Post any feeding tips (needed for WC adult)

[redspot]

I would venture to guess Garters could live a full life off hot dogs.

All my concinnus took quail, salmon, mice and rats tonight.

[infernalis]

A few of my bigger female garters just love rat pinks.

[ConcinusMan]

Great photo of a gorgeous T. s. fitchii you got there, Redspot.
I agree with you bkhuff1s, variance in the diet is very important. I wouldn't feed a garter an all-rodent diet any more that I would feed them just salamanders. Yes, the fish, frogs, worms diet is fine as a staple but if your snake will take them, scented or not, give them pinkies too. Rodents should be just a part of a good diet.

A wild-caught garter will have food preferences based on what it finds in it's immediate habitat. I noticed that the concinnus I've kept that I got from basically a swamp, flat refused to eat rodents their entire lives. They preferred frogs worms and fish. Another concinnus from a different area, more heavily wooded with streams passing through it, readily took pinkies but only occasionally accepts fish.

I try to vary the diet as much as possible. I know some garters can be picky and hard to find a variety of items they will eat. I try to avoid supplements, especially "multi" formulas since it's too easy to throw off the calcium to phosphorus ratio. Too much of certain vitamins CAUSE vitamin deficiencies by blocking absorption of other vitamins. For example, just one vitamin, phosphorus, is often too high in multi supplements. Too much phosphorus and it won't matter how much calcium and D you give your snake as it won't be absorbed. Fatty vitamins such as E, are stored in the liver and released as needed. Supplements for those non soluble vitamins should be avoided.

If you're feeding pinkies once a week, or even just once a month, your snake is getting enough calcium, and E, and a lot of other vitamins. There's no need to supplement. Be careful with those reptile vitamin mixes. I've seen people love their reptiles to death with supplements.

With a varied diet including rodent food, you don't need supplements! They should only be used sparingly, about once a month, and only when you know your snake's diet is deficient such as an all-fish, or all-salamander diet would be.

Some nutritional info:

http://www.house-of-reptiles.com/feedervertebrates.pdf

[charles parenteau]

When I have a good deal on pinkies.I buy it and yes swometime I do feed my garter snakes with pinky but its a very small part of their food!!!

[drache]

A few of my bigger female garters just love rat pinks.

a few of my bigger garters chow down rat pups
does that mean my bigger garters are bigger than yours?
wow - I hardly ever end up in the "bigger" realm; this might be the first time ever

[guidofatherof5]

a few of my bigger garters chow down rat pups
does that mean my bigger garters are bigger than yours?
wow - I hardly ever end up in the "bigger" realm; this might be the first time ever

Oh yeah, well

[ConcinusMan]

And, they are highly trained mind-control ninja's. ^^^ Beat that.

[Laura]

Taken the advice of many and am mixing up Lola's food. On a salmon feed how much should I give her? Like how many 1cm cubes would be sufficient

[bkhuff1s]

I cut mine into slices, about as thick as the middle of their body a couple inches long.

[bkhuff1s]

1. Insert food into mouth
2. Chew
3. Swallow

*That joke has been haunting me for about a month I finally cracked