Fussy Checkereds

[guidofatherof5]

Those of you that have raised checkereds, I could use some advice.
My one and only group of babies born on the Ranch refuse to eat worms unless I bait them into eating them. I use a small container with cut-up night crawlers and a few guppies flopping around. They will eat the worms only because they think they are grabbing guppies. If I try to use worms only I have a bunch of hungry snakes that ignore the worms.
Anybody got any suggestions as to how I can get these guys to eat worms, other than baiting them.
Not a single Checkered born will eat the worms alone.

[mustang]

hmmm well you could do what i did for fish but its risky(they might get hooked on it) just leave them in a dark quiet box with only worms(put some water on the floor of box so worms dont dry out) and leave em over night.....for my first snake dusty i had to leave him in there for 3 days(keep fresh water in a bowl also)

[guidofatherof5]

hmmm well you could do what i did for fish but its risky(they might get hooked on it) just leave them in a dark quiet box with only worms(put some water on the floor of box so worms dont dry out) and leave em over night.....for my first snake dusty i had to leave him in there for 3 days(keep fresh water in a bowl also)

I'll give that a try, Robert.
I've never done the extended time in the feed container thing.;)

[indigoman]

Steve, i usually have a mixture of salmon or silverside bits with my cut up nightcrawlers and they seem to have their preferances. I did start them off with some regular worms from the yard they seemed to like the texture.

[drache]

are you attached to them eating worms, Steve?
my marci babies all took f/t pinky strip or trout , except for the one who took nothing and perished young
I did feed them in deli cups to get them going

[HazAnga]

I cut up pieces of f/t pinkies and worm. Put it in a dish in their cage and they didnt touch it till after the lights went off. Which is when they decided to eat. Otherwise some guppies in a shallow dish worked too

[guidofatherof5]

I cut up pieces of f/t pinkies and worm. Put it in a dish in their cage and they didnt touch it till after the lights went off. Which is when they decided to eat. Otherwise some guppies in a shallow dish worked too

I'm trying to get them away from the fish based food and more towards a worm/pinkies based diet.

[Snakers]

I'm trying to get them away from the fish based food and more towards a worm/pinkies based diet.
Is this only because of the store bought fish have been giving people trouble?

[guidofatherof5]

Is this only because of the store bought fish have been giving people trouble?


That and the expense of guppies.

[sirtalis01]

Hey Steve
i start all my marcis on guppies and gradually change them to pinky parts, even tho some will not feed on anything thats not fish like till they are about 3,4 months...stuborn little buggers lol

[HazAnga]

I understand the fish part. But where I git my guppies their a Decent price. I can't wait till I git back home Wednesday night. Hopefully everyone is ok without food...

[drache]

I've been offering pinky strips to the ones that prefer fish, and yesterday one went for it

[Snakeknot]

If I offer mine straight pinkie parts they MIGHT eat them. If I mix the pinkies with worms or guppies they seem to eat them by default. ( I do wet down the dish to spread the scent better. ) They also seem to prefer heads, tails and legs of pinkies to torsos. But thats just my weird bunch of only 3.

Devon

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I always start my babies on worms if they are generally a worm eating species. All of my checkereds started on worms last year... dunno whats up with yours! Sometimes though you do find snakes who have an adverse reaction to worms. They take one tongue flick and they BOLT in the opposite direction... kinda funny!

[guidofatherof5]

A couple of my Checkereds born here have started taking worm chunks.
It's about stink'in time.:D

[kibakiba]

Yay! Go Steve!
I got Mama to take a little bit of salmon today, she usually avoids it like a plague, but would eat the mixture of worms, tilapia and salmon, as long long as there was more tilapia than salmon.

[Foxx Hardy]

Wow thanx I have 5 baby garter snakes that were born in September, I don't know why i didn't even know my snake was a girl!! anyway 3 of them will not eat hopefully this will work thanx!!!

[HazAnga]

A few days earlyer I mixed some guppies with pieces of talapia and it ate some. And last night i mixed guppies with pinkie parts and it ate some pinkie parts... it regurged maybe 2 of tge 3 or 4 pieces, but ate another piece later on. So I'm happy :)