how much food?

[Snake lover 3-25]

i have a 15" and a 30"ish i've been feeding them both small pinkies... i know that this is far too small for the big one... but i think that they're about right for the baby... the mom has to eat about 10 pinkies in order to even look like she's eaten... the baby has to eat about 3... what size mice should i get her? and how many should i feed her? how often should i feed them both? the mom is about 7ish and the baby is 2:confused::confused::confused::rolleyes:

[Thamnophis]

A mouse that is fed should be no thicker than the thickest part of the snake.

[Snake lover 3-25]

but can they be too small?

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

1 or 2 food items(per feeding) that are the size of the largest part of the snakes body or 1.5x larger, smaller is not bad but bigger is easier

but can they be too small?

[Snake lover 3-25]

how often?

[Thamnophis]

Too small is not a problem for the snake.

[Snake lover 3-25]

also... can i feed her pork???

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

babies- 2
sub-adults and adults- 1 or 2

how often?

[Snake lover 3-25]

okay... and...


how often?

also... can i feed her pork???

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

sorry i was talking about how many times a week

okay... and...

[Snake lover 3-25]

ooooo okay... still can any one answer my questions(above) thanks for all your help!!:):)

[Zephyr]

It's better to feed less but more often.

[Snake lover 3-25]

what about pork???

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

no i dont think so, its best to stick to fish mice and worms, salmon or trout fillets are the cheapest i buy a slab for $8 and cut it up into about 250 large rosy minnow sized strips, making each strip around 3 cents much cheaper than feeders at the pet store which are around 10 cents each

what about pork???

[adamanteus]

Pork isn't the best idea. (Sorry, I thought you were joking!) It's too salty, too fibrous, too high in fat and is totally unnatural as part of a Garter Snake's diet.
Did I mention trout at all?:rolleyes:

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

no but i did :D

Pork isn't the best idea. (Sorry, I thought you were joking!) It's too salty, too fibrous, too high in fat and is totally unnatural as part of a Garter Snake's diet.
Did I mention trout at all?:rolleyes:

[Snake lover 3-25]

my feeder mice are 50-67 cents a mouse!!! so not fair!!!:(:(:(:(:(

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

lol then dont feed a ton of small ones, at the pet store i goto all frozen are .50 and all live are 1.00 so i can get 2 adults for the same price as 2 babies

my feeder mice are 50-67 cents a mouse!!! so not fair!!!:(:(:(:(:(

[adamanteus]

Or buy a trout!

[Snake lover 3-25]

okay... we were having pork for dinner and i was just about to marinade it... i didn't feed her any... i'm not even sure that she would have been interested... just wondering...:rolleyes:

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

that or salmon is always the best way to go

Or buy a trout!

[Snake lover 3-25]

strange... but i could NEVER feed her live mice... to cute alive... with their adorable little faces...:):):(:(
maybe i will buy a trout... but i think that it's expensive at my store...

[Snake lover 3-25]

salmon is expensive too... :(

[adamanteus]

salmon is expensive too... :(

Going by weight, both salmon and trout are a tiny fraction of the price you will pay for mice.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

well if you think about it i buy a 8$ slab and turn it into 250 pinkie sized strips that are 3 cents each rather than .50

salmon is expensive too... :(

[Snake lover 3-25]

hmmmm... maybe it just sounds more expensive... :):):):):(
i'll get a little next time i go to the store just to make sure they eat it first...
mama's a PICKY eater... it gets anoying

[Zephyr]

Jame'sll tell ya trout, I'LL tell ya tilapa.
It's very high in protein, B1, and very low in fat.
Also, in my experience, cheaper by the pound. *Around $4 a pound here.*
And if you REALLY need to switch mama, buy a small feeder goldfish, freeze it, then cut it in half and smear the guts *Especially the liver and gut areas if you can cut it directly in half* on the fish piece you're going to feed to the snake. I will GUARANTEE it will work EVERY TIME.

[Zephyr]

OH! And just a warning on salmon and some trout:
I talked to a fish saleswoman the other day, and the red coloring in most trout/salmon *more often salmon* is artificial. I know it's safe for us *Otherwise they wouldn't be selling it* but I don't know if it's snake safe.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

no way, idk if we hav tilapa around here, u sure its safe for the garters?

Jame'sll tell ya trout, I'LL tell ya tilapa.
It's very high in protein, B1, and very low in fat.
Also, in my experience, cheaper by the pound. *Around $4 a pound here.*
And if you REALLY need to switch mama, buy a small feeder goldfish, freeze it, then cut it in half and smear the guys on the fish piece you're going to feed to the snake. I will GUARANTEE it will work EVERY TIME.

[Zephyr]

no way, idk if we hav tilapa around here, u sure its safe for the garters?100% sure. It's very VERY low in thiaminase and my friend, who runs a fish store, uses it for his aquatic turtles and fish because of the nutrient content.

[adamanteus]

I've not tried my Garters on Tilapia yet, Kyle...... Tried it myself but wasn't too keen, too many bones! I think you may be right that it's cheaper than trout by weight. But maybe once you get all those bones out, it's more expensive than caviar!

Seriously, on your recommendation, I'm going to try it out on my Garters next time I go fish shopping.:)

[Snake lover 3-25]

i already use dead feeder minnows to scent my mice so that's not realy a problem... but she wont eat anything that smells like mice so... i'm not sure... i just want to give them a varied diet and also mice are soooooo expensive... maybe i'll buy a little of each kind and see what she likes best.... :)

[Snake lover 3-25]

um.... okay i'll make sure that i try and find the uncolored fish:)

[Zephyr]

Hmm... That's odd James. The only kind of tilapia I get is boneless, still for 3.99 a pound.

[Snake lover 3-25]

LOL!:) maybe you have to look a little harder:):):):):)

[adamanteus]

Really? We only seem to get it here as whole 'cleaned' fish. I'm going to try it on my Garters though.... maybe this week, while I'm off work.

[Snake lover 3-25]

can you feed fish boned to garters??? or do you have to pick them all out???

[adamanteus]

It's a good thing thing for your Garter to get some bones in it's diet.......
However, when using fish you have cut-up into pieces yourself, you must be very careful that hard bones are not sticking out at awkward angles, as these could easily lodge in the digestive tract and cause some very nasty problems.
When cutting up fish, I always ensure there are no hard bones at all left in there.
Of course with whole fish this problem is avoided.

[Snake lover 3-25]

okay... um.... what about skin???

[adamanteus]

You can give them some of the skin, it couldn't harm, and no doubt there are some important nutrients in it.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I have been using tilapia for a while. I get the whole ones and filet them or buy the filets. Occasionally there are bones, but I let them eat them also, just making sure none are sticking out sideways from the chunks I cut so they go straight down.

[drache]

ooohh
I haven't tried tilapia yet
Runty is about to get more variety in his (fish only by preference) diet
he likes salmon better than trout and he completely disdained Haddock
I'll let you know his take on tilapia
when I feed trout I cut the pieces from a whole fish and there are bones in some pieces - I make sure they go lengthwise and don't stick out
the salmon I dip in calcium at one end a couple of times per month
Runty is no longer a good name for him either, but it stuck

[Snake lover 3-25]

thanks for all the help... i fed them both a mixture of frozen thawed salmon and tilapia, they loved them... i just got back from a vacation in florida and my mom had to feed them wile i was away... they actually ate!!! i was very surprized! the big one even ate more than usual! :):):):)

[anji1971]

Well, that sure is good news! Glad to hear they liked it so much!:)

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

i went to the store today, here tilapias the same price as salmon