Little one wont eat...

[Squeaky10199]

I caught two baby garter snakes about a week and a half ago and today i thought i would try to feed them... Which one of the baby's are bigger than the other, the small one seems to be a late fall baby but the bigger one ate 8 guppies and the little one seemed to not even care about the food. He just didnt even pay attention to it. I tried worms to but it still wont eat. Anything i can do to encourage eating? And another thing, he is very shy so maybe me going in the tank freaks him out.. anything i can do for this too? They are both sirtalis.

[drache]

can you leave the little one alone with the food for a while in a quiet protected place?

[guidofatherof5]

My advice comes to you from my experience with T.radix. and not T.sirtalis. I'm sure there are others on the forum who can give you specific advice on them.

With that being said here's something you can try.
In the past I have placed a non-eater in a small container(rubbermade, ziplock) with the food item. I make sure the container is small so the snake has to run into the food as it travels around. I put the container in a no traffic area so that it won't be disturbed. I cover the container with a towel and leave it alone for a couple hours. This has worked many times.
Is the small one drinking? Keeping the food introduced will allow the best results.


The reality of this is that not every baby makes it. If it is a "failure to thrive" situation you are left with force feeding which is a daunting task. I have had little ones in this situation survive by force feeding and I've lost a number of them.
I wish you the best of luck.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

If you caught him, and he won't eat after 2 or 3 weeks and he's that small, return him to the wild. Baby garter snakes wither and weaken very very quickly without regular food intake. If it were a "failure to thrive" case, the snake probably would have died during brumation. Those ones never make it very long at all. The stress of captivity may be too much for this one. Not all of them adjust!

[Squeaky10199]

I also forgot to mention, the little one just shed too! It is very pretty and the one that did eat is about to shed any day now. Just went out of blue today. Im guessing if i tried the container feeding it would work but i just dont want to stress it out more than it is... So knowing that it shed im hoping it is just not hungry at the moment..

[jitami]

They're usually especially hungry after shedding. I'd either try the container or move the other one out of the tank overnight and leave food for the little one. Good luck.

[Squeaky10199]

Well here is an update, its 11:24 pm and i found a couple of worms so i figured i have given them plenty of time to get settled, i threw em in the tank and both snakes went for their respective worm! Both took em down like champs and now are lookin pretty full. So im glad the little one ate, i was getting worried. But now that their taking food im gunna get a schedule for them and soon move them to pinkies when its time. I will post pics of the little guys soon.

[guidofatherof5]

My advice, variety. Each food source has something to offer the nutritional balance needed. Worms,pinkies,fish(guppies,salmon,trout,etc. Safe fish). Mix it up for a good balance. If one food source is lacking in a certain nurtrient, the others will help bring back the balance.
Each food source has its pros and cons for nutrition.

Once again, this is just my observations and system I use with my radixes.

Almost forgot. Great news about them eating. Keep us posted and include a few photos if you can.

[drache]

great news - congrats