My snake NEEDS to eat

[AnnaBanana]

I am going away for 6 days and he needs to eat before I leave!!!! Im gonna get a pinky mouse tonight and cut it in half and feed it to him and i really hope he eats it but what do i do if he doesnt :confused:
edit: im leaving thursday morning.

[drache]

normally I wouldn't think of six days as a big deal, but it's possible that I'm missing some info as to the particulars

[kibakiba]

Honestly, he looks to be young, in your avatar. But not young enough that he cant handle 6 days without food. I'm sure that unless he's been rejecting food for a while (over 3 weeks would be quite a while), he should be fine.

[Bart]

Give him few live fish, like guppies or swordtails; no Thamnophis will resist that.

[elaphilately]

Thanmophis have very high metabolisms, even more so for young, but six days shouldnt be a problem. You can give it a few live fish before leaving if you feel pretty nervous.

[d_virginiana]

If there's some reason he won't be able to make it the 6 days without food, you can always leave fish in a bowl in his enclosure or maybe even some small nightcrawlers in a thing of dirt? That way he can just go after them when he gets hungry.

But like everyone else has been saying, unless he's been refusing food for a long time or something, 6 days shouldn't be a problem. :)

[RedSidedSPR]

I don't know if its a NEED quite like you think. If you haven't tried them, try guppies. 6 days isn't too long. If you think it is, take him, but i wouldn't do that.

[AnnaBanana]

Can he really eat swordtails? If so I'll get some tomorrow because my Petco doesn't have any guppies but maybe I could convince my mom for us to go and check if Pet quarters has guppies.

[AnnaBanana]

Hes only been rejecting for probably a little less than week now so do you think he'd be fine? I got him a pinky and cut about a fourth of it and gave it to him so hopefully he'll eat that before I leave.

[guidofatherof5]

If he won't eat and you have to go there is not much you can do about the situation.
Make sure he has plenty of fresh water and feed him when you get back.

[RedSidedSPR]

Exactly. He should be fine. Turn the light off, or set it on a timer.

[Mommy2many]

Try baby earthworms too. I wouldn't worry about him right now. I have some here that are'nt eating right now. I just keep offering every few dyas or so. Water is definitely required. Keep it fresh. You could also try a small amount of salmon. You never know what these squiggles will like!

[ConcinusMan]

I would turn off any supplemental heat while you're gone, if your house will stay at 60-70 degrees. I'm sure your snake will be fine. They can handle it. Honestly.

[RedSidedSPR]

That's what i said. Heat off. He can definitely handle it.

I know how you feel, though. My baby didn't eat at first.. And than i had to leave them... but seriously, he should be fine.

[RedSidedSPR]

I have a question and a suggestion(s)

I just looked at the pic, and obviously he's eaten. Very big. (for a baby). Did you catch him, or buy him. if you bought him, than the guy probably fed him, unless he caught and sold. If not, ask him what and how he fed.

Also, you mentioned putting the pinky on a rock. Try holding it in his face. move it around, if he moves, keep it in his face. TOUCH HIM with it. Gently bump his nose with it. In a way, harass him with it, but not in a harassing way

Often they won't eat it if it's in the water bowl etc. You gotta GIVE it to him.

Also... GUPPIES. Guppies in the face is hard to resist... that tadpole you tried.. was it in the water bowl?

Something to try, if you haven't already.

[Bart]

Yes, he can eat swordtails. They are closely related to guppies, but are little bit bigger.

My Kleo eats them like crazy.

[AnnaBanana]

The tadpole was in the water bowl. I did try holding the pinky in his face, but it still didnt work.
I dont think hes big enough to eat swordtails and my Petco doesnt have guppies!

[kibakiba]

If you can stomach it, cut a sword tail in half and try pushing it in his face. It might seem cruel but it's either your snake possibly eating it, or the fish's life.

[RedSidedSPR]

Look elsewhere for the guppies.

CHOPPING FISH IS NOT GROSS. Unlike pinkies... there is NO guts...

[Bart]

Nah, swordtails aren't SO big. My Kleo's is a eastern ribbon snake and they are very thin, probably thinner than your garter. Alas, your baby should eat it without any problem.

[d_virginiana]

Look elsewhere for the guppies.

CHOPPING FISH IS NOT GROSS. Unlike pinkies... there is NO guts...

Hahaha... Mine won't eat a pinky unless some part of it has been chopped so he can smell it :cool:. This combined with me being OCD means that instead of getting 'chopped' the mice get dissected. For some reason, he always goes for the liver first. It amazes me how he can just home in on it like that. I wonder if it smells more appetizing than the rest of the pinky?

[AnnaBanana]

HE ATE!!!!
He had 2 earthworms, they were about 1 1/2 inches long... How many of these should he have a week?

[RedSidedSPR]

I wouldn't be surprised that he can pick out the "good" stuff. But i didn't think they like liver any more...

Interesting

EDIT: sorry that was replying to two posts back, not your snake eating;) didn't see your post

[RedSidedSPR]

HE ATE!!!!
He had 2 earthworms, they were about 1 1/2 inches long... How many of these should he have a week?

AWESOME!! As much as he'll eat!!

Well, not really, but for now yeah. give him LOTS, see how much he eats enthusiastically, than give him that many every few days.

