How to de-stress and get my wild caught baby garter to eat?

[Tzacol]

I caught it a couple days ago, it's about 5 inches. I have always had problems in the past with wild caught garters usually being too stressed to eat and having to release them soon. It's housed in a 30 gal tank with a heat lamp, water dish, hiding places, and climbing objects since it likes wandering around and climbing everything. I also have a 15 gal tank if that's better. I plan on feeding it slugs, earthworms, and baby pacific tree frogs which I raise myself. These frogs are very common where I got my snake from, and I've seen garters eating them before.

I'll see if I can figure out how to add photos from my iPod, wasn't working earlier and I couldn't even post this thread from it.

[guidofatherof5]

Do you know which species of garter you have? What state are you in? Knowing this helps us with advice.

[Tzacol]

It's a northwestern garter snake, I live in Oregon.


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[Tzacol]

By the way, I've only handled it twice and won't again until it eats regularly, once when catching it, and another when I took that picture of it, which was kind of useless since I couldn't get it to focus decently :P

[RedSidedSPR]

By the way, I've only handled it twice and won't again until it eats regularly, once when catching it, and another when I took that picture of it, which was kind of useless since I couldn't get it to focus decently :P

that's what I was going to say - don't handle it until it's comfortable and eating. other than that there's not a whole lot else you can do at this point as far as stress goes.. that's assuming you set up a proper tank with lots of hides and good temperatures.

[guidofatherof5]

It's a northwestern garter snake, I live in Oregon.


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One of the sweetest garters on the planet. I would say slugs and earthworms would be high on the menu.

[Tzacol]

Definitely lots of hides, though it mostly burrows underneath a fake log if it doesn't want to explore. As for temperature, the heat lamp is at the top in a corner, with part of the cage cooler and part warmer.

[RedSidedSPR]

Definitely lots of hides, though it mostly burrows underneath a fake log if it doesn't want to explore. As for temperature, the heat lamp is at the top in a corner, with part of the cage cooler and part warmer.

Do you know the actual temperatures?

[Tzacol]

Do you know the actual temperatures?

I don't, no, and can't check just yet as the thermometer/hygrometer has fallen down face first and I don't want to disturb the snake for a bit since I just placed a dish in with him holding a small slug and earthworm.

[RedSidedSPR]

That's fine. Just wondering.

hope he eats for you.

[Tzacol]

So far, so good. Checked the dish and neither slug nor earthworm are there. The slug probably just wandered off, but the earthworm wasn't going anywhere after having been chopped in half, so my guess is it was eaten :) I'll try feeding again in a day or two and let you know how it went.

Temp in a cooler area was 70, and the closest spot to the lamp was 92. Are those okay temps for northwestern garters?

[RedSidedSPR]

good to hear.

temps are fine. gives him a wide range to regulate himself. the beauty of a 30 gallon.

[Mommy2many]

So far, so good. Checked the dish and neither slug nor earthworm are there. The slug probably just wandered off, but the earthworm wasn't going anywhere after having been chopped in half, so my guess is it was eaten :)



You'd be surprised where half an earthworm can crawl off to...

[Tzacol]

You'd be surprised where half an earthworm can crawl off to...

Lol I agree but this one wasn't moving at all when I left and I checked all around the vicinity of the dish where they would normally go.

[snipstedy]

I have wondered about feeding with froglets. Is it typically overall safe? Im thinking of getting some tree frogs depending on how often they need feeding. About every other week or so I have to go to the next city over for work so if they need feeding every other day it wouldn't work out.

[Mommy2many]

Frogs & froglets will have many parasites. Safer to feed other items such as earthworms, salmon or pinkies.

[d_virginiana]

Frogs are generally a bad idea. Froglets/tadpoles can be used to get noneating babies started eating sometimes, but if they're eating other things it's not worth it. Plus unless the frog naturally lives in the same place and is eaten by your species of garter, you run into tox issues (frogs that normally wouldn't be thought of as toxic can cause snakes that wouldn't normally eat them to regurge).

[Tzacol]

I breed and raise my frogs, they don't come into contact with things from outside, and the originals came from the exact same area the garter came from. Would that make it fine to feed the babies to my garter?

Also I put in a new dish with an earthworm, I'll check on it soon.

[Tzacol]

Forgot to update on that worm, I don't know what happened to it, but today, I plopped a slug down on a rock, and within seconds he ate! Right in front of me :) I also was out in the forest I got him from, looking for rubber boas and alligator lizards, and found four more garters lol, a couple of which were a pretty good size.

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