason I never feed any of my snakes together. I have just heard too many stories and don't want to take the chance. I always separate for feeding. Not saying anything about people who choose to feed their garters together...plus, I'm sure it is difficult to feed separately when you have numerous snakes, as many members on here do.

[d_virginiana]

Yikes! Glad you got to them in time.
That picture could be used as a preventional poster...

Once Harley is big enough to let Houdini try to mate with her, feeding will be taking place in two separate containers. I just don't think it's a good idea to mix a blind male that has never been around another snake with one who is very intense about food... Seriously, you can put your hand down near the food dish or even move Harley around to do tank maintenance while she's eating and she just stares you down. IF she moves, she picks up her food and takes it with her. It's a food fight just waiting to happen.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...I don't think it would be a good idea to feed a blind snake with any other snake...aggressive eater or not. Just seems like an unfair advantage to the other snake.

[Thamnophis]

@ Easterngirl... I have too many garter snakes to separate them every feeding. Would take too much time. But with a few snakes I think it is the best to feed them separate. That's wisdom.

@ D Virginia... prevention is the reason why I posted it.

[mikem]

Love how you captured this! I've had this happen a couple of times with smaller snakes housed together during feeding. Luckily, I've managed to save the one being devoured every time. Nothing gets in the way of a hungry snake!

[Selkielass]

Good save!
So glad you intervened in time.

[johnc79@hotmail.com]

Phew lucky you got there on time. Its almost happened to me but has soon as I open the viv one lets go! Its an easy mistake to make thouso thanks for the post to stop complacency.

[EasternGirl]

Yes..this is a great post. I once tried an experiment...I tried feeding my female and male eastern together just to see what would happen. My female is a pig and an aggressive eater. I was right there ready to intervene the whole time, of course. As soon as the male took a piece of food from the dish...the female quickly went over and stole it from him and chased him away. My male was so traumatized by the event that he wouldn't eat for months after that. I have never fed any of my snakes together since then. I know it will be more and more difficult to do as I get more garters. But for now, I always make sure to have a separate feed tank.

[Thamnophis]

Talking about pigs...

These ladies also belong to them. But since they have a new terrarium that is bigger, things are better.

http://www.kousebandslangen.nl/thamnophis/pics/voedselnijd.gif

[Stefan-A]

Interesting. The 2 food fights (and the 2 assassination attempts) I had to break up involving vagrans, had one snake grabbing the other by the neck right behind the head. Seemed very deliberate, I don't think that's just what they happened to grab by accident.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

Those lucky buggers...

[ConcinusMan]

l lost a male Mexican gopher snake through this,l put him in for mating trials gave each one their food at separate ends of their viv with each one coiled round their food ,went back an hour latter to see the female had 3/4s eaten the male,l pulled the male out but its died as a dodo

gopher snakes are constrictors. its likely that male was dead or dying before swallowing began. luckily, garters just grab and swallow.

i never feed snakes unattended anyway, even when kept singly.

good save.