[ask] does garters know when to stop?

[kenn777]

hi guys..
i fed my albino checkered garter a pinky last week (every week always one pinky, i've fed him/her 3times since i got him/her, once every week).. today (the 4th time), i fed him/her with 3 pinkies (1 has fur already, but still a pinky) and 3 little goldfishes.. i know that he/she shouldn't eat too much goldfishes cause of the thiaminese but i think that if only abit than ok.. even after all that meal, he/she still looking for some food.. my question is does he/she know when to stop eating? :confused: is the food just enough or too much?:confused: he/she is a juvenile and around 40cm long.. is it ok to give hime/her a small amount of goldfish once in a while? thx b4.. :) and sorry for the long post...

[adamanteus]

Hi Lionel, don't worry about long posts, that's fine!
It sounds like you could maybe increase the amount of food you are offering your snake. One pinky per week isn't much. I would strongly recommend that you avoid goldfish altogether, there are plenty of other 'safe' fish you can use, trout and salmon for example.

I see you have noticed that your posts don't appear immediately... this is only because you are a new member, so your posts go into a queue to be read by the moderators before they appear on the open forum. It's part of our anti-spam system, everyone goes through it. Once you have posted a couple more times, there will be no more delay.:)

[kenn777]

yes, i kno.. that's why today i fed him more.. but isn't it 2 much (2 newborn pikies and 1 w/ fur already)? or is it just fine? and 1 more thing, is catfish also bad for garters? can u suggest any fish that is okay to be consumed by garters? i live in Indonesia, where salmons and trouts are expensive to get... thx

[Elliot]

That might have been a little too much, but it depends on the girth of your snakes also. Do you guys have fish called rosy reds? They work well as a substitute for goldfish.

[GarterGuy]

That does sound like a bit much to be feeding. Since your garter is a young snake the increased feedings aren't quite as harmful, but garters do tend to over eat and this can lead to obesity and, espeically if being feed a fattier food like mice, problems with fatty liver and such. You definitely want to control how much you're feeding him and not let him just go hog wild. As far as the goldfish thing....I think the occasional goldfish won't really do any harm, but just make sure they don't become a dietary staple. As for the catfish, I think they are thiaminase free and should be ok for feeding.

Roy

[kenn777]

is 3 pinkies a week good?

[kenn777]

That might have been a little too much, but it depends on the girth of your snakes also. Do you guys have fish called rosy reds? They work well as a substitute for goldfish.

i dont think so..
never heard about it b4... thx for the ans..:D

[GarterGuy]

is 3 pinkies a week good?

Honestly at your snake's size......I wouldn't give him more then one or two. Pinkies (mice in general) have a lot more fat in them then other food items (fish, worms, amphibians) so you don't have to feed them quite as much. He would definitely eat three pinks a week, but that is a bit much. What I do with mine, is that I give them a small pink early in the week and then I give them a worm, snail or piece of fish later in the week to just hold them over. If all I have is larger pinks or fuzzies, then they just get one of these for the week. They seem to be doing really well on this feeding schedule....and this also gives them more variety.

Roy

[kenn777]

Honestly at your snake's size......I wouldn't give him more then one or two. Pinkies (mice in general) have a lot more fat in them then other food items (fish, worms, amphibians) so you don't have to feed them quite as much. He would definitely eat three pinks a week, but that is a bit much. What I do with mine, is that I give them a small pink early in the week and then I give them a worm, snail or piece of fish later in the week to just hold them over. If all I have is larger pinks or fuzzies, then they just get one of these for the week. They seem to be doing really well on this feeding schedule....and this also gives them more variety.

Roy
at my place, the only thing that i can get is mice,catfishes, and frogs.. wat about frogs? do you have any article stating that catfish is thiaminase free that i can read?

[Lori P]

Then only thing I know about frogs is they carry a high parasite load. So if you feed them, run a fresh fecal to your vet every now and then and deworm appropriately. :-)

[kenn777]

Then only thing I know about frogs is they carry a high parasite load. So if you feed them, run a fresh fecal to your vet every now and then and deworm appropriately. :-)
thx for the ans... since there is nop reptile vet around, i dont think i'll feed em frogs...:(

[Lori P]

Your local small animal vet should be able to run the fecal, it's no different than a fecal on a dog or cat. But then they'd have to look up how to deworm, and they may or may not be willing to go thru the effort.

Don't forget we require pics of your snake!!! :-) :-)

[kenn777]

dunno how to post image.. LOL...http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/c:documents%20and%20settings/vgn-fs570/my%20documents/my%20pictures/dsc01704

[kenn777]

is guppies thiamanase free?

[Elliot]

I'm pretty sure they are, but they're also kind of expensve.

[kenn777]

I'm pretty sure they are, but they're also kind of expensve.
in my country, it is quite cheap.. about 30 cents each... i can breed it easily rite?

[jewel-dragons]

its the best to feed frogs and toads ;-) but i don't know if that is aloud.... here in the netherlands it's forbidden aganist the law.....

[adamanteus]

Lionel, here's how to post pictures:)
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/site-feedback-suggestions-questions/1008-guide-posting-pictures.html

[Elliot]

in my country, it is quite cheap.. about 30 cents each... i can breed it easily rite?

Yes, guppies are supposed to be easy to breed (I've never tried).

[Lori P]

Owning guppies goes something like this:

(Blink) Wow, there's a couple of babies.
(Blink) Wow, there's dozens of babies!
(Blink) OMG, what do I DO with all of these guppies???
(Blink) AAAHHH help me, I have 35 fish tanks full of guppies that I seperated into males and females and they are STILL multiplying!!!!

:D

[Stefan-A]

Owning guppies goes something like this:

(Blink) Wow, there's a couple of babies.
(Blink) Wow, there's dozens of babies!
(Blink) OMG, what do I DO with all of these guppies???
(Blink) AAAHHH help me, I have 35 fish tanks full of guppies that I seperated into males and females and they are STILL multiplying!!!!

:D
Something like that. :D

But just throw in a couple of swordtails and the problem is solved. ;)

[adamanteus]

But just throw in a couple of swordtails and the problem is solved. ;)

Or a hairdryer!:D

[Stefan-A]

And the "Joke Of The Day" award goes to James. :D Thanks, I needed that. :D

ps. :D

[adamanteus]

I was considering trying out the hairdryer trick on myself..... but I guess I'll just go back to work tomorrow!:(

[Zephyr]

Which makes me wonder: What would happen if you threw a hair dryer in the ocean. o.o

[adamanteus]

It wouldn't work anymore.:D

[Stefan-A]

It wouldn't work anymore.:D
It would also get wet. ;)

But what if you threw it in a tub full of distilled water?

[adamanteus]

But what if you threw it in a tub full of distilled water?

Would it disrupt the time/space continuum and open doorways into the past?:)

[Stefan-A]

Does that mean you have to sit in the tub to time travel?

[adamanteus]

What, like reminiscing?:D

[Stefan-A]

Or maybe it would open up a hyperspace window and allow faster-than-light travel..

[kenn777]

so breeding guppies is a good solution then? giving him a guppies and mice diet? if i give him 1 guppy every friday and 2 gupies and 2 mice every sunday.. is it 2 much or good? thx guyz