What do you feed your garter (specifically)

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

and how do you prepare it, first i feed each one a f/t pinkie or fuzzy then i defrost salmon or tilapia put it on some wax paper, get some worms from outside and squeeze all the guts on the fish then cut up the body and put it on it, and put it in their cage(and since theres 4) i watch them eat then after their done i put them in the bath


I thought it might be intresting to see how different people prepared food for their garters

[Loren]

Coast Garter(terrestrial)- small mice or rats- dead or alive- from my 24" hemostat.
Mountain Garter(terrestrial)- same as above.
Mount Diablo Aquatic- same as above.
Sierra Garter (couchii)- small mice, usually thawed, from hemostat.
Valley Garter - small mice, only eats thawed- from hemostat.
Checkered Garter- small thawed mice, sometimes scented with a thawed guppy,from hemostat.
Northwestern Garters- small mice, scented with a thawed treefrog- from hemostat.
Gulf Coast Ribbon- small thawed mice, sometimes scented with f/t guppy, from hemostat.

So basically I feed rodents. :). I thaw them in warm water till they are cozy warm.

Then I feed the guppies to my ringneck, and the frogs to my night snakes.

[Snake lover 3-25]

i thaw 4 mice for each snake some tailapia, and a minnow in zip-lock bags and put it in hot water to defrost, i put the snakes in their feeding cages and feed them with tongs, mice first, then fish if they want it....... my female needs her mice to be scented with a minnow to eat it....... :D

[gregmonsta]

F/T pinkie and 3 pinkie sized chunks of F/T trout - twice a week. :)

Pinkies and trout defrosted in a cup of cold water.

[Rook]

Rook alternates, somtimes he gets f/t gerbil pinkies, in which I poke a hole in the belly(otherwise it bloats up with air), and I dangle it by the back feet making him "hunt" it. we also breed our own live fish to feed him, they go in his water and he actually has to hunt them, how many depends on the kind of fish, but usually 2. when I give him Salmon I thaw it out and make him "hunt" it. I also sometimes feed him worms, which I wash off and feed live..those are always the most fun to feed him, because once he has them because its like watching him try to eat live spegettie lol

[jeanette]

Celie and Cedric (Garters) : Pinkies F/T and earthworms whenever they are hungry (im also considering introducing fish into their diet)
Beltane (Common Boa) : large fuzzies F/T once a week (shes going to be upgrading the size of her meal to small mice next week)
Slash (Royal Python) : Rat weaners F/T once a week ( Also thinking about increasing the size of his meal)
when preparing Rodents for all my snakes i always use F/T, i always warm them first, until recently i never had any problems with that. Just lately celie refused her Pinkie so i had to go through the annoyance of scenting the pinkie with worm guts ewww, but it worked.
Earthworms i always wash first in clean water before i feed them to my garters (they even get a wash before they are fed to the frogs) :)

[Sid]

Baby Garters get guppies with pinkie parts put together in their water bowl until they are big enough for pinkie halves- twice per week
JV to adult Garters all get mice of suitable size weekly and live fish as a treat monthly.

[adamanteus]

My babies get a trout/pinky mix twice a week. The adults get the same once a week. I give earthworms as and when I can find them, as an addition to normal feeding.

[Snake lover 3-25]

I give earthworms as and when I can find them, as an addition to normal feeding.

Ditto:D:D:D:D

[Elliot]

JV Maritime garter- 8 fish every 5 days or so, dusted with calcium/vitamin powder every other week. I feed them to it live, when they aren't dusted he just grabs them out of his water dish.

Adult ribbons- Stanely gets 2 f/t pinkies once a week, and Femme gets one f/t fuzzy once a week.

[Stefan-A]

My juveniles get one 2-week old mouse or one fish. The adult one normally gets one or two 3-week old mice or 1-3 fish. In both cases, it's equal to roughly 10% of the snake's bodyweight, and I feed them once a week. The fish I use is normally either vendace or rainbow trout.

[Thamnophis]

All my garters get:

Stint (every feeding)
Pangasius ypothalmus (most feedings)
Clarias lazerna (most feedings)
Worms (every now and then)
Chickenheart/chickenstomach (every now and then)
Mice (every now and then)

Every feeding I put a mineral/vitamin/calcium on the food.

http://www.kousebandslangen.nl/voedsel002.jpg

http://www.kousebandslangen.nl/voedsel003.jpg


http://www.kousebandslangen.nl/voedsel010.jpg

http://www.kousebandslangen.nl/voedsel001.jpg

[NikkiSixx]

I dont feed mine....
my dad does he feeds and i water!!!:D

[bulrush]

My eastern doesn't seem to like thawed pinkies, but I don't make them move on tongs or anything. I just thaw in warm water and lay them on a plate in the cage. He loves nightcrawlers though. And since he's so small (14") it's funny to watch him eat this huge nightcrawler.

