Hi from New York City

[zendragondrew]

Hello, my name is Andrew and I'm a police officer in New York City. Another cop at work was given a garter snake by a laundry mat owner who said he found it on the street. She gave it to me in a Gatorade bottle and I've had him for the past two or three months.

His name is Matt (though I think Matt might be a girl) and is about two feet long and pretty thin. I have him in a 10 gallon tank with a log to live in, a stick and a water dish. He has a daytime light and a night light (red light), the night one is a little cooler than the day one.

I started off feeding him minnows, the first feeding I only fed him about 6 of them. Then I upgraded to larger goldfish and fed him about 8 to 10 per feeding. I've been reading that goldfish are bad for snakes so I started feeding him frozen pinkie mice. I was told two or three pinkie mice is enough for a feeding. Is that right?

Does anyone have tips on how much to feed him, what sort of fish are safe for him to eat (or just stick to mice?) or any other advice. I always wanted a snake when I was a kid, but my mom was afraid of them so this is my first and only snake. Any advice you guys could give me would be appreciated! Thanks!

3085

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family! You have a pretty snake! Looks to be an eastern. We have a wonderful site here full of great information. This is a great first start. Garter Snake Care Sheet - Caresheets (http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet). If you could post a underside view of the vent we can tell you if you have a boy or a girl. Again, welcome!

I personally feed our adult snakes 2 to 3 pinkies a week with a worm or chunk of salmon as a mid week snack. Some feed less more often.

[infernalis]

http://www.thamfriends.com/mat.jpg

[PINJOHN]

Welcome from a gale smitten Liverpool
you are not our only policeman on the site Andrew it looks like we are building our own law enforcement community, welcome to thamnophis.cop :o

[sirtalis01]

Welcome from NYC....cool you got her/:I'm to feed on mice..I feed mines mice, minnows and worms...
Julio

[indigoman]

Welcome to the forum,Walmart and various sports stores carry canadian nightcrawlers in the fishing section. stay away from red wigglers or trout worms as they are advertised, they are harmful.Ived used talapia from Ecudor a bit cheaper than salmon for fish cut in bit size pieces.Baby frozen mice thawed is a great staple carrid at your known pet stores.

[tress29]

Welcome from Indiana!

[snakehill]

Welcome! Pretty eastern!

[zendragondrew]

Hey, thanks a lot for the welcomes and advice!

So only feed him mice from now on or I can still feed him fish too? Thing is I heard goldfish are bad and the minnows at Petco are pretty small.

[guidofatherof5]

Mice, guppies, safe fish should be a good balanced diet.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/6654-safe-fish-list.html

[zendragondrew]

Thanks a lot! It's too bad the only fish at Petco are Gold Fish and the Rosy Red Minnows so they're no good, I have to find a new fish source. They also have worms, but they were out of nightcrawlers so I just bought him 1 pinkie for his mid-week snack.

I'm definitely starting to think Matt is a girl, I'll post pictures soon.

The nightcrawlers come in packs of 20, is that too many/not enough for one feeding?

Thanks for all the help!

[katach]

Variety is a good thing. Especially if they decide they won't eat something for a little while you always have a back up. Mice is our snakes staple food, but they also get fish from the safe list, and night crawlers. They offer different nutritional values. While mice are the most complete nutritionally, they get good stuff from the other options as well. Variety is a good thing.

Night crawlers will keep for a long time in your fridge. I don't feed exclusively worms in one feeding, so others may be able to help you with the quantity to feed.