Thamnophis marcianus articles lists large insects as food.

[kueluck]

I'm a bit confused on this. All I've read and heard is NO BUGS!!!! I've contacted Reptiles magazine on this article. I was really excited when I saw that the August issue has a article on Garters, but then upon reading this I though, huh, this goes against everything I've heard from you guys.
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[guidofatherof5]

It's very simple. They're wrong. There are a few older books out there that still list insects as a food source along with a few websites that do the same. Just misinformation passed down. Please let us know the response from Reptile Mag. Ask them to quote there source of information.

[kueluck]

Will do. I told them my concern is that some one will get one and try to feed it crickets or roaches. I hope they post some kind of retraction on this.

[Stefan-A]

Any chance that whoever wrote that just didn't know the difference between invertebrates and insects?

I have never seen a stomach contents study for a Thamnophis species, that listed any large insects, with the exception of a single larva found in a single T. sauritus in a population where anurans made up something in the order of 90% of the stomach contents. Which of course doesn't mean there aren't any such studies out there.

[BUSHSNAKE]

im surprised, the article was written by Ken Foose...not a garter expert but should know better. i quess the saying goes dont believe everything you read even in reptile mags....pathetic

[chris-uk]

Just more bad information which will be propagated and lead to more garters being fed a lousy diet.

[guidofatherof5]

I sent Reptiles Mag. an email explaining the error in their article. Not sure it will make any difference but we shall see.

REPTILES magazine Contact Us Page

[infernalis]

Reptiles magazine, and any other magazine is made up of several parts. On one hand they have an editorial staff, Senior editors, and "contributing editors" who do exactly what the names imply, they edit content from other people, known as authors.

Authors are not created equal, all one has to do is read two books on the same subject by two different authors.

Reptiles magazine does not have the time to read every word and check for accuracy. If I recall, there is a disclaimer somewhere in each issue, buried in very fine print on a page no one looks at.

Enjoy the article, bask in the knowledge that you know more about Thamnophis than the author, and continue to advise against feeding insects as prey to captives.

If by some strange miracle that the magazine does see fit to print a retraction, it will certainly be in smaller print than the disclaimer, and tucked away even deeper.

[BUSHSNAKE]

Ive been reading reptiles magazine since day one and theyve had some excellent garter snake write ups over the years...this one is pathetic and so is the whole magazine, its gone southward for quite some time. BOOO!! reptiles magazine. All the good authors of reptile magazine are gone BOOOOOOO!!