Not eating

[ravgez]

Hey im new to all this reptile care and what not but im ready to learn and do whatever it takes to keep my garter healthy , i got a baby albino checkerd garter today. hes very skiddish and wont let me touch him, he wont bite or anything just skiddish which is what i kinda expected. the problem is that i got him some minnows today and he wont eat. he will occasionaly climb the water dish and look into the water but never attempting to catch the fish. i would dangle one infront of his face and he seemed to be interested and bit once but then never came back to even look at it again. i chopped it in half and left it in a little dish incase he wasnt used to the live fish but still no luck. is it just him getting used to his new home and me over reacting? I also dont know if the website i ordered him from had feed him before shipping him out. Thanks!

[chris-uk]

Welcome to the forum. Relax, you haven't said anything above that would make me at all concerned.

First thing. He's in a new home, having been shipped to you (I assume this as you said you got him from a website). That's a traumatic experience for him and he will need time to settle in to his new home. I wouldn't even attempt to feed him for 3 days, but it wouldn't be unusual for him to refuse food for a week or more.
Do you know what he was being fed before you got him? Start by feeding him exactly the same as he's used to. If he isn't used to live minnows they aren't so likely to trigger his feeding response.
What sort of minnows are you feeding and where did you get them from? Some minnows contain an enzyme called thiaminase, which will kill a garter if you feed them on them long term. The caresheet explains about thiaminase in fish so I won't repeat it.

The other things to note are that he won't feed until he's happy in his enclosure. Can you tell us what temperatures you're keeping him at, and a bit more about his environment? He's likely to want to hide a lot while he acclimatises to the new surroundings, so it's essential that you have hides on both warm and cold sides.

Finally, take a read of the caresheet and feel free to ask if you have more questions:
Garter Snake Forum - Garter Caresheet

[Selkielass]

Good advice from Chris.
Some garters are shy eaters, and may prefer to eat in privacy.
If he is like most of the checkered garters I've heard about, he will eventually be eating out of your hand.
Give him some time to settle in to his new home, and offer fish or night crawler pieces once a day, just before an extended quiet time- as you are leaving for scoop, work, or at bedtime are perfect.
Keep count the pieces of food. He should help himself before long.

[ravgez]

I have him in a ten gallon tank with coconut fiber substrate. I have a big enough water dish on the cool side the fish can swim in. The other side i have a hide with multiple holes, a big log that he likes to climb and the thermometer. on this side i have the heat lamp i leave on during the day and underneath i have a heating pad(i only leave it on during the night because my family likes it well into the 60s during the night). During the day the hot side gets around 70-75 degrees. I had gotten him red rosy minnows from the pet store, it seemed to be the only feeder fish other than goldfish they had.

[Greg'sGarters]

Welcome to the best garter snake forum in the world! Many of the members on here have a lot of experience and we would love to answer any questions you have! Feeding problems often occur when the garter is stressed, too hot, too cold, or just plain scared. If possible, try to contact the people you bought him from and ask what they fed him. Also, try to stay away from thiaminase containing fish. The 2 most commonly sold are goldfish and rosy-red minnows. If he is still a baby, try putting him in a little sauce cup (see picture below) with a tiny bit of water (about 1/3 the height of him) and put a feeder guppy in there. This works with 90% of the picky eaters that I have.

This is the type of sauce cup I was talking about.
2oz_sauce_cup_with_lid_FDA_Certification.jpg

[chris-uk]

I have him in a ten gallon tank with coconut fiber substrate. I have a big enough water dish on the cool side the fish can swim in. The other side i have a hide with multiple holes, a big log that he likes to climb and the thermometer. on this side i have the heat lamp i leave on during the day and underneath i have a heating pad(i only leave it on during the night because my family likes it well into the 60s during the night). During the day the hot side gets around 70-75 degrees. I had gotten him red rosy minnows from the pet store, it seemed to be the only feeder fish other than goldfish they had.

It sounds to me like he should find his quarters comfortable. The warm day temperature is a little lower than I wocuse for marcianus, I aim for upper 20's (Celsius) and that translates to around 80-85F. He probably just needs longer to settle.

With the rosy reds a couple aren't going to hurt, but get onto non-thiaminase foods asap. Salmon and trout fillet is better than rosy reds or goldfish. Unless he really is a fussy eater you shouldn't need to feed live (an albino checkered will have been captive bred and I'm pretty sure all the breeders will use frozen/thawed food because live feeders are too much hassle if you have a lot of snakes), which widens the options are lot. See if you can get hold of frozen smelt or lance fish at the pet store, else salmon or trout fillet from a fish counter.

[ravgez]

I left one of the dead minnows on a plastic pringles can lid and left it inside the cage and he eventually came and ate it!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I left one of the dead minnows on a plastic pringles can lid and left it inside the cage and he eventually came and ate it!

He will be eating right in front of you in no time! that was fast!

[ravgez]

He will be eating right in front of you in no time! that was fast!

Hopefully!