Feeding

[Valamor]

Hello, my first post on here but I've used this site for basically everything since I got my baby Garter. Is it ok to feed him in his cage, his bedding is Aspen Shavings, would it be really bad if he accidently swallowed one of the Aspen Shavings?

[Albert Clark]

Welcome Val, good to have you with us! Yes it's ok to feed in the cage. In baby garters they need some moisture that is easily accessible. Maybe make sure to mist part of the aspen shavings from time to time. It's ok if he swallows some of the substrate. They are pretty good at not doing that so don't worry. You can place a shallow dish with his food in the dish on a paper towel to minimize that. Good luck.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice to have you with us. I'll link the forum care sheet in this post. I personally would not recommend aspen bedding. If if must be used I would suggest feeding your snake in a separate container as those shavings are very sharp. We have had members post about losing snakes because of blockages after ingesting aspen shavings. My suggestion is to use a different bedding. There are many good products on the market that won't put your snake at risk and will allow you to feed in the same enclosure. Paper towels were suggested as a substrate cover but they make a good substrate in themselves. Newspaper(not absorbent but cheap and abundant), "Yesterday's News(paper product formed into pellets), etc. In the care sheet you will find a section that discusses substrates. Feel free to ask all the questions you have. This forum is dedicated to helping.
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//744/medium/welcome.jpg

[Valamor]

Is it ok to feed him in a seperate container and then move him straight back into his cage? And what other substrate would you recommend, I was in a hurry when I picked the Aspen shavings and didn't plan on it being permanent

[Valamor]

I actually have Repti-Bark but I wasn't sure about using that with him as a baby, but I am new to this

[d_virginiana]

I agree with Steve. It's not a huge deal when a larger snake like a python ingests a bit of bedding, but with garters (especially smaller ones) it has the potential to cause damage. Aspen is sharp, and some of the fluffier ones like carefresh won't break down in their system and can cause blockages if the piece is big enough; I think we've had people on here that were pretty sure their snakes died due to eating carefresh too.

[Zdravko092368]

Re-reading that caresheet I noticed it advises against dirt... all my garter enclosures I use top soil/dirt/dried leaves mixed from outside and have never had an issue. :p

[Rushthezeppelin]

Well you use bioactive zdrav. That is more in reference to soil without cleanup crews, which will get moldy and bacteria ridden somewhat quickly.

[d_virginiana]

I think some items on the caresheet are aimed at beginners. I wouldn't recommend dirt for a beginner because there are a lot of ways it could cause problems, but you clearly know what you're doing :)

[Albert Clark]

It's always good to be on the side of safety for the animal. Having said that, I would repeat that snakes young and old are pretty good at deciphering whats edible and what's not. Occaisionally pieces of substrate can inadvertently be ingested. They try everyway possible to dispel foreign pieces from their mouths.

[Rushthezeppelin]

They also tend to try and eat with their head held up above the substrate, unless you give them a worm that's decent sized for them, then they wrestle it all over w/e enclosure you have them in. That's why when I have a separate feeding enclosure for my checkered in my main viv with ecoearth.

[Zdravko092368]

It's always good to be on the side of safety for the animal. Having said that, I would repeat that snakes young and old are pretty good at deciphering whats edible and what's not. Occaisionally pieces of substrate can inadvertently be ingested. They try everyway possible to dispel foreign pieces from their mouths.

I have witnessed this quite a bit, while eating as some substrate starts to get on the side of their mouth they will wipe their face along the ground or a rock to try and get it off. Seems more common with adults than the young however.

[Albert Clark]

I have witnessed this quite a bit, while eating as some substrate starts to get on the side of their mouth they will wipe their face along the ground or a rock to try and get it off. Seems more common with adults than the young however.

And how they not only move forward and backwards in their attempts to remove the foreign body but also sideways and up and down. I think this is just instinctual behavior in a attempt to wrestle any moving prey and give the duvernoys gland a chance to become activated but also to dispel foreign bodies from being swallowed. :)