First eating time!!! uh oh..

[Ringosmama]

ok so friday im getting him a new cage and im going to try feeding him pinky parks, now he has never eating with me before (havent tryed yet) but im going to, and i was also wondering do i put him in a seperate container?? and how much does he need to eat? (hes a baby baby) and how do i make him eat it? i want him to be on pinkies cause they are better, i dont want him to get like stuck of slugs or worms ya know?

please help! thanks sooo much!!

[kibakiba]

There's no problem with worms. My snakes eats worms and they're quite healthy. Some will eat only worms. You can scent the pinky parts with worms to make him think its a worm. Only feed him a couple very small pieces about the size of his head. They're digestive system isn't fully developed. I put my adults in a separate container so they don't eat they're bedding. You cant make him eat it, either. They'll only eat when they're ready.

[Ringosmama]

should i just leave the food in there?

[kibakiba]

I don't see why it would be a problem. I used to do that with Runt but now I can't since I have two additions and I don't want them fighting since they mean a lot to me.

[Ringosmama]

yeah, i get it hah so i put him in a seperate container? with th e food? or in his tank??

[mb90078]

You're going with pinky parts for the very first meal? Good luck.

You can't really make him eat anything. You could try dangling it in front of him, otherwise leave him with the food for a while, walk away, and see if he eats it, but don't be shocked if he doesnt.

[kibakiba]

I put mine in a different container with a dish of food, you don't have to though. As Mb90078 said, you could dangle it in front of him to stimulate him to eat. Sometimes Snakey needs me to wiggle the worms in front of him for him to eat. I still think you should start out with worms and then when he's big enough, give him a pinky. Worms are, for me, 10 times cheaper, and they breed when you have them in a big enough container. They aren't unhealthy for garter snakes. My babies eat nothing but worms, and my adults eat worms. They eat pinkies too but I cant afford any anymore.

[Selkielass]

Don't be afraid of worms and slugs, especially not if you make sure they have been eating well and are 'gut loaded' with lots of good vitamin loaded worm food, veggies etc.
I feed Abby regular snacks of fresh fat earthworms from my compost pile and garden- when she was new, it was *all* she wanted to eat.
I was concerned about winter coming, and questionable purchased bait store worms, but she came around. (First to guppies, then to worm scented extra small pinkies.) Now, three months later she has nearly doubled in size from when I found her and she takes frozen and thawed pinkies and silversides eagerly from tongs.

Ringo is young and adaptable- just keep trying different things and mixing them up to see what you can get him to try.

[kibakiba]

I raise my own night crawlers, bought from bait stores. I keep them in a large box in my fridge and have them eating old left over fruit and veggies, and we put used teabags in there. They love it. I have one worm that's over a foot long now!! :eek: They also breed a lot, I find a new baby at least once every two weeks. I need to buy some more though because my new babies are going through them fast now :D

[ConcinusMan]

The issue with feeding snakes in their homes is the substrate. If you have something that's going to stick to food, get swallowed and has the potential to cause a blockage, you should feed in a separate container. I usually just feed my adults one by one right from my fingers and see to it that they don't swallow the bark substrate but they are pretty tame snakes and are used to me.

You're feeding a baby northwestern if I'm not mistaken. I would try chopped night crawlers. Just put snake in a separate (escape proof, tight lid!) container with paper towel liner and put the worms on a dish and give him privacy and time. You could also just try using needlenose pliers or tweezers and hold it in front of his face until he smells it. That's how I feed my baby northwesterns. You should get him eating asap. The little one's need fed daily or every other day, especially if it's just worms.

If he does eat, try not to let him get overstuffed. A noticeable bulge is enough.

I'll be posting a video on youtube soon showing how I feed the babies, including the northwesterns. I just need to get it uploaded.

Oh wait, I just remembered I think you're feeding a ribbon snake? if that's the case, I would just put a small live fish in his water dish.

[kibakiba]

She's not the one with the ribbon snake. She doesn't know which kind it is, however it does look like a northwestern. We just need some better pictures and at a larger size to be able to tell. it's easiest to get them eating on worms, anyways since that's what they'd be eating in the wild.

[ConcinusMan]

oh, OK. I'll start the upload (video) in a few minutes. It shows me feeding my baby northwesterns.

Actually, it really depends on the habitat and what is available when it comes to what wild northwesterns eat. As for babies, they are a blank slate and can learn to eat anything. Mine have taken to fish just as much as they love worms, since they are being fed and raised with my concinnus. You could probably get babies going on pinkies too. Its' just that once they get started on a certain food, they tend to stick with it.

[kibakiba]

The ones here eat worms. When we first caught Runt, my mom ad squeezed him a little too hard by accident aand he threw up a worm that was larger than him! I felt bad for him. He was scared of eating for 3 weeks after that. Poor little one.

[ConcinusMan]

And the one's I find around salmon creek will take fish, worms, and even pinkies.;)

But yeah, northwesterns are primarily slug and worm eaters.

[ConcinusMan]

Here's the video:

WuE4lrgOR_4

[guidofatherof5]

Nice video.
Of all the tasks I perform here on the Ranch, it's feeding babies that is the most enjoyable.

[ConcinusMan]

I might enjoy it a bit more if it wasn't getting more and more violent and competitive as they grow. Just today, a concinnus smelled the food, and bit the head of one of the northwesterns just because he thought there might be food there, even though there wasn't.:rolleyes:

I really do enjoy it, it's just getting to be a challenge so I guess it's a good thing that they have been selling and going down in numbers. It's a bit more manageable now albeit more challenging to keep the peace.

But anyway, my main reason for posting that here is to show one way to feed the little guys.

[guidofatherof5]

Fighting over food. May I suggest a timeout corner for the trouble maker.:D

[ConcinusMan]

There are only 4 corners and they are ALL troublemakers.:rolleyes:

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like something has gone wrong in their up bringing.
I wonder who to blame:rolleyes:

[ConcinusMan]

If you mean to say that my kids are spoiled rotten and it's my fault, then yes, I would say you're right.

[guidofatherof5]

If you mean to say that my kids are spoiled rotten and it's my fault, then yes, I would say you're right.

That's not where I was headed:D
I was talking about the unruly behavior:D

[kibakiba]

Spoiled kids can become unruly if they don't get what they want. Kind of like a kid throwing a huge fit in the store when they cant have what they want. :rolleyes: Since they can't throw a crying and screaming fit they go all unruly and bite the smaller guys. I feel sorry for the ones who get bit, though. I'm happy mine are so well behaved... They know their cute little concinnus faces will make my heart melt and cause me to spoil them... it's just a matter of time! :D

[HazAnga]

Concinnusman, that is a good feeding demo, and a very nice set up for the babies, I just have repti bark a corkbark tunnel and a small cave hide. And they almost always dissipear in them.

[ConcinusMan]

Just add a few plastic plants and some moss and I'm sure your setup will be just as nice.;)

[kibakiba]

That seem pretty bare for a garter snake. Runt was scared of being out in the open when I first got the tank and moved him to it. It's still bare but I haven't been able to get anything other than a few hollow log hides. They stick to the same place in the tank where there's a hide under their basking lamp. They all love it there.

[Ringosmama]

Here's the video:

WuE4lrgOR_4


what are they eatin? is that fish or pinkies? i dont want to buy everthing today so i was wondering what food would be best to start with? fish felet or pinkies?

[ConcinusMan]

That particular feeding was coho salmon and night crawlers. Next feeding was pinky parts. They (this group of babies) don't really seem to have any preference.

[Ringosmama]

oh ok:)