No luck .

[GarterGuy17]

Well failed attempt at feeding fish she bit on some of the pieces but through them back out same with the pinky pieces. So she hasnt eaten at all , so I left the food in the tank on paper towels hopefully she would eat it later.

[Light of Dae]

She probably likes the smell of it all n is interested but she just ain't hungry yet. Would be my guess. My Babs will do that if I give her food before she's ready to eat. Give her time, lol I know it's fun n your eager to feed her but you'll have all the time in the world with her lol

[Light of Dae]

Oh and not sure if you did or not, but adding a little water in a little dish / lid with everything helps her swallow it better. Especially if it sits for a bit. Just enough water to 'slightly slosh' food from side to side, not so much that its soup. ... more like a chunky stew! lol

[GarterGuy17]

I was thinking of doing that but I wasnt to sure she ate half a pink which is all I gave her the rest was fish. she left it alone , should I try again tomorrow on on saturday ? or even later today ?

[mikem]

are you just cutting the pink in half? try cutting it into several small pieces along with the fish, then kinda rub them all together and offer it. when was the last time she ate? two or three feedings a week should be plenty.

[EasternGirl]

Well, one thing you want to keep in mind is not letting food sit out for too long. I don't let it sit out for more than a couple of hours. If she didn't eat anything and you want to try again later, you can. But if the food has been sitting for a while, I'd use fresh food. If she doesn't eat then, I would just wait until the next scheduled feeding time. She will be okay. Remember, this may take a few tries before she eats the fish.

[Selkielass]

Just keep at it.
My Abby took months to become confortable eating in front of me, and longer to decide she liked pinkies.
Keep mixing it up with or scenting with food they like, and most will eventually come around- especially once spring comes.
My Garters become regular hogs in spring and early summer.

[EasternGirl]

Exactly...it took me a while to get my easterns to eat anything but worms. Took a while to get them to consider fish...even longer for pinkies....now Cee Cee loves pinkies...prefers them to anything else...and Seeley prefers fish...when I can get the picky little stinker to eat. Hermes was raised on pinks and it took me about three tries before he would eat any fish...he still only eats a couple of bites. I have not introduced him to worms yet.

[GarterGuy17]

Well helf of the pinky I served I cut it into 2 pieces ( small pink ) then like 4 other small pieces of fish ( 2 tilapia , 2 salmon ) she did take bites off of it but she almost ate a piece of fish almost because it got stuck on the lid for some reason and she couldn't pull it off :/

[mikem]

like light of dae said, wet the food a bit before offering. that'll help with not sticking to the lid.

[GarterGuy17]

I might try again later if that doesnt works im going to feed on saturday maybe she she gets hungry.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...just try wetting it a bit. Try giving her a little fresh fish later and some more pinky with it. Then try again Saturday if she won't eat today...sounds like a good plan. She'll eat it eventually...especially if she was trying to eat the fish already.

[mikem]

sounds like a good plan :) keep us updated!

[GarterGuy17]

So her biting the fish was a good sign ? even though the pieces she did pick she threw out her mouth literally.

[EasternGirl]

Well...I guess the fact that she threw them out of her mouth wasn't so great...she probably thought they were pinky and then spit them out when she realized it was not. I forgot about that part. But give it time. She isn't used to it...she tasted it and it was like..."This is not what my food tastes like...what the heck is this stuff?"...so she spit it out. That's a natural first reaction to having something new introduced. In time she will learn to appreciate it for what it tastes like and then she will discover she actually enjoys it.

[guidofatherof5]

I always like my snakes reaction to a new food item.
They rush to take what I offer. Once they grab it they stop swallowing/moving and just sit there with their mouth open.
It's like they're thinking, "what the hell"
Funny, funny stuff. :D

[GarterGuy17]

See I think jade is weird because If I put something in her tank she does not go for it at all I literally have to puck her up and place her at the food until she bites at it. what does this mean ?

[guidofatherof5]

See I think jade is weird because If I put something in her tank she does not go for it at all I literally have to puck her up and place her at the food until she bites at it. what does this mean ?

You need to be more patient with her.:D;)
If a garter snake is hungry you won't need to lead them to the food.

[GarterGuy17]

So at the moment she is hanging on her branch which is right over the food if she doesnt eat in a few minutes , i'm going to wait until saturday

[guidofatherof5]

Have you tried leaving the food in over night?
I have some snakes who will only eat when no ones around.
Some even want to only eat from under their hide.

[GarterGuy17]

Never left overnight as this is only my second feeding and I have aspen substrate so im pretty worried about her swallowing it.

[guidofatherof5]

Agreed.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I just covered almost her entire tank with paper towels , still not sure if I should rise it though.

[guidofatherof5]

With all the substrate out do you see and whitish stains on the glass.
Many times garter like to sit on the glass and poop.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I actually didnt remove the substrate I just covered it.

[chris-uk]

I leave food in overnight for our blacknecks and checkereds overnight. One of the blacknecks will only eat when I'm not looking, so she doesn't get supervised, the checkereds will all eat while I watch (if they're hungry) and will generally tong feed. The blacknecks I just have to guess whether they've fed, although the female is getting better and I can watch her from a distance. It's the male blackneck that will only eat when we're not in the room, hence food gets left in overnight. It's not what I want to do, but a risk I accept to give him a chance to eat...

