Baby garter feeding?

[Seere121]

Hello, My new baby garters aren't seeming to take to earthworms or fish. These baby garters are from the Kitsap county area in WA, does anybody know what else might temp them?

[drache]

hi there
how new are they?
and how old? (are these the ones born 8/17?)
my oregon garters seemed to really like the strips of pinkie mice I gave them
and once they ate, it was no problem, but I'd not gotten any of them to eat until they were over a week old
one of them went for 12 days before being interested at all and then he wolfed down a pinkie strip like it was never an issue (wasn't for him, right?)
yours may not be ready to eat yet
just because others may eat in the first three days, does not mean you need to panic just yet
patience and good luck to you

[zirliz]

i have a garter who is ten days old (Checkered garter) the pet shop i got her from said the rest of her siblings are feeding so should I be concerned?
It's my first baby garter so I 'm very nervous,

[drache]

I'm always concerned until they do eat
it doesn't seem to help the snake though
just patiently offering them a variety of foods in a variety of situations, seems to work best
I'd offer them guppies or minnows, frozen/thawed trout strips, f/t pinkie strips, earthworms
try leaving them alone with the food if they're shy or distracted
good luck

[enigma200316]

are you cutting the fish or worms into bite size parts or are they whole,
the parts mite be to big, make sure the parts are about as big as the snakes head and don't worry to much yet it will probably eat soon.....:)

[ssssnakeluvr]

are these wild caught?? also, how long have you had them?? It takes a little while for them to adjust to captivity or a new home....

[Seere121]

Captive born from a wild caught mother. Ive cut everything I've tried feeding them into bite sized pieces. so far they have rejected it all, pinkie parts, both scented and unscented, earthworms, and filleted goldfish(skin on) (I much prefer filleting salmon at work, those goldfish are a pain.)

[enigma200316]

how old are they???
did they all have there first shed???

[adamanteus]

Geoffrey, have you tried live fish such as guppies or rosies? Sometimes the movement gets them interested. By the way, it's best not to use Goldfish, they contain an enzyme (thiaminase) which can cause serious problems after a while.
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet#THIAMINASE _PROBLEMS

[ssssnakeluvr]

what type of garter is it?? if it's a northwestern, they are primarily worm feeders in the wild.... guppies or rosied in small clear water dishes might help...some movement might attract them.

[zirliz]

i have a garter who is ten days old (Checkered garter) the pet shop i got her from said the rest of her siblings are feeding so should I be concerned?
It's my first baby garter so I 'm very nervous,

Still hasn't eaten I've tried fish and earthworms :(
what to do?

[Tori]

I had one baby garter that wouldn't eat worms, live guppies, cut up trout, rosy reds, plattys, or anything else I could think of for almost 45 days, then I gave it some live white clouds and it ate them immediately. It's worth a try, right? Let us know, ok?

Tori

[zirliz]

Finally got her to eat a baby Platy, but can't find baby fish all the time arn't minnows a bit big for baby snakes?

[adamanteus]

Now that she's eating Platys you might be able to trick her into taking other food items by 'scenting'.

[zirliz]

not much good if she's after moving prey is it?

[adamanteus]

There are ways....put some fish pieces in the water bowl with the Platys, while she's chasing those she will bump into the fish pieces and she may take them.

[zirliz]

Ah, clever now to find more tiny fish, not easy here :(

[zirliz]

Thanks for advice I'll look somemore for them in other locations

[DEKAN]

Same here...so I bought some guppies to breed, for my luck its just a matter of days.

For 3 weeks I put worms and trout but the babies just fool around smelling the food, but then nothing happens... :mad:

Luck with your garters :D

[stonyloam]

This is what seems to work with my babies (lots of babies): I take a nightcrawler and with a sharp knife (or razor blade) cut off the tail. Then I use the flat of the blade to squish out as much of the dirt (poop) as I can (this makes the whole job a lot less messy). Cut the worm up into bite size (2mm) slices (I cut the head into 2-3 mm chunks). Take a couple of frozen (or fresh) fathead minnows and cut them into 2mm slices (the head can be kinda big, so I split that in half). Slice off a piece of frozen trout fillet about 2mm thick and cut it into 2x2x3mm chunks. Mix the whole mess together and serve it in several portions on 2 inch paper squares. At first they went for the worm pieces, but now they seem to grab anything. I leave it in there for a while and what they don’t eat I just toss out and do the whole thing again a couple of days later. Doesn’t take too much time.:D

[KITKAT]

Same here...so I bought some guppies to breed, for my luck its just a matter of days.

For 3 weeks I put worms and trout but the babies just fool around smelling the food, but then nothing happens... :mad:

Luck with your garters :D

Just a helpful note... guppies have a gestation that varies with temperature. The mid 80's will produce the shortest gestation with good health for the parents.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Seere121 :)