Worm scented mice

[Philminator]

I think I have a female who is gravid not too sure but either way she ate a small worm then I dropped a thawned mouse in she smelt it and ignored it, then I took a worm rubbed it all over the mouse now she is biting at it and lets it go then bites it again and lets it go for almost 20 minutes she seems to have ignored it now :( I really want her to get bigger and get more nutrition by eating mice what should I do now?

[guidofatherof5]

Keep doing what you are doing.
Try washing the mouse off in warm water. Paper towel dry it. Slime the head up good. She'll take it right down. I've had to do it with some of mine. Then, the next time I offer mice they take them without worm scenting.
Be patient and good luck. You're doing fine.

[Philminator]

one thing I haven't been able to research is wether or not gravid garter snakes are suppose to eat near birth time and if it's true that a garter snake fed mice can acheive much bigger sizes then just being fed worms. I will rinse the mice off and re-scent it and see what happens

[guidofatherof5]

Post a photo. Let us take a look at her. Please.

[Philminator]

Post a photo. Let us take a look at her. Please.

working on it my gf isn't home so it's hard to get a good shot of her without moving but I did take a few I will be a few minutes trying to figure out how to post them on here for the time being then when my gf gets home she can take some pics while I hold her

[jitami]

It may take some time to switch her to mice, but it sounds like you've got a good start. Often they'll taste it a few times and then maybe take it the next time you offer. Once they get used to the taste/textue/etc they'll usually take it from then on out without issue. From what I've heard a good number of females feed normally if not more vigorously until they're very near delivery and then may skip a meal or two. Good luck with her.

[Philminator]

let's see if this works these pics will get better as I said once the gf gets home.
PS in the horizontal pic she did in fact eat the mouse I gently rubbed it on her nose as she is very calm to handle and she chomped down on it :)
I got her only a few days ago near a farmers field where corn is grown and heavy pesticides are used it's an abondoned road alongside the corn field where tons of people walk their dogs and near the road where I got her under a paper bag is a 55 mph or 90 km/h road and I figured I did not like her enviroment I feed her in a 10 gallon tank but once I know she is not gravid or if she is and has her babies I will place her in the 33 gallon I have with the other garters I have :)

[Stefan-A]

Try smaller mice.

[Philminator]

Try smaller mice.

will do thanks I was wondering if that was partially the reason she bit it and would let it go over and over for almost an hour

[jitami]

She does look nice and thick. I'll let those more experienced take a stab at whether she's gravid or not. I know it's nearly impossible to get good pictures by yourself. Does she usually have a hide in her tank? I'm guessing you just pulled it out for the pics. She'll be happier(and more likely to eat) with a good hiding spot.

[Philminator]

She does have a hiding spot I took it out for the pic :)

[Philminator]

She does have a hiding spot I took it out for the picture
Double post sorry,

[jitami]

You can slice the mouse lengthwise, but if she worked on it for almost an hour I'd just wait for a couple of days and then try. Again, good luck.

That's what I figured about the hide ;)