Feeding small garters

[katach]

Welcome to the forum family. Everyone has given you solid advice. I feed my young ones every other day on night crawler chunks, talapia, and when I have them pinkie bits. If you feed pinkie bits in there every so often they should get the calcium they need, otherwise you may want to get a calcium supplement and dust the food every 4-5 feedings.


Pictures are not only welcome, they are required too!

[Thamnophis]

I feed my juveniles as much as they can eat every 4th/5th day. But I feed mainly fish.

[Selkielass]

If you have fuzzies in the freezer just skin them and chop them up.
The skin comes off easily if you dip the frozen mice in very warm water just long enough to thaw just the skin. Snip off feet and tail (If save these, they are relished!) And slip the skin right off the body.

Be careful about overfeeding rodents. Garters love them and may overeat. (Mine did and got fat.)

[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.

[jitami]

Oh, and I do let my babies eat as much as they want at each feeding so some do gorge themselves. Figured it's what they would do in nature if they ran across a mouse nest or other abundant food supply.

[ConcinusMan]

Screw what happens in nature. A lot of things happen there, like only about 15 out of a hundred babies living to see age 1 and half of those 15 don't live to see age 2. When you've raised as many litters as I have, you find that a policy of letting "babies eat as much as they want" leads to a higher "sudden unexplained death" toll, usually right after consuming a large meal.

Don't feed them too much in one sitting. A noticeable bulge, even if only slight, is enough. They should still be able to move rather well, not so full that they can't hardly move. It puts too much pressure on still developing organs. I also recommend using a probiotic a few times during their first few months. Indigestion leads to gas. They can't burp and that could be fatal. Amazon.com: Bene-Bac Bird & Reptile Powder, 10oz: Pet Supplies

[jitami]

Do what makes you feel comfortable. When I started on the forum it was common advice to let babies eat as much as they want. That tide has changed and that is fine, but I highly doubt it puts them in any sort of danger in captive environment.

[guidofatherof5]

I've never had problems with babies that gorge themselves on worm chunks but I have lost snakes that gorge themselves on salmon. I don't feed salmon any more.

[ConcinusMan]

Do what makes you feel comfortable. When I started on the forum it was common advice to let babies eat as much as they want. That tide has changed and that is fine, but I highly doubt it puts them in any sort of danger in captive environment.

All I know is that when I was doing that, it was common for me to lose a few out of every litter. Perfectly healthy, eating growing babies would just drop dead, stomachs still full. No longer does that happen. Theres absolutely no reason to overstuff them when you're feeding them so often.

[jitami]

That really is interesting. I agree there's no reason to stuff them. Feeding in groups it just seems that some gorge and some don't and I worry that by interrupting them to remove the full babies it may stress the more reluctant babies making them even less likely to eat. All of that said, I'm relying mostly on other people's advice & info though, as I've raised a total of 11 babies in my life, so you two definitely have more experience than I do.