General newbie questions..

[misskris]

OK, I've got a few questions.

1.How often should my garter be eating?

She ate 4 minnows, a day after we brought her home. I tried a pinkie about 5 day's after and she wasn't interested. I'm off today to try and find some guppies or minnows or earth worms to try feeding her today. Is it just feed as aften as she'll eat?

2. What does snake poo look like?

Might sound crazy, but I completely emptied her bedding last night and I have no clue what I'm looking for as far as poo.. However I know what went in must come out.

3.Suplements?What if any should I be using? I was told a calcium supp. but I'm curious if teres anything else. Brands?

I think that's all for the moment.

[prattypus]

check out the article section. There's a top notch care sheet in there...

[infernalis]

OK, I've got a few questions.

1.How often should my garter be eating?

She ate 4 minnows, a day after we brought her home. I tried a pinkie about 5 day's after and she wasn't interested. I'm off today to try and find some guppies or minnows or earth worms to try feeding her today. Is it just feed as aften as she'll eat?

2. What does snake poo look like?

Might sound crazy, but I completely emptied her bedding last night and I have no clue what I'm looking for as far as poo.. However I know what went in must come out.

3.Suplements?What if any should I be using? I was told a calcium supp. but I'm curious if teres anything else. Brands?

I think that's all for the moment.


1. That depends on the size of the snake and the amount of food you give it.

General rule of thumb, Baby garters should get fed every 2-3 days as much as they will consume.

Adult snakes once a week as much as they will consume, or a couple times a week, again that is a general rule, I have on adult male garter who gets one pinky every night, and he is perfectly healthy.

2. Snake poo usually is a clumpy mass with some white in it. (kinda like bird poo) sometimes just black specks in the substrate.

3. Most any calcium fortified reptile supplement will do, Flukers and Zoo Med are the top two brands.

[Snake lover 3-25]

if it's an adult a good size meal once a week will be good
if it's a baby then 3 times a week is good

lol it should be like white /brown lol

i use reptivite:D

[misskris]

Thanks all. I went to the bait shop today, got a half a scoop of flathead minnows for 3 bucks. Half a scoop is about 40-50 fish. The care sheet say's they're ok. I also got some nightcrawlers. For 5 bucks I think I can keep her fed for probably a month or more as long as the fish don't all die LOL She turned her nose up at the worms and ate about 4 good sized minnows..

How long before I should see poo?

[adamanteus]

Just a couple of days until she poops.... whether or not you see it would depend on the substrate you're using and how hard you look! Trust me... you'll soon be fed up of seeing poop!:rolleyes::D

[infernalis]

Aren't fatheads rich in thiaminase?

What care sheet are you referring to?

[guidofatherof5]

I'm questioning it to, Wayne. Flatheads or fatheads? I think both contain Thiaminase.

[misskris]

Aren't fatheads rich in thiaminase?

What care sheet are you referring to?


The one here.


whole fish (beware of those containing thiaminase, including goldfish)

common types include flathead minnows, guppies, zebrafish
So you're saying flatheads are bad? Maybe someone should clarify.. Which fish other than guppies are ok?

[infernalis]

Give me a few minutes, I'll do some web research and be right back.

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a short list I found of safe and not safe fish. Article: Thiaminase – What it is, why you care (http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/Thiaminase.htm)

[Snake lover 3-25]

tailapia isn't on that list???

[guidofatherof5]

It was just a short list I found. I'll see if I can find the long one.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Fathead minnows, aka rosy reds, are not safe and contain thiaminase.

[Snake lover 3-25]

but what about FLAThead minnows???

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Those, I do not know.... are we sure they are not just two misnomers for the same group of fishes?!

