feeding wild raw deer meat to garter snake?

[psychophobia.]

I started feeding my baby garter snake with worms i found then got some frozen pinky mice and cut those up for him and he's not picky at all and took to mice right away. i was wondering if it's alright to feed my garter snake wild deer meat that my dad just shot haha casue i'm out of pinkys at the moment and my dads not gonna eat all that poor dear.

Also i forget what snakes look like when they shed, ive had a garter before and forget what it looked liked when it was shedding.
The one i have now is black with 2 yellow and 1 orange stripe, so cute><
but he is starting to get like pale/dry looking and i dont know if hes just shedding or sick. still a baby so it may only be like his second shed.

[Stefan-A]

It's just muscle tissue, not a complete meal.

[gregmonsta]

Not something I would recommend as a staple diet. As a one off it shouldn't be a problem :rolleyes: although they would do just fine with some extra fish. Also, make sure all the shot has been removed.

[mustang]

nope...venisan is a food for humans and some city folk consider it a delicacy caus they dont hunt!...not for snakes!

[jitami]

As greg said, it's probably fine occasionally. I would freeze it for a few weeks first, though, to cut down on the chances of parasites... but that doesn't help with you needing food now. Probably safer to get some frozen trout, salmon, or tillapia from the grocery store. Dollar store even carries tillapia most of the time.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

While I am more of a pro-natural-diet keeper myself, I don't see a reason it could not be used as long as it is rotated into a varied and well balanced diet. Since it is not a complete prey item, much like strips of fish I would supplement it with a calcium powder. I would definitely avoid using it as a staple though. But I don't see a problem with it being used, I mean, we feed our garters rodents and I would consider that red meat! :D

[ssssnakeluvr]

well.....deer wouldn't be a natural diet....haven't found a garter big enough to eat one :D

[MasSalvaje]

I mean, we feed our garters rodents and I would consider that red meat! :D

I actually cooked up a mouse one time and not to beat the old cliché farther into the ground, but it looked and tasted much like those chicken strips they have at Chinese buffets on the skewers......coincidence?:confused:

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, Psychophobia :)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

well.....deer wouldn't be a natural diet....haven't found a garter big enough to eat one :D


Haha, come to think of it, I have never seen a garter munch on a tilapia either! :p

[ssssnakeluvr]

LOL!!! it's a little closer to their diet than a deer.....:cool:

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

LOL!!! it's a little closer to their diet than a deer.....:cool:
that is true, that's why I said in my first post that while I am a natural diet advocate (meaning I personally would not use it) I don't see it hurting as long as it's not a staple! :D I think you may have misinterpreted me to be saying that I like the natural diet and deer are part of it... LOL!

[ssssnakeluvr]

maaaay be....:rolleyes: wouldn't be a first time.....:p

[KITKAT]

I started feeding my baby garter snake with worms i found then got some frozen pinky mice and cut those up for him and he's not picky at all and took to mice right away. i was wondering if it's alright to feed my garter snake wild deer meat that my dad just shot haha casue i'm out of pinkys at the moment and my dads not gonna eat all that poor dear.

Also i forget what snakes look like when they shed, ive had a garter before and forget what it looked liked when it was shedding.
The one i have now is black with 2 yellow and 1 orange stripe, so cute><
but he is starting to get like pale/dry looking and i dont know if hes just shedding or sick. still a baby so it may only be like his second shed.

One of our forum moderators, CAZADOR, has fed caribou meat to his garters, I believe. He adds some supplements to the meat to balance it. You might PM him and see what he recommends. Here is a link to his profile:

http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/members/cazador.html

[guidofatherof5]

Also i forget what snakes look like when they shed, ive had a garter before and forget what it looked liked when it was shedding.
The one i have now is black with 2 yellow and 1 orange stripe, so cute><
but he is starting to get like pale/dry looking and i dont know if hes just shedding or sick. still a baby so it may only be like his second shed.

Looks like the second part of your question was forgotten by us. The deer meat question just over powered it. Sorry about that.

The dull/pale/dry look sounds like a shed is coming on. The biggest thing to look for is the blue eyes. The eyes will get a milky blue look to them. You can't mistake if for anything but shedding. Then that blue will disapear. The eyes will look normal. 3-7 days later your snake will shed. Many times they will soak just before they shed to further loosen the old skin.