wild-caught snake

[savannah825]

:) Hi everyone.
I recently caught a young Western Terrestrial Garter snake. She is a very pretty little girl, but I'm not all that familiar with garter snake diets. I've only had corn snakes. Since she is wild caught what should I feed her:confused: Please let me know any inforamtion that you have.

Thanks,
Savannah

[adamanteus]

Hi Savannah, welcome to the forum. You should be trying to feed your new snake on fish, pinky mice and occasional worms. There are certain fish species to avoid as they contain an enzyme called thiaminase, which can eventually cause life-threatening dietary deficiencies. You will find all the information you could need in the feeding section of the General Care sheet. (Follow the "Articles" tab at the top of your screen). Also read the article on Thiamin.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon Savannah.

[Pinky]

Hello and Welcome!

We're also new and have a wild Garter. So far she's doing well and has eaten a fish on her own, and I think a worm? We do plan on getting pinkies for her next meal tho.

[Cazador]

Hi Savannah, and welcome to the forum :). Let us hear about some of your feeding success stories. Cheers,

Rick

[drache]

Hi Savannah
welcome to the forum
may your snake thrive

[Sid]

Welcome to the forum Savannah. Would love ot see a photo of your new Garter.

Sid

[adamanteus]

Welcome to the forum Savannah. Would love ot see a photo of your new Garter.

Sid

Yes, I agree with Sid. You say she's a pretty girl...so let's see a photo of her, Savannah.:)

[GarterGuy]

Howdy and welcome to the forum Savannah. You should be able to find all th info. you need here, but if you still have any Q's don't be afraid to ask. Good luck with your new little friend.
Roy

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard, Savannah.

[Snaky]

Welcome from Belgium:)

[Thamnophis]

Hello Savannah, welcome here...

[savannah825]

Hi again.
So i 've tried to feed some worms to my snake. I haven't seen her eat them before, but I put some worms in there for her earlier and they are now gone :)
I was thinking about going to the local petstore and buying some rosey red minnows or some little guppies. Hopefully she'll eat them too.

[Sid]

:) Congrad's Savannah. Sounds like the new Garter is settling in very well.

Sid

[Cazador]

Cheers Savannah! Each time a new snake or one that newly emerges from brumation takes its first meal, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted :). Now that the first step is out of the way, you'll need to get something with bone into it, or consider picking up a small jar of calcium powder from the pet store. You're on your way, Savannah, so congratulations on your success.

How long between the time you caught your snake and its first meal?

Rick

[savannah825]

I caught her about 1 week ago and she just ate a couple days ago. Since she has eaten, every time I open the cage she slithers out of her hidey-hole and checks her little worm food dish to see if there is anything in there :) I'm surprised that she isn't constantly trying to escape her cage like the garter snakes I've caught before. She is always very calm when I handle her and she looks to be in good health. :) She does have kinda of a scar looking thing on her side. It looks like its healed up good though. I'm thinking that its probably from one of my cats. Our 3 cats all have a taste for snake :( Don't worry my little is well protected. I keep a cinder block on her cage to keep the top down

[adamanteus]

She has settled down really fast! Congratulations and well done. As Rick says, it's always a relief when they start eating.

[savannah825]

Yes I'm very surprised as well! I'll be trying to feed her some fish soon. I was wondering though, I read that you shouldn't feed goldfish to garter snakes. Why is that? Would it hurt to feed her 1 or 2? I don't want anything to happen to my little friend so please give me your advice. :)
thanks

[adamanteus]

Hi Savannah,

The reason for not using goldfish as a food item is that they contain the enzyme Thiaminase (see the link).

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Thiamin,

One or two, occasionally, is probably going to do no harm, but as there are so many readily available alternatives, I would personally recommend that you avoid them altogether. If your snake will take fish pieces, you're on a winner straight away, trout is good and easy to buy. If not you could start it off on Rosies and then gradually wean it onto frozen/thawed fish pices. Good luck. If you want more info just ask.:)

[savannah825]

Hi.
Well I took your advice and my brother bought me 11 feeder guppies yesterday :) The guppies are still only babies though, not even an inch long yet. they are so cute though. anyway, so now i'm on a another adventure with raising and breeding guppies.
I have a question though. Lately my snake has been acting depressed:( I've heard some people say that snake's and other critters can't become depressed but I believe that they can. I remember my old betta that i had went through a slight bout of depression. You might find that silly, oh well. well i bought a female betta and he immedietly perked up, even if the female wasn't in his tank.
right now I'm keeping her in a 10 gallon tank. I also have a 40 gallon tank. do you think I should put her in the 40 gallon so she has more room? She also really favors having branches and rocks in her tank, since it calms her down since she was wild caught.

[adamanteus]

Snakes can display "depressed" behaviour, whether or not this is depression in the usual (human) sense, I rather doubt. Illness and stress brought on by environmental issues can cause depressed behaviour. A larger viv might help in deed. I would certainly make sure the enclosure is well furnished with ample hiding opportunities. The snake must feel secure. You might also want to check all the other environmental factors (temperature etc). Good luck.

[Cazador]

You could also try adding something new and different to the enclosure (an egg box, different water bowl, mirror, etc.) to give her a bit of stimulation. I also think that you'll be more happy with her activity levels in a larger enclosure, but there's nothing wrong with the size you're using now. Whenever you can provide more room, though, you should. Best of luck,

Rick