Just a couple of questions from someone new to snakes!

[Jaded815]

I got my first snake a week ago and I just have a couple of questions, I want to give her the best life possible! At the pet store I was told that she'll live off of a diet of 1 feeder fish every 4-5 days. Then when I did some research online I learned that feeder fish don't provide adequate nutrition, and that tuffies contain something that can be harmful to garters. So today I bought her a platy to eat, I read that platies and guppies are better then tuffies and gold fish, but getting her to eat pinkies would be ideal. I don't know if she's big enough to eat a pinky yet, but they don't seem any bigger then the fish she's eaten.

How do I go about trying to convert her onto pinkies? Is live the best or should I do frozen? And how often should I feed her?

Now my other question is about handling. How often should I handle her, I want to make sure she's well handled and friendly, but I don't want to stress her by handling her too much! So far she's been pretty friendly, a little nervous when I first pick her up, but she settles down quickly, and hasn't tried to bite yet! So any advice would be wonderful! Thank you!

[infernalis]

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


A great place to start...

Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet (http://www.thamnophis.com/index.php?page=caresheet)

[guidofatherof5]

Handling is more of a personal preference thing.
Some keepers handle and some don't. My snake population gets handled a lot and seen very comfortable with it.
Once you get to know your snake a little better you'll know what to do.
Some species don't like being handled much, some not at all.
For some snakes the switch to frozen/thawed pinkies is easy. Some other require some help/scenting.
The link Wayne provided is a good place to get some answers to many questions.
Have you tried any night crawlers with Taz?

[ssssnakeluvr]

also, 1 feeder fish every 4-5 days isn't enough either

[katach]

I scented frozen/thawed pinkies with fish scent to get mine switched over. Once switched to pinkies they get 2 per week with a mid week snack of a worm or small chunk of fish. Variety is good in their diet. While pinkies do provide the most nutritionally balanced meal, you can get supplement powder if they won't switch. I have 2 that refuse pinkies. They get dusted worm pieces every 3 feedings. Fish and worms have a higher digestion rate so you'll need to feed more often than a pinkie diet. Hope that helps! Welcome to the forum family, and keep the questions coming!

[Light of Dae]

As for easy scenting I mince up worms and add Cut up Pinkie pieces (Cut Pinkies when frozen) That way my picky little eater has a harder time avoiding the pinkies lol She'll 'nose' her way around in the food n try to pick out all the worm chunks.

[Jaded815]

I'm a little worried about my girl, she tends to hide under the substrate and doesn't come out much. She hasn't eaten since Tuesday even though I gave her fish yesterday. I read that garters are usually very active, but she's not, I'm wondering if her tank is too cold. at the petstore they told me the tank only needed to be heated to around 70-72 degrees, but that really seems too cold to me, should it be warmer? I'll go get a new heat lamp and stuff tomorrow...

Also she looks like she's lost a little color, maybe she's going to shed soon? Her eyes are still clear though... She's my first snake, I want to do it right! Thanks for all of the help!

[Light of Dae]

I'm a little worried about my girl, she tends to hide under the substrate and doesn't come out much. She hasn't eaten since Tuesday even though I gave her fish yesterday. I read that garters are usually very active, but she's not, I'm wondering if her tank is too cold. at the petstore they told me the tank only needed to be heated to around 70-72 degrees, but that really seems too cold to me, should it be warmer? I'll go get a new heat lamp and stuff tomorrow...

Also she looks like she's lost a little color, maybe she's going to shed soon? Her eyes are still clear though... She's my first snake, I want to do it right! Thanks for all of the help!

I know My little Radix got a lot more active after I added just a normal 60w lamp and raised my temps from 55f to 65-70f... I know every species likes different temps and I keep forgetting to buy a 100w bulb to make it a wee warmer for my girl. But she is active still. You should have a warm side / basking spot as well as a cool side, places to hide on either end, so she can regulate her temperature on her own.

If Taz seems dull to you she probably will shed within a week, watch for blue cloudy eyes. Have a water dish big enough she can soak if she wants to. I give mine luke warm baths when I notice her go dull (Warmth helps boost metabolism n water helps moisten the skin for a healthy shed) With my Radix both times she shed for me were different, first time she got dull with blue eyes for half a day then Shed. This last time she was dull for a week had cloudy eyes for two days then a day of clear eyes then the next day she shed.


Now I ain't an expert(Like Steve / Guidofatherof5 is) but these are things I've learnt with my little Radix over the past few months.

[mb90078]

Before they shed they tend to reject food and hide more frequently. If her color is fading that could explain the behavior.

Is the 70-72 at the warm spot of the tank or the cool spot?

[Light of Dae]

How do I go about trying to convert her onto pinkies? Is live the best or should I do frozen? And how often should I feed her?

Avoid live pinkies simply they can harm your Taz, and the die fast.
I personally do a mix of worms with either bits of Salmon fillet or half a frozen pinkie chopped up into bite size chunks, mix with a drop of water n watch the 'hunt' begin lol. I feed every 2-3 days.

[chris-uk]

Some of them just seem to love burrowing, our albino checkered is normally borrowed and has her favourite spots (ironically one of her favourite places is in the substrate under her cold hide). She will get more active as she settles more, she's still in her first week or so with you - our albino took about 2 weeks to settle, our normal checkereds varied from 2 days to a week or so, our Cuitzeos are still skittish 2 months later (but that seems to be their nature from the little info available about them). So each snake will take a different period to become accustomed to their new home.

You asked about handling, I like observing my snakes but at the same time I want them to like being handled, so we handle ours fairly frequently. Like the settling in, it varies from snake to snake as to how comfortable they are to be held and how long for. Our most active checkered is happy to come out a couple of times a day, and she she knows where to come if she wants to come out - we have a low plant on the front right and from there she can get out of the door when it's open, so I tend to wait for her to come out of the door into my hand. Our other checkered has a back problem and sheds badly so she's been handled a lot to help her shed, and not necessarily the sort of handling she enjoys, however I make a point of checking her at least every other day to look for signs of the next shed or any worsening of her back. Our Cuitzeos are odd, they hide a lot, but are happy to be held (after a minute to settle in your hands) the female prefers to be held by me, the male hates me but loves being held by my wife (he can be settled with her and then freak out when I come into the room or try to touch him, ungrateful @%#&#@ its me that usually feeds him.
So when you handle your girl you should get an idea as to how often and how long she's happy with, it's a case of learning her preferences and schedule.

[zendragondrew]

I fed my snake fish for the first few weeks I had her (though one every five days doesn't seem to be enough, depending on her size). She switched to thawed pinkies very easily. She'll eat anything other than bugs, so maybe she just isn't fussy. If yours won't eat pinkies at all look to some of the advice above about scenting, I was prepared to do that, but never had to as she ate the pinkies with no fuss at all. If the mice are too big for her you can cut them in half, but watch out for the smell, it's very nasty.

I handle mine fairly often, I think she likes coming out to play since her enclosure is, unfortunately, quite small (10 gallon).

Sometimes I wonder what she ate in the wild before I found her, she was living on the street in New York city, couldn't imagine there were many non-bug options.

[guidofatherof5]

Bugs?

[Jaded815]

I found her hanging out on her leafy vine thing today! It's the first time I've seen her hanging out out in the open since I got her! So I'm happy :)

[EasternGirl]

That's a good sign that she is getting more comfortable!