feeding baby T. concinnus

[JSUN]

Hi,
I recently acquired a pair of baby T. coninnus. These guys are getting one xsmall pinky every day. I mean they CAN eat a xsmall pinky every day, but do i need to feed them one every day? should i feed them one every other day? They are baby and are very hyper active, I don't want to slow down their growth, but at the same time, i don't want them to get obese either.

[Albert Clark]

Welcome to the forum J! T.s.concinnus are a striking looking animal and a great choice. Just bc they can eat a xsmall pinky daily doesnt mean they should. They can be fed every three days adequately. Garters have high metabolisms but they definitely shouldnt be fed every day! A snack or in between small meal is acceptable. The more frequent feedings could be every two days for baby snakes. You wont slow their growth feeding every three days it just becomes important as they grow to offer an appropriate sized meal instead of multiple meals. Although if using multiple meals then that should equal a appropriate sized meal and no more.

[guidofatherof5]

Don't forget earthworms and nightcrawlers are a very good food.

[JSUN]

Thank you for the warm welcome.
I will feed them every other day then. They are only two months old. I have african nightcrawlers and european nightcrawlers that i raise for fishing. I feed them an african nightcrawler once in a while.

Garter snakes are new to me. I do mostly western hognoses. These guys are very active and hyper... definitely very interesting. I'm hoping to get a T. radix albino pair and erythristic eastern pair in the future.

[Albert Clark]

Ok. Can't wait to see some pics of those hoggies. Never seen a African nightcrawler, only Canadian. Nice choices for your future acquisitions.

[JSUN]

Lol, thanks, I'll have to start up my own pictures thread soon. Some of my female hogs just started maturing this year, so I'm going to start breeding them in the next 3-4 months. I bred an axanthic female last year and got 10 eggs from her.

as for the african nightcrawlers, you can order those on ebay, they are very prolific and are heat tolerant, altho, they will not do well below 65F for long. They can grow to a pretty decent size and they aggressive feed on decaying veggies. I juice occasionally and i mix the pulps into their bedding and they love it.

Will my garter ever get use to me picking them up? they constantly musk. They don't do it all the time, but pretty much 75% of the time whenever i pick one up.

[Albert Clark]

Congrats on the breeding, and the eggs. I will really have to look for those African nightcrawlers and consider them. Your garters will calm down as they age and become more established in their terrarium. The male may take a little longer than the female though. If they are both males well, you know. Lol. Good luck.

[Zdravko092368]

Lol, thanks, I'll have to start up my own pictures thread soon. Some of my female hogs just started maturing this year, so I'm going to start breeding them in the next 3-4 months. I bred an axanthic female last year and got 10 eggs from her.

as for the african nightcrawlers, you can order those on ebay, they are very prolific and are heat tolerant, altho, they will not do well below 65F for long. They can grow to a pretty decent size and they aggressive feed on decaying veggies. I juice occasionally and i mix the pulps into their bedding and they love it.

Will my garter ever get use to me picking them up? they constantly musk. They don't do it all the time, but pretty much 75% of the time whenever i pick one up.

How often are you handling and how long? I usually handled them during feeding time to get my garters to associate me and my hands with food which seems to tame them down quicker.

I have about 50 garters and none of them musk anymore.

[Albert Clark]

Also, T.s.concinnus and T.s.infernalis both seem to have a propensity for being defensive especially as hatchlings and juveniles. Their establishment as they mature and their feelings of security will both foster less defensive behaviors like head flattening and flaring, musking and even biting.

[JSUN]

Sorry, been a bit busy lately. i actually don't handle mine that often. only pick them up once every 3-4 days. I feed them every other day now. I just acquired a pair of baby T. radix as well. Their parents are red, so i'm hoping that they'll turn out the same way.