[misskris]

Flathead Chub.


http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/iafish/images/flhc.gif

Hybopsis gracilis


Characteristics - straw to brown colored on back shading to silver on the sides and belly, strongly depressed head and large sickle-shaped pectoral fins
Distribution - Missouri River drainage
Foods - aquatic insects and young fish Flathead chubs have a body form, which is adapted for life in strong currents. The most distinctive characters are their strongly depressed head and large sickle-shaped pectoral fins. A large, sub-terminal mouth has a barbel at the corner of the jaw. Pharyngeal teeth are arranged in a pattern of 2, 4-4, 2. The dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins contain 8 rays, while the pectoral fins contain from 16 to 19 rays. The lower lobe of the caudal fin is usually darker than the upper lobe. A complete lateral line contains from 48 to 57 scales. These chubs are straw to brown colored on the back, shading to silver on the sides and belly.
This chub species is found in large schools over shallow, sandy bars in the smaller tributary streams. They can survive quite well in turbid water, which historically characterized the Missouri River. This minnow is quite active when feeding on aquatic insects and young fish. Little is known about their spawning habits, but they are believed to be summer spawners. Adults reach 10 inches in length after 4 years of life.

[misskris]

Fathead Minnow

http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/iafish/images/fhmn.gif

Pimephales promelas


Characteristics - dark olive above with coppery tinge behind head and along sides, sides silvery and belly white; back broad and flat in front of dorsal fin; dusky band or blotch in front and rear rays of dorsal fin; maximum length of about 3 inches
Distribution - statewide in streams, man-made lakes and natural lakes
Foods - microscopic plants, small insects and their larvae
Other names - blackhead minnow, tuffy minnow

The fathead minnow is found in every watershed and is considered the most abundant and widespread fish in Iowa. It is listed as common to abundant in nearly all fish collections from streams, man-made lakes and natural lakes. The continental range of this cyprinid is centered in the Midwest and Great Plains states, but it also extends through the Great Lakes basin to New York, south to Texas and New Mexico, and north into the Yukon Territories.
Fathead minnow has a stout body form that is moderately compressed laterally with a broad flat area just before the dorsal fin. A typical Pimephales, they have a shortened and closely attached first ray in the dorsal fin and smaller, crowded scales in advance of the dorsal fin. The small, terminal mouth is oblique and without a barbel. Slender, slightly hooked pharyngeal teeth are arranged in a 4-4 array. Body color is dark olive above with a tinge of copper or brass behind the head and along the sides. The sides are lighter with a silvery hue, and the belly is white. A dusky band or blotch appears in the front and rear rays of the dorsal fin, which helps distinguish them from the bullhead minnow and bluntnose minnow. The lateral band is faint in specimens from turbid waters and prominent in specimens from clear water. An incomplete lateral line, which does not reach to the caudal peduncle, contains from 42 to 48 scales. Intestine length is about twice the body length and the peritoneum is black. Dorsal and pelvic fins contain 8 rays, while the anal fin contains 7 rays, and the pectoral fins contain 15 or 16 rays. Spawning males develop a swollen, black head with breeding tubercles appearing in three rows on the snout. Typical males are light silvery behind the opercle to the pectoral fins; then a dark bar extends to the insertion of the dorsal fin followed by a light bar to about mid-way along the dorsal fin.
Fathead minnows spawn from early May through August. The adhesive eggs are deposited on the under surface of floating objects, and the male guards them. The eggs hatch in 5 to 6 days. Adults reach a maximum length of about 3 inches. Food of the fathead consists mostly of microscopic plants, small insects and larvae, and occasionally fish.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

well, there you go!

[infernalis]

Oops, I just saw the flathead, fathead (easily confused) Google time......

Here is a thread I started about Dace minnows. My snakes love these.

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/4114-blacknose-dace-rhinichthys-atratulus.html

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

my snakes love those too... they are the catch of day in the summer for me!

[brain]

From the web

FLATHEAD CHUB / Species Information / Threatened and Endangered Species / Threatened and Endangered Species / Other Services / KDWP - KDWP (http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Other-Services/Threatened-and-Endangered-Species/Threatened-and-Endangered-Species/Species-Information/FLATHEAD-CHUB)

I thought minnow was a type of fish, being small. It seems as to be a general term for number of small fish.

[infernalis]

I thought minnow was a type of fish, being small. It seems as to be a general term for number of small fish.


yep, just like once upon a time I thought "garter snake" only meant one kind:D

[misskris]

I am soo confused ... sigh