mouth rot

[Albert Clark]

Another point to note is infectious stomatitis is acquired from a poor, deficient diet. One lacking in vitamin c and inappropriate calcium and phosphorous levels. The stress suppresses the immune system and makes them more susceptible to infections.

[joeysgreen]

... right idea Albert but a little jumbled. "Infectious stomatitis" would specifically refer to a contagious infection. This would be due to a virus for example.
As alluded to earlier, generic "stomatitis" is often husbandry related, and that can definitely be nutritional. While vitamin C can be important, perhaps more significant to this type of infection and more commonly seen in reptiles, is a vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency causes hyperkeratinisation of mucosal epithelial cells, irritation and local inflammation which can open the door for infection.
Main message though, is to ensure a nutritious and appropriately varied diet.

Ian

[Spacehawk]

Thats interesting I have not thought about deficincies contributing to a compromisedmimmune system butnit makes sense bc that happens to humans- does a rodent diet provide proper amounts of vitamins A and C for garters to have optimal immune response?

[d_virginiana]

Thats interesting I have not thought about deficincies contributing to a compromisedmimmune system butnit makes sense bc that happens to humans- does a rodent diet provide proper amounts of vitamins A and C for garters to have optimal immune response?

This thread is kind of dead, so you may want to start a new one if you have any specific questions. A rodent diet should be sufficient, but I think it's good to mix nightcrawlers in. Many people also feed fish on occasion, but there are quite a few issues with potential contamination as well as thiaminase, so that's something you should really do research on before trying (just search this site for 'thiaminase').

[joeysgreen]

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but if you are feeding healthy mice that are either live, freshly killed, or frozen for a short period of time then there should be no problem with nutrient deficiency.

[Albert Clark]

I'm not sure if this answers your question, but if you are feeding healthy mice that are either live, freshly killed, or frozen for a short period of time then there should be no problem with nutrient deficiency.

True, bc a rodent based diet is considered complete nutrition. However it is a good idea to stay with a varied diet to supplement the complete nutrition. In the wild , varied diet is the rule. You cant go wrong with that concept.

[d_virginiana]

I look at the varied diet as a way to keep their metabolism where it should be more than a nutritional thing. In the wild they're eating primarily things that digest much more quickly than rodents; amphibians, fish, worms.

[Spacehawk]

Yes I have had my garters on rodents for quite a while cue to the concern of thiaminase

[guidofatherof5]

There is no one perfect food. Each food has something good to offer and by varying the diet our snakes get a balance of the goodness.

[Rushthezeppelin]

Yes I have had my garters on rodents for quite a while cue to the concern of thiaminase

Guppies and mosquitofish are fairly common thiamanase free fish. Try to find a local higher end aquarium store, there's at least a better chance of finding feeders in good conditions. Obviously ask to see the conditions they are stored in. Lucky for me there is a place that sells minnowfish in downtown Austin that is obsessed with cleanliness of their water (they actually buy fancy neutral ph aquarium water for all their tanks and don't even use city water at all) as well as feeding them good food.