[jeanette]

My eastern doesn't seem to like thawed pinkies, but I don't make them move on tongs or anything. I just thaw in warm water and lay them on a plate in the cage. He loves nightcrawlers though. And since he's so small (14") it's funny to watch him eat this huge nightcrawler.
try making sure that the pinkie is nice and warm and then scent it with the nightcrawlers insides, might work for you :)

[MayorOgden]

My little Mayor won't eat his pinkies unless they are dangling. If I drop it accidentally from the tongs, he won't go after it or passes it right up. He likes to crawl through the plants and "sneak up" on the pinky. It's funny. I don't think he'll go after anything that doesn't move.

Do you get earthworms from the backyard? What type of live fish do you feed?

[thinkmore]

lol Rook too, he doesnt like his food if it isnt moveing, he will sneak around his log and track it, before picking his strike zone, waiting and boom he strikes at it. if you just lay it down he decides your being boring and doesnt want it lol

[Zephyr]

I try to offer my snakes a varied diet: Generally f/t pinkies/fuzzies *according to the garter's size* canadian night crawlers, dew worms, garden worms, african night crawlers, tilapia filets, rosy reds, and gold fish. *Only adults.* I also offer them slugs, but only younger garters seem interested in these.
This summer I'm going to try leeches too.

[MayorOgden]

I fed my garter rosy reds in the beginning, but then I read that they can carry bacteria or parasites, and it freaked me out, so I went strictly F/T pinkies.

[jeanette]

My little Mayor won't eat his pinkies unless they are dangling. If I drop it accidentally from the tongs, he won't go after it or passes it right up. He likes to crawl through the plants and "sneak up" on the pinky. It's funny. I don't think he'll go after anything that doesn't move.

Do you get earthworms from the backyard? What type of live fish do you feed?
im not feedin fish myself atm, although its highly recommended by the folks on here. i just had an experience where my female refused pinkies for 2 weeks because all she wanted was earthworms, problems solved now though. you can dig your own earthworms from the backyard if theres no pesticides or weedkillers been used there, or you can get them from a bait store.

[Snake lover 3-25]

how long do you have to wait after you use pesticides untill the worms are safe??????

[jeanette]

i absolutly havnt a clue how long you would have to wait, i guess the directions on the bottle or packet might give you some guidlines on how soon the area would be safe, but i'd be reluctant to use any earthworms from a pesticide treated area for many months. the pesticide will seep into the ground so while you may be safe to let your cat walk over the area and then wash himself that pesticide is still in the ground below. I am too lazy to go digging for earthworms, i did it once and i wont be doing it again lol, i went and bought a tub from a fishing tackle store :D

[Snake lover 3-25]

but are those "safe" for snakes????? i heard that the worms from tackle / bait shops are fed some sort of chemical that isn't safe for snakes......

[jeanette]

i think it depends, UK fisheries are really funny about chemicals being put into the water now, so they sometimes use food dyes which are harmless if ingested, but you can by the normal undyed earthworms some bait shops do provide them

[Zephyr]

but are those "safe" for snakes????? i heard that the worms from tackle / bait shops are fed some sort of chemical that isn't safe for snakes......The red wigglers, or pan fish worms, are down right dangerous for snakes. They produce some sort of toxic chemical.
Canadian night crawlers, on the other hand, are all WC. So, you're gambling with chemicals with your own worms or with Canadians if you buy them.

[enigma200316]

I feed mine the following: worms, fathead minnows a.k.a rosy-reds, trout, and a multi vit, have not had to much luck with pinks yet....................:)

[Snake lover 3-25]

my female is very picky with her pinkies........ try this.... this is what i do

defrost the minnows with a mouse........ oh right you prob use live right....... well..... kill some off..... and dip the pinkie in the fish tank then rub the fish all over the pinkie and feed her the mouse as you would a fish:D

[Zephyr]

my female is very picky with her pinkies........ try this.... this is what i do

defrost the minnows with a mouse........ oh right you prob use live right....... well..... kill some off..... and dip the pinkie in the fish tank then rub the fish all over the pinkie and feed her the mouse as you would a fish:DOr cut the fish in half and smear it all over the mouse. Then leave the head of the rosy on the pinky to further enhance the smell.

[Snake lover 3-25]

yeah....... that would work too.........:D:D:D:p:p