My Garters Are Fasting??!!

[bigboss081]

My two garters refuse to eat, and ive had them for almost two weeks. I force fed my eastern one, but my ribbon is stubborn as heck, and wont open his mouth no matter what. Ne advice/help??? Thnxx!

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

sounds like they need to be brumated

My two garters refuse to eat, and ive had them for almost two weeks. I force fed my eastern one, but my ribbon is stubborn as heck, and wont open his mouth no matter what. Ne advice/help??? Thnxx!

[ssssnakeluvr]

force feeding should be a last resort. if you have only had them for 2 weeks thats not unusual...they generally take some time to acclimate to their new home. ribbons can be real picky anyway. if they have lost no noticeable weight they are fine...snakes can go long periods without eating.

[Sid]

I agree with Don. It often takes some time for a snake to settle into a new enviroment. Minimize anything that stresses them, like handling, until they start eating.

[Josh]

sounds like they need to be brumated

no garter need to be brumated it helps though. I mean its a natural process but its not an answer for not eating rather then the reason.

[Lori P]

Vince, just give them more time, and don't force feed. Do you know what they were eating before you got them? What have you tried so far?

[adamanteus]

As the other members have said..... two weeks isn't very long, don't force-feed them yet, it will be counter productive. Leave them in peace as much as you can, and just keep offering different food items every few days.

[bigboss081]

Vince, just give them more time, and don't force feed. Do you know what they were eating before you got them? What have you tried so far?

They both have been eatin goldfish according to the store employee, and thats what ive been bying, bu the fish just end up dead, w.o bite marks or nething

[Lori P]

Well, here's a few things I've picked up from the experts here...

Remember, goldfish are bad. If you think your guys will only eat live fish (and some only will, at the beginning) then switch to minnows or guppies. And think about the fact that your snakes are only as healthy as the food they eat, so feeding sickly or dying fish is not the best way to go... many of the feeder fish from the stores are stressed and underfed. It's a good idea to bulk up your feeder fish if you can, on a healthy diet, in a clean tank before feeding them. Don't leave your feeder fish in the snake's water dish more than a couple of hours; if the snakes haven't eaten, take the fish out and try again in a day or two. Certainly don't leave them until they die.

Or, you can try what others here have found successful: try feeding strips of trout or salmon. Some will go right for it, some you have to tempt into it. If yours show that they are stuck on feeding on live fish, you can put pieces of trout or salmon in the water dish with the live fish, and often they will grab a piece of that when going for the live fish.

Often, you can get them from feeding on live fish, to being willing to grab a piece of trout/salmon dangled in front of them, to being willing to grab it off a dish... and then go to scenting frozen/thawed pinkies with the fish and having them eventually move to pinkies. It's a process; it takes time.

For right now, give them some time, only offer the fish for a couple of hours every few days, and see how it goes. I'm sure I left something out so someone else will fill it in for you.

[drache]

Vince
you got some good advice there
two weeks is really nothing for a snake
give it some time
just offer them minnows every three days or so and take them out, if they don't get eaten
when they're not in a feeding dish, I keep live minnows in a small bucket and change some of the water twice per day
keep us posted
I'm not far away, so I can take a look at your critters, if it goes on too ling