[guidofatherof5]

Your snake will drag food under the paper towel so you have gained nothing.
Paper towel alone is the way to go.

[GarterGuy17]

So I took out all of the aspen , now its paper towels. So I will be leaving the food overnight and see what happens.

[Mommy2many]

Ask Rhea how she was fed. She is new to you and is acclimating, so give her some time. It's also winter and the colder temps keep them from eating as often. Her brother eats maybe only every other day. I wouldn't worry. She needs to get used to her new home. She is a proven eater and that's good. Relax! She'll be fine. Can't wait to se more pics of her.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I left for a while and when I got back on of the pinky pieces was missing , yea so im guessing she likes to eat alone even though she ate infront of me the first time.

[EasternGirl]

As far as picking her up and putting her in front of the food goes...I have to do that with my snakes sometimes even when they are very hungry...they just can't seem to find the food on their own. They don't actually know it's there until I put them in front of it...they are skiddish, so they see me put something in their tank but they are afraid to approach it not knowing it is food until I put them in front of it, then they eat. It is probably the same thing with Jade. So I wouldn't worry about that. Steve is right about the substrate, I tried putting paper towels over top of Hermes bedding and he just dragged the food under the paper towels...so it's good that you took the aspen out. She may have been very hungry the first time when she ate in front of you because she had not eaten in so long...now she is being a bit shy...no worries. Leave her alone for a bit. Maybe cover part of her tank with a towel...that is what I do for Seeley since he is so skiddish. She may eat if she thinks you can't see her.

[kibakiba]

With Runt, I have to hold her, endure her musking and push the food in her face. She's partially blind. It's annoying, because her musk is a very rotten smell... But, she can't eat otherwise. There have been times where she smells food and gets all excited when she sees my shadow? and lunges up toward me. I'm pretty sure she can see light changes, that seems to make her stop bumping into things and come toward whatever is making the shadow.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I think I have been bitten by jade but still never musked im pretty sure. I feel left out ~

[kibakiba]

Your time will come...
:D

[angrygamer]

GG, I've been trying to follow your situation a bit but I'm not exactly sure what you are feeding her...

Are you feeding her exactly what was fed to her before she moved?

Has she been fed pinkies and that particular kind of fish before?

I'll tell you why: in December I started feeding Glyph pinkies and night crawlers at the same time, it took him a bit to warm up to both. The first time he didn't eat a pinky for two hours, I had to leave it in his viv, and the first three times he wouldn't eat worms.

Now he eats both straight from my hand or tongs with no problem. I don't know very much about his history, the vet says he's about three years old; I got him from a pet store four months ago, and I didn't ask them very much about him when I bought him (I should have) - the point being I don't know very much, but the pet store thought I should be feeding him goldfish, so I imagine that may have been his whole diet.

So give it time, like everyone is saying!

[GarterGuy17]

GG, I've been trying to follow your situation a bit but I'm not exactly sure what you are feeding her...

Are you feeding her exactly what was fed to her before she moved?

Has she been fed pinkies and that particular kind of fish before?

I'll tell you why: in December I started feeding Glyph pinkies and night crawlers at the same time, it took him a bit to warm up to both. The first time he didn't eat a pinky for two hours, I had to leave it in his viv, and the first three times he wouldn't eat worms.

Now he eats both straight from my hand or tongs with no problem. I don't know very much about his history, the vet says he's about three years old; I got him from a pet store four months ago, and I didn't ask them very much about him when I bought him (I should have) - the point being I don't know very much, but the pet store thought I should be feeding him goldfish, so I imagine that may have been his whole diet.

So give it time, like everyone is saying!

She has never ate fish before , pinkies were her only diet. I'm trying to introduce her to fish. I just have to wait I guess.

[angrygamer]

She has never ate fish before , pinkies were her only diet. I'm trying to introduce her to fish. I just have to wait I guess.

Yeah keep trying, from all I have heard (and experienced) it takes a bit of time for garters to get used to eating something else.

[EasternGirl]

Some snakes don't musk very often though. Cee Cee has only done it once and I don't think Seeley has ever musked me. Seeley has never bitten me, and Cee Cee has only nipped me a copuple of times because she was being a pig and thought my fingers were food. When Cee Cee is trying to be tough, she only false strikes. Seeley has done a couple of false strikes too. Hermes musks me a lot..but he has never even attempted a strike.

[GarterGuy17]

Well then I really didnt get bitten either I just felt like she was tackling my hand lol it was so funny.

[EasternGirl]

Garters do a thing called false striking, which is probably what she was doing. Most garters will only bite as a last resort. Their natural instinct is to flee or hide when threatened or attacked...or to musk...or even play dead. If that doesn't work they will strike, but they usually do a false strike...which involves striking and just bumping you (or the predator) with their nose, without actually even opening their mouths to bite. It's a scare tactic. They usually only bite as a last resort...although some are quite nippy. You would know if she bit you. Although they are not venomous and do not have fangs, they do have teeth and it can hurt and can draw blood. Some members' garters bite a lot. And, some of the more aggressive species of garters bite a lot. I have never really been bitten...Cee Cee has nipped my fingers thinking they were food, but she didn't even draw blood...well, I think she may have gotten me and drawn blood on the side of my thumb once.