Young Garter Not Eating

[Sneaky Salamander]

Hey everyone! I'll post on the forum later so you can meet my babies, but I have a problem. I've had my garters for about two and a half weeks. I got them from a reptile convention, but I don't know who the breeders were so I can't ask them what they were eating.

Both of my garters have the same set up (it's a two compartment small cage with a heater, water bowl, lots of aspen shavings, and some fake plants) but the Eastern Black-necked (Jack) is eating and doing fine while the California Red-sided (Calypso) is not eating. Calypso seems a lot more skittish than Jack. I originally tried pinkie pieces but they were scared of the tongs and ignored the food when I left them in a tupperware with it for about 30 minutes. I am currently feeding them live rosy minnows (I know you don't recommend them but I'm desperate to get her to eat) by leaving them in their water bowls. I recently added meal worms in another bowl to see if Calypso would eat them, and I am getting earthworms tomorrow to see if those work. I've already force fed Calypso once, because the minnow was about to die cuz the water had evaporated, but I don't want to make that my regular feeding method cuz it will stress her out. How can I get her to eat?

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[Libis]

From what little I understand, garter snakes can't eat mealworms. (They can't digest them.) Beyond that, I should probably leave the rest of this to more experienced people (as I am new to reptiles in general.)

[ObsidianDragon]

Uh...why's your heater on the side? Under tank heaters are usually...underneath the tank. Warmer air is great to a point, but it isn't really helpful when it comes to their being able to digest their food.

UTH's should also be controlled with a thermostat, to prevent overheating. Nobody wants a cooked snake.

If your husbandy is off, that could be why one of the snakes isn't eating. Once you fix that, try:

-Putting the food on a plate, covering the enclosure, and leaving the snake alone for awhile. This is how I have to feed my Checkered. Leaving them in their enclosure might help them feel more secure, same with covering it.

-There's a list of fish that are safe to feed garters here: All About Thiaminase - Gartersnake.info

-You can try earthworms or nightcrawler worm (pieces, if needed).




You might also want some more places for them to hide--skittish animals don't want to feel exposed, although it's nice to see they can hide in their bedding. Mine loves that. Makes finding him a PITA, but well.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Ditch the mealworms as they are not a good food source for garters and garters can't digest the exoskeleton of insects . The snake look's healthy. I would say to try fish, pinks, and nightcrawler pcs until you figure out what it prefers and then you can use the preferred item for scenting. I feed my garters nightcrawlers and mice as i've had bad luck with fish myself. Make sure you don't get red wigglers because they are toxic. Nice looking snakes!

[gibble888]

For your ca red... earthworm chunks with a little water...turn the lights off and leave it alone for a while. It may take some time even hours. Do not feed fish of any kind frozen or fresh. Thats all im gonna say about that. Good luck

[Qwerty3159]

I am far from an expert, but you might want t rip that tape off the heat pad, before it melts.

If you have to tape a heat pad, use some kind of foil tape, made to withstand heat.
https://www.google.com/search?q=foil...ed=0CAcQ_AUoAg

[d_virginiana]

For your ca red... earthworm chunks with a little water...turn the lights off and leave it alone for a while. It may take some time even hours. Do not feed fish of any kind frozen or fresh. Thats all im gonna say about that. Good luck

There is no reason not to feed fish. Many members of this forum do. It's important to know which fish have Thiaminase in them so you can avoid them though... There's a 'safe fish' list somewhere I'm just having a hard time finding it.
"Sally's San Fransisco Bay Silversides" are a good brand of frozen fish you can try.

[gibble888]

Check out the sick garter thread...sounds like exactly the same problem i was having y3ars ago. I stopped feeding silversides and every snake that did not eat them ever is still alive today. Every snake that had even a bite is gone. Some take longer than others. Same exact death. That is not coincidence. Why risk it when we have earthworm s and pinks.

[d_virginiana]

lol Tell that to all the wild garters that eat fish-heavy diets.
I've been here long enough to have seen dozens of SUPPOSED B1-deficiency garter threads-- supposed being the key word. Unless a vet confirmed something prior to death or via necropsy, you don't know that that's why your snakes died. There are a dozen things that can cause seizures; plenty of them are environmental. You could have gotten a batch of silversides contaminated with something; goodness knows things like that can happen with all food items.
We 'risk it' because certain fish simply do not contain Thiaminase, which is what causes the B1 deficiency.

No one is saying you have to feed your snakes fish, but telling new keepers that you can't feed fish because they will cause seizures just isn't accurate.

[gibble888]

Contaminated. ...exactly! Bad batch of SALLY SILVERSIDES...now you got it. Im done flushing mine down the toilet and all i had to do is stop feeding silversides. Maybe its California red sided are more susceptible.