Question about worm born parasites.

[GaiusIuliusTabernarius]

In the expectation of my checkered albino arriving soon I was wondering how best to prepare garden earth worms, I already know to watch out for the red wigglers which are toxic, what I'm concerned about are parasites. Would pre freezing them before feeding them to the snake be sufficient, or should I take a different approach altogether? Also if I do freeze them, should I thaw them out or just toss them right in the water dish? Not sure whether it would matter or not.

Also any first time feeding tips you could offer would be great. I remember when I was young I could never get wild caught snakes to eat so I don't want to take any chances.

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think freezing will work very well.
You'll end-up with a pile of un-usable goo.
Parasites in earthworms and night crawlers are less of a risk than many other food sources.

If your feeding the small earthworms you can probably feed whole worms.
If you're using night crawlers you'll need to cut them into small chunks.
I use a very sharp pair of scissors to do the job.

I've found that all garters like to hunt for worms. I put a small dish of dirt and worms in for them. This way they can search/find and eat their meal.

[GaiusIuliusTabernarius]

I'm less clear on the distinctions between large and small earth worms. The ones I used to dig up for fishing purposes were about the size of my index finger. Though thinner. since I get them from my my garden it shouldn't be that dangerous I just wanted to make sure. I don't want my snake to get worms from eating worms.

[guidofatherof5]

I don't think it's possible to guarantee your snakes won't get parasites from a wild food source.
It's just less of a risk than some other foods.

[Mommy2many]

I'm sure your snakes will be fine. Many of us go out and hunt our own worms and slugs. Most importantly, get them from an area free of pesticides and contaminates. That is deadlier to them.

[GaiusIuliusTabernarius]

My yard should be fine then. I also occasionally find slugs and a lot of snails. And soon I'll be going quahogging and I'm told they can eat clams as well. Since I eat those raw I doubt the snake will have a problem with them.

I'll probably get some pictures of the snake and the worms that I find when it arrives.

[Mommy2many]

Snakes eat clams? Never heard that one. Anyone else have any info on that? I was about to get us some clams today but the store only had 1 small bag. Just curious.

[GaiusIuliusTabernarius]

I read that somewhere.. I've been reading all sorts of things over the past week in preparation. I seriously doubt they naturally eat them since they'd never be able to get the shell open and would probably get eaten by seagulls in the process but they are a kind of mollusk like snails and slugs and they fairly nutritious and safe to eat raw if properly harvested and fresh. My grandmother lives on the cape and she usually has me and my father go out to get a whole bucket of them when we visit. We usually end up having so many that we freeze some of them for chowder.

Certainly something I intend to try even if my source was bad.

[ssssnakeluvr]

clams aren't a natural source of food for garters.... wouldn't feed them myself...probably won't take them they don't eat snails eaither due to the shells.

[GaiusIuliusTabernarius]

I wish I could remember where it was that I read that... oh well earthworms it is then.

[ConcinusMan]

I don't want my snake to get worms from eating worms.

Not all that likely to happen. Also, the most harmful parasites wouldn't come from worms or the dirt. They would come from live fish or amphibians which in turn, got them from swallowing eggs that were left in water.

[infernalis]

clams aren't a natural source of food for garters.... wouldn't feed them myself...probably won't take them they don't eat snails eaither due to the shells.

A common misconception, some people think Dekayi are little brown garter snakes.. and they eat snails.

[RedSidedSPR]

But that's Dekayi's... i've never heard of a garter eating a snail. Even if it happens, which i don't doubt. (I've seen Dekayis do it though its awesome)

[ConcinusMan]

Some of my garters take snails just fine, even with the shell. I usually peel it off for them anyway. Forget about the clams. I wouldn't do that.

[RedSidedSPR]

Me niether... I'd love to see my garter eat shelled snails.. how do you feed them to them? Just find a snail and give it to them?

[ConcinusMan]

No, I send them out in the yard and say "go get the slug"

[RedSidedSPR]

ok gotcha.. Yeah, that's probably better.

[ConcinusMan]

Only problem is, when I do that, they usually don't come back, so yeah, I bring the slugs to their enclosure. Oops. Snail, I mean.

[RedSidedSPR]

You mean, snail. Not slug..

and that's safe? Just give them the snail?

Are there safe and unsafe snails?

[ConcinusMan]

Don't know. I only find these in my yard: European Brown Garden Snail (http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/ebgsnail.htm)

When I lived in CA central valley these snails were huge and had very thick, strong shells. They're quite a bit smaller here, and have very thin weak shells so they're very easy to just peel off and that's what I do. Radixes and northwesterns seem to love them.

I tried giving with the shell and they can manage, but it's easier if I just peel them first.

[RedSidedSPR]

hmmm.. never seen those.. i don't know what i have

thanks

[d_virginiana]

idk all the species living in central NC, but we definitely have poisonous snails in the state. I took a survival course a while back and was just instructed to not eat snails unless I absolutely had to because certain types harbor toxic bacteria. This was taken down at the coast though, so idk if there's anything to worry about around here...

Never given it much thought, because feeding my snake a snail would require me to first go find and touch a snail. This is not a compromise I'm willing to make. :p

[RedSidedSPR]

....well... the shell isn't nasty... whatever, thanks for the info.. i don't think i'll be feeding any could-be-poisonous snails. :D

[Sonya610]

I wish I could remember where it was that I read that... oh well earthworms it is then.

Just keep in mind you can find internet "sources" that say goldfish, all minows, and even crickets are fine for garters.

Best not to experiment or discover for yourself that what you read wasn't accurate-- stick with those foods that are widely considered safe by most everyone! Especially with babies, you have no idea what weird toxins clams or even a lot of grocery store fish could have been exposed to so don't risk it.