Feeding small garters

[Chrisnif]

I finally got my three florida blue garters and it appears that the setup I'm going to have them in for now is a 40 breeder with some nice ornaments and a basking lamp and a flexwatt under the tank. My big question right this moment is how much to feed and how often. The guy I got them from bought them 3 or 4 months ago, they are all of 6-7 grams each and about 6 to 7 inches. He told me he was feeding cut up pinky every 5 to 6 days, I offered rose reds and they tore into them like they've never eaten before, and it seems they are likely underfed, so what do you guys recommend at this size for feeding?

Thanks!

[Invisible Snake]

Congratulations on getting your trio!

First things first don't feed them anymore rosy reds because of thiaminase, you can give them live guppies which are on the safe list.

Feeding frequency depends on what you are feeding them, if you feed them primarily fish/worms then you would have to feed them more often as opposed to feeding them mostly pinkies.

Variety is the spice of life! Check out the forums caresheet, it will tell you what safe foods to feed your garters.

Mostly fish/worms diet, I would feed them every 2-3 days and a mostly pinkie diet I would feed them every 3-4 days. I would feed them until I see a nice bulge in their stomachs.

[guidofatherof5]

For babies you can get away with feeding every other day as long as you don't let them gorge themselves.
I would switch to a safer fish if you can. Guppies or maybe fresh tilapia.
Just my opinion.

[RedSidedSPR]

5-6 days is WAY too infrequent for snakes that age.

I feed my babies every day, or every other day, until they're like 7, 8 months old. Then it's every 2 or 3 days.

I feed small food items though, I guess every other day would be better if you're feeding decent sized items.

First off, no rosy red minnows or goldfish. I reccommend frozen/thawed tilapia fillet from a good market, or frozen/thawed silversides, found at most pet stores. If you can find live feeder GUPPIES, those work too, although there's always a small parasite risk with anything live.

You can get night crawlers (big earthworms) at Walmart, I would feed those as the main diet along with fish. NO red wrigglers/red worms/trout worms.

Throw some chopped pinkies in there whenever you want, I just chop 'em up for babies every few days. Helps 'em grow up nice a big lol


That's just how I do it, you'll get other answers but for the most part that's a pretty ideal feeding for babies.

[Light of Dae]

Yea sound like they could eat a lot more... They aren't like corns that people feed once a week. Babies need food every 2-3 days. Earthworms and Pinkie mice are my staple diet.

As well you should take a look at the caresheet. Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet
It is a great read and has everything you need to know n more.

Please read about the feeding live fishes part... Try Guppies and Platys they are safer.

Feel free to post pictures of your snakes here! We love seeing pictures!

[Chrisnif]

Thanks I totally forgot to reconsult the safe list when I was at the store buying some feeders today. Hope a one time feeding won't cause issues. I have night crawlers as well. Instead of pinkys, being I've gotta cut it up anyway, can I feed them cut up larger size mice as long as the cut up pieces are small enough for the babies?

[RedSidedSPR]

Nah, a few minnows aren't gonna hurt him, just don't continue.

By larger mice do you mean full grown or fuzzies? I would think no.. I doubt they'd digest the fur right but I'm not actually sure..

Btw I'm in Charlotte too.

[Light of Dae]

I'd stick to pinkie mice as Garters don't handle fur very well... You could go to Rat Pinkies. Cut up.

[Chrisnif]

Okay wasn't sure if it was a size thing or the fur. I have about 100 fuzzy mice in the freezer that I use for my other snakes.

--Redsided - Howdy Neighbor, I'm actually just next door in Mount Holly.

[jitami]

Okay wasn't sure if it was a size thing or the fur. I have about 100 fuzzy mice in the freezer that I use for my other snakes.

Fuzzies would be fine cut up for them. They really don't have that much fur anyway. I've been feeding my babies every 2-3 days and they're eating primarily chopped up mouse. I've chopped up pinkies, fuzzies, and hoppers for them. On the hoppers I do discard a lot of the fur, but I doubt it's a huge deal in those tiny pieces anyway.