You want to give him a good bulge, than do it again, when he gets thinner

[AnnaBanana]

Should I give him lots before I leave???

[RedSidedSPR]

yes, as much as he'll eat. Don't feed for, like, 3 days before you leave, and than stuff him! with the light/heat off (while you're gone) his metabolism will go down too... he will be fine. ;)

I know how you feel. It's great when your baby eats after all that :D

[Bart]

Maybe it's movement that attracts him.

[AnnaBanana]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking too... I could move the pinky around AND scent it :)

[AnnaBanana]

Are tadpoles nutritious???

[Bart]

Yeah, but full of parasites. Stay with earthworms, pinkies and swordtails/guppies.

[AnnaBanana]

Okayyy thanks.

[RedSidedSPR]

Good advice. A tadpole won't HURT him, but there's no real reason...

[mb90078]

Good advice. A tadpole won't HURT him, but there's no real reason...

It sure could, if it had harmful parasites in it that were transferred.

[RedSidedSPR]

they technically don't carry parasites...

[ConcinusMan]

they technically don't carry parasites...

What doesn't?

[RedSidedSPR]

tadpoles... not saying they never do, but really the only concerning parasites are external... forget i said anything.

[ConcinusMan]

Not so. They are just as good a host as the adult frog. Especially for tapeworms that target birds and reptiles as the final host.

[RedSidedSPR]

That's not what i've been told...

[kibakiba]

Almost anything can carry parasites. And maybe your source was wrong. Just because someone told you something does not make it automatically true.

[RedSidedSPR]

I know, i know, i figured it could be true (it was several people) because of the same reason worms are safe-ish from the wild

[ConcinusMan]

That's not what i've been told...

I guess you were told wrong. :cool: It isn't just a minimal risk either. Very high risk if you're feeding them tadpoles. It's safe to collect frog eggs, raise them up in clean uninfected water, and use those.

[RedSidedSPR]

right... gotcha.. and no not using them (apparently a good thing).

[Mommy2many]

I had tadpoles in my pool and my snakes wouldn't touch them. Maybe they knew better than me:D

[RedSidedSPR]

They really go for amphibians. It's their natural food source in the wild. They LOVE them..
not sure why yours wouldn't.. weird

[Mommy2many]

Like I said. Maybe they knew something I didn't. Our tadpoles were tree frogs that decided to make our blow up pool their breeding ground for 2 seasons. Wouldn't touch them and the 2 snakes I tried to feed them to were wild caught females from our backyard (same territory)

Those 2 girls actually took readily to salmon and pinkies. So no complaints here!

[RedSidedSPR]

Not the safest diet anyway.

[d_virginiana]

Like I said. Maybe they knew something I didn't.

I think my snake is like the reptilian version of Bear Grylls. Of all the things my 10-year old self gave him to eat he refused red wigglers, rosy minnows, and crickets. I know most garters won't even look at crickets, but I'm impressed with how he shunned the wigglers and rosy minnows. Funny thing is, he took right to nightcrawlers and other non-dangerous foodstuffs.

They probably know more than we give them credit for half the time lol :p

[guidofatherof5]

They are smart little beggars.

[Sonya610]

Of all the things my 10-year old self gave him to eat he refused red wigglers, rosy minnows, and crickets.

Okay, your garter survived amazing things and you managed to make the rest of us feel really really ANCIENT (well not all of us, but most!).

LOL!

[RedSidedSPR]

Wow.... that's pretty cool

[nickermaker87]

Hey y'all, my wandering doesn't eat earthworms. Is that typical of the species, or is he(?) just a brat? Can I try scenting the worms with a guppy or something?
Also, he's a year old. I've had him since we was basically a newborn (captive-bred) but he doesn't seem to have grown much. Had a spell where he wouldn't eat, I think he was brumating even though I kept his temps up and offered food. Did brumating when he's so young possibly stunt him somehow? Or do you think he might catch up?

[ConcinusMan]

Brumating at a young age does not "stunt" growth. It merely puts it on hold during the brumation period, but that's true of any reptile, of any age. When it's brumating, it's metabolism is slowed and growth is put on "pause". This can only happen when temperatures are low. A snake cannot, and will not brumate without low temperatures. There is no "brumate, or not brumate", there is only slower metabolism and activity at lower temps, faster metabolism and activity as the temperature rises. Wild concinnus' in the northwest are born in summer, sometimes late. That only gives them 1-3 months before they are forced to brumate. Provided that they survive the winter, come spring, their chances of survival, and growth rate are largely unaffected by their being forced to brumate early in life. No, your snake won't "catch up" to one that was allowed to continue growing while yours was on pause but yours can grow at the same rate as any other. Just think of it like he was on "pause".

Certain species of garters are prone to prefer certain foods sometimes. It's sort of evolutionary "programming". That doesn't mean they can't learn to adapt to new foods when availability makes it necessary. Wanderings are good example. Their feeding preferences can be, and often are, a bit different than other garters, depending on location. Within their range, earthworms are generally not available most of the year and so they haven't developed a taste for them.

There are many reasons garters won't eat. Too many to speculate as to what to do to get yours to eat. A peak of summer fast for a month or two is fairly typical of garters, especially if they don't get a cold and long brumation in the winter.