Lovok
06-14-2010, 03:15 PM
I've been wondering...
Scylla's been "of her feed" again, and while I'm not so concerned that she's not eating as much, she seems to have had yet ANOTHER change in her preferences. She almost seems "bored" with the usual fare; loved pinkies, now she could take 'em or leave 'em (mostly leave 'em). She'd eat PetSmart earthworms til she couldn't eat another, now she "sniffs", and turns away. She gobbled up three minnows from a local stream last month, but the last one she ate the other week was dead for about a day after it flopped out of the water dish I had put it in- she doesn't seem to know how to "go fishing" yet. I got her to eat three smaller earthworms from the back yard yesterday, and she even then she seemed ready to turn up her snout at them until I put all three in at once. Once she got a taste of the first one, she finished off the other two. It's been rather hot here lately, and though I've been trying to keep her tank around 80 degrees, it's difficult (thinking of buying a little battery-powered fan to aim into the tank). It's been ranging around 90. :-( I keep her lights off or low, and have cool water in two locations in her tank every day, all of the time, so again, I'll not worry if it's just the heat that may be affecting her appetite.
My main question is, since Eastern Garters as considered "opportunistic feeders", have they ever been known to eat baby birds, i.e. hatchlings & before they get feathers? I KNOW this sounds morbid, but I was thinking of offering her one from a robin's nest that's under our deck. Since she's "bored" with everything else I'm trying that she USED to love, would it be worth the try, and would the body parts of the hatchling cause any digestive problems? Again, this would be a one w/ no feathers, and small enough for her to probably swallow- the avian version of a pinkie. The eggs haven't hatched yet, so I want to be ready to collect one while it's small if there's a chance she'll eat it.
Scylla's been "of her feed" again, and while I'm not so concerned that she's not eating as much, she seems to have had yet ANOTHER change in her preferences. She almost seems "bored" with the usual fare; loved pinkies, now she could take 'em or leave 'em (mostly leave 'em). She'd eat PetSmart earthworms til she couldn't eat another, now she "sniffs", and turns away. She gobbled up three minnows from a local stream last month, but the last one she ate the other week was dead for about a day after it flopped out of the water dish I had put it in- she doesn't seem to know how to "go fishing" yet. I got her to eat three smaller earthworms from the back yard yesterday, and she even then she seemed ready to turn up her snout at them until I put all three in at once. Once she got a taste of the first one, she finished off the other two. It's been rather hot here lately, and though I've been trying to keep her tank around 80 degrees, it's difficult (thinking of buying a little battery-powered fan to aim into the tank). It's been ranging around 90. :-( I keep her lights off or low, and have cool water in two locations in her tank every day, all of the time, so again, I'll not worry if it's just the heat that may be affecting her appetite.
My main question is, since Eastern Garters as considered "opportunistic feeders", have they ever been known to eat baby birds, i.e. hatchlings & before they get feathers? I KNOW this sounds morbid, but I was thinking of offering her one from a robin's nest that's under our deck. Since she's "bored" with everything else I'm trying that she USED to love, would it be worth the try, and would the body parts of the hatchling cause any digestive problems? Again, this would be a one w/ no feathers, and small enough for her to probably swallow- the avian version of a pinkie. The eggs haven't hatched yet, so I want to be ready to collect one while it's small if there's a chance she'll eat it.