Feeding question

[NetBSD]

my garter Jake doesnt seem to hunt for his minnows in the water, its like he just isnt noticing them or something, once they flop out of his water bowl he dives for them and eats perfect for me, is there anyway i can teach him how to hunt in the water?

[tyflier]

You might try a guppy or something with a little more size to it. My girl doesn't like to hunt her minnows, but she LOVES to hunt guppies. I think it might be a size issue. She eats the minnows...she doesn't actively hunt them the way she does the guppies...

Take this with a grain of salt as my experience with garters is limited...

[jitami]

It could be a size/visual thing, but likely he really just hasn't noticed them there yet. You could make the water more shallow so the fish splash around a bit. Once he knows there's a possibility of fish there he will check his water bowl for them :) I thought it was odd that my captive bred babies never hung out in the water bowl like my wild caught adult did. That was until they had their first live fish meal... now they periodically check the water bowl and will even go through the fishing/hunting motions when there's nothing there :)

[infernalis]

From my observations I feel strongly that contrast is a factor.

If the minnow does not stand out, the snake may not even notice it is there.

Dark colored fish and polliwogs or fancy guppies are easy for the snake to see in the water.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

what color is your water bowl?

try using a clear or white water dish, with only enough water in it so that the fish wil stay alive and breathing... make it so that they really have to flop and splash to move about.

Dekaybrown is right about the contrast thing... The better the snakes can see the fish, the better off you will be. If he is not noticing them, he either just can't see them, or he is too focused on something elsewhere to look into the water bowl (he may be more concerned with you than the bowl)... try surrounding 3 sides of his tank with cloth or paper so he feels a bit more secure, and maybe drape some foliage over top of his water bowl from the lid of the tank for some cover.

[NetBSD]

maybe thats my problem, im using a ceramic blue dish, took a while for the ribbon to even see the minniows in her bowl. ill give a clear dish a try

[Lori P]

Clear dishes seem to make all the difference in the world. The only issue you might find is that some snakes (and I won't mention any names) seem to get stuck trying to go thru the glass instead of reaching over. Or maybe I just have a stupid snake or two. LOL!!

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol too funny:D

[jitami]

Clear dishes seem to make all the difference in the world. The only issue you might find is that some snakes (and I won't mention any names) seem to get stuck trying to go thru the glass instead of reaching over. Or maybe I just have a stupid snake or two. LOL!!

Yours are not the only stupid snakes ;):D

[prattypus]

Hey, I can't let this behavior be limited to snakes. Many a time I've tried walking through a patio door!

[infernalis]

Hey, I can't let this behavior be limited to snakes. Many a time I've tried walking through a patio door!

Its been forever, but I tried that once:eek:

RED FOX STANDING BY

[tyflier]

I had been having trouble getting my girl to eat her Danios. I though it was a size issue, but after this thread, I decided to give her a few in very low levels of water, and wouldn't you know it...she ate 6 straight away. The contrast and splashing made all the difference in the world, so Thanks Guys!!

[prattypus]

Yeah, I'm a big believer in the lower water levels, most of the time. Now if I am dealing with a guy that just doesn't want to eat, I leave the fish in the enclosure, but I add more water. Yes, there's not as much splashing to catch attention, but I figure if the swimmer's gonna be in there for a bit more oxygenated water will help it out longer.

[NetBSD]

well since last night when i swapped the dishes to right now, jake hasnt touched any of the minnows. i guess ill just leave 1 or 2 in his water bowl till he decides to soak in it and maybe he will find them.

[NetBSD]

wow is jakes timing bad, last night he was all over his cage looking for food inclusing in his watering hole, well i got some minnows today and now he wont come out of his hide lol. i tosses a minnow infront of the hide and he grabbed it up right away so hopefully he comes out and finds the other 4 in his dish

[adamanteus]

hopefully he comes out and finds the other 4 in his dish

If not, just toss him the other four, Mark!:)

[NetBSD]

well sometime while i wasnt looking with the lights off the lil pig ate all but 2, so i guess he figured it out and hes just too shy to eat infront of me

[jitami]

Good news Net :)