Worms to Fish... do they get picky???

[Jake Dubz]

Ok, I started my snake out on worms then about 2 weeks after that i switched to small fish- well it's been a lil over a week and he hasn't TOUCHED a single worm i've put in for him (i thought i'd get him some "selection" of foods) Is he possibly just still full from the fish? i know fish obviously will take longer to digest... but I clean his cage...... Trust me-The fish ain't there ne more Have you guys experienced this? I mean, who knows- where i caught him there wasn't even ANY water close for him to know what fish even was lol. Do you guys recommend just sticking with what the snake know? LASTLY I've heard you guys talking about giving your snakes fish "strips" are you just talking about giving em chunks of fish meat? I've never tried fish strips, but i'm gonna try to throw him a lil chunk of salmon i got in the fridge. I'll keep postin- and thankz in advance (sry for the long post)

[adamanteus]

Hi Jake, yeah, I've seen that in the past...where you wean a snake from worms onto fish (or whatever) then they won't go back to worms. No problem though.

Trout strips work really well, but if you're using them as the main diet sprinkle a little calcium on there every few meals.

[ssssnakeluvr]

worms are an ok treat, not the best for a full time diet. If you have them on trout that would be a lot better.

[Jake Dubz]

ok, yea- i just threw him some strips of some thawed laker we had, so i'll leave that in their overnight and see what becomes of it- i'm kinda suprised they'll eat something thats "prepared"

[Jake Dubz]

unfortunitally the fish failed horribly.... He's still not taking any worms, and he's starting to get a bit more slender... I tried to put a worm in his mouth as well, in desperation- but that didn't work either I'm getting kinda worried bout my lil buddy man, you guys have any other ideas? I haven't tried to give him ne live fish yet but if he was "starving" wouldnt' he hit the worms???? would REALLY appriciate ne help er ideas you guys have

[enigma200316]

unfortunitally the fish failed horribly.... He's still not taking any worms, and he's starting to get a bit more slender... I tried to put a worm in his mouth as well, in desperation- but that didn't work either I'm getting kinda worried bout my lil buddy man, you guys have any other ideas? I haven't tried to give him ne live fish yet but if he was "starving" wouldnt' he hit the worms???? would REALLY appriciate ne help er ideas you guys have

try the live fish and see what happens, yes some snakes can be picky...

[drache]

have you tried anything other than worm and fish?
I was surprised to find one of my babies taking neither and then going for pinkie strips
how long has it been since he's last eaten?

[enigma200316]

have you tried anything other than worm and fish?
I was surprised to find one of my babies taking neither and then going for pinkie strips
how long has it been since he's last eaten?

thats also a good idea, thanks Rhea, I don't know why I didn't think of that....lol.......anyway you should try that also Jake, and remember leave
it in there for awhile, and some snake don't always like to eat while you there either..............

[RZL36]

You are probably going to have to feed them fish till you can get them over to pinkies. When the time comes for that, just buy some rosy minnows and throw them in a bag with thawed pinks. Trick is to get the pinks to smell like fish.

Never much understood the reason for feeding worms. Can anyone help? I would think that they are just slightly more nutritious than fish and the ultimate goal would be rodent.

However, if the snake is getting thin, I would go get some minnows and throw them in a bowl with water ASAP. Sometimes a picky snake will respond to movement rather than smells. From what I've gathered, garters especially are visual eaters. Your snake will probably attack the minnows and swallow them quickly. Once they connect food to fish smell (and they've put on some weight), use that to get them over to pinks.

All in all, if the snake is getting thin, don't force feed until you've exhausted all other options.

Hope that helps. Anyone, please feel free to illustrate further or dismiss.

[flakgunner]

hey,
I'am having problems with my Plains Gartersnakes right now,memorial weekend I caught a very scarce colored Plains in the backyard,and a chocolate brown Plains,in July,both where eating like pigs!nightcrawlers and fish,feeding them a couple times per week,about three weeks ago the odd colored one,stopped eating and then the little choc brown one,tried again last night,nothing,I've encountered this problem before,with wild caught,during the first year of captivity,most of the time,they'll snap out of it.

Joe