Another return of jade with some questions !

[GarterGuy17]

So its been way too long since I have been here on the forum because of some tough times I was going through , but now I'm back but I'm concerned about Jade's size. Jade my red sided garter is pretty thin and not very long for her age , but I blame myself for this and I am at fault of neglect to some extent because of all I have been going through but now I just really want to take good care of her properly to make sure shes living happy and healthy. She doesn't show any signs of illness or abnormal behavior just shes small compared to other garters. Jade will be turning 2 in a few days and I know she should be bigger than when she is. Her diet has consisted of salmon and that's about it really. Haven't found a great place to purchase mice from without having to order them. Is this a huge issue or should I just increase the amount of times I feed her ( which hasn't been much in the past few months ) I just feel awful about it which is why I'm back and asking for help on what should be my next move. I want to keep her and am willing to do anything to fix this situation.

Here's a picture 9304

[guidofatherof5]

What about night crawlers? Start increasing her food times. If twice a week make it 3 times a week. Get some variety in her diet. Most Walmart's sell night crawlers or a bait shop.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/12783-free-shipping-mice.html

[chris-uk]

She looks a little skinny, but not emaciated.
As Steve says, up the feeds a little and try to introduce some variety. If you are just feeding salmon fillet are you supplementing with calcium/vitamins?

[EasternGirl]

Hi John. I am sorry to hear you are going through tough times. If you need to chat...feel free to send me a PM. It is important though that you make sure to take care of Jade...and I say that with complete understanding...as I have been having to take care of 12 garters while going through clinical rotations for nursing school...I know it can be tough. Feeding her fish only though is risky...she could end up with a vitamin deficiency...we have seen people lose snakes to this. As Chris said, you will need to supplement if you can't offer more variety. And although I am sure the idea of giving up Jade probably makes you cringe...if you can't take care of her at the moment, there are probably members who would give her a good home...even temporarily until you can take care of her. I, for one, would certainly be willing to help any way that I can :)

[guidofatherof5]

If you need some supplement I'll send you some to get you started.

[jwolfe152]

i just bought a new jar a flukers calcium and d3 and i cant imagine using that much in a few years honestly i could give someone half the jar it was only a few dollars

[guidofatherof5]

i just bought a new jar a flukers calcium and d3 and i cant imagine using that much in a few years honestly i could give someone half the jar it was only a few dollars

Very nice of you.

[snake man]

I think night crawlers do a really good job and the price is hard to argue with. I have one about the same age and I feed her every 3rd day. She takes about 5-6 per feeding, every once and a while I will give her a pinky or some calcium supplement.

[jwolfe152]

well i got the calcium because he wouldn't take a scented pinky he eats a good bit of nightcrawlers though Love them lol

i get all of mine from the yard after a good rain.. im trying to "breed" some in a few small containers under my trailer where it stays cool enough. i cant keep them in the fridge my gf goes NUTS she is scared to death of worms/maggots because when she was little her older sis put a crap load in her bed under the blankets and when she got in grossed/freaked her out. i have to bait her hooks if we go fishing unless we are catfishing chicken liver is no big deal though :rolleyes:

[GarterGuy17]

I actually just ordered a bunch of pinkies from the site Steve mentioned. I also cleaned her tank and fed her. She eats with no problem at all , It seems she prefers me to feed her the food haha. She eats either way , just she always goes after what I'm holding and tends to ignore whats on her plate. When I first got her at a few weeks old all she ate was pinkies and I was able to introduce fish fillet and night crawlers both easily with no problems at all :)

New set up 9306

I chose to use paper towels just because of me being able to leave the food in there without worrying about her swallowing some aspen or something.

She also sheds with no problem at all , comes out in one whole piece every time without me having to lift a finger.

[GarterGuy17]

One thing that does have me worried is she moves is a very odd way , like she twirls a lot when moving which I pretty sure isn't normal. It's been going on for a while , not that it's impairing her from moving or anything she just falls from time to time and half her body may twist when moving and then she realigns herself a second later. Is the because of a vitamin deficiency ? and how long would it take to fix this issue ?

[guidofatherof5]

It could be, their is no way to say how long or even whether it can be fixed. All you can do is get her going on a varied diet with some supps. and see what happens. If you have a qualified Vet. that is always an option.
Please keep in mind we are all concerned and want to help but qualified medical advice is best.;)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Is it possible she has mites or there is some kind of bug living in the substrate? Snakes will do that behavior if they are trying to rub bugs off of themselves. If there aren't any bugs it would be a concern though.

[guidofatherof5]

Is it possible she has mites or there is some kind of bug living in the substrate? Snakes will do that behavior if they are trying to rub bugs off of themselves. If there aren't any bugs it would be a concern though.

Good thought Shannon.

[Light of Dae]

What about the fish fillet? Any chance it's previously frozen with crap in it or wild with heavy metals?
Or pesticides/herbicides being used in yards near by?

[jwolfe152]

MOST of the fish that is prepackaged has some kind of sodium solution added to it either for freshness or the look of it i dont know how long ago they knew about it here at this forum. most people don't use wild caught fish for the reason of the parasites, but, i don't know about the mercury(i think that is the only heavy metal, in river fish at least) levels if they would hurt them. most people use bait fish like minnows or guppies or they get the fish fillets from the butcher section of the grocery. i'm sure you know most of this but i dont know if the OP knows it but after reading this he will know lol

[GarterGuy17]

Well the only bugs I could think of are some small tiny white looking bugs which I was told were harmless before so I don't think that's it. I'm probably just going to take fish out of her diet completely until I'm sure of what I'm feeding her. I have been using paper towels as well so I don't think that's the issue. I'm going to take her to the vet this weekend and see whats the diagnosis , I just hope it isn't too late.

[jwolfe152]

do you think her movement could be from the paper towels? both of mine have a bit of trouble with the locomotion on them but not as bad as bare glass. just a thought maybe try a little substrate see if her movements change

[GarterGuy17]

Well when I used aspen shavings , I did not see this issue. So that's something I will look into but just to make sure I'm still taking her to the vet for a check up. Nice thought wolfe thanks I didnt think of that.