Thing on Head

[abcat1993]

I thought directly under the basking spot it was supposed to be 90. There is plenty of variation as it gets down to about 70 on the cold side on the surface.
And is it OK not to feed him until he sheds? I haven't fed him for a week since he refused to eat on tuesday, his mouse day, and I can't find my other mice. But I was wondering if most garters refuse to eat while shedding or before shedding (which I think is true).

[abcat1993]

And my snake already has clear eyes so it will probably be soon, or maybe I'm halucinating again.

[abcat1993]

OK, I'm hallucinating. They are extremely blue. How humid should it be in there? Currently it is between 40-50.

[Cazador]

The humidity sounds fine. If the temp is up around 90, that's fine. Upper 80s are even better, but you should lower it if it gets over 90 (unless you're doing it intentionally to treat illnesses).

[abcat1993]

Will a garter feed when in shed?

[Cazador]

They're really individuals with individual habits. I've had some refuse food before shedding, and some refuse food after shedding. I never even offer it when their eyes are blue, though. Refusing food around shedding is common, but I don't think I could say that mine refuse it more often before or after. It seems to be a mixture. Come to think of it, I haven't even noticed whether an individual snake continually refuses food more prior to a shed, for example. Anyone else?

[Snaky]

When I see that their eyes are blue, I don't give them anything to eat. So I can't say much about that. But I've never had any problems before or after the shed with my thamnophis. But I've noticed that my thamnophis are very good eaters.

With my lampropeltis though I usually have problems right before the shed. If she refuses you can bet she will have blue eyes in a few days. I think this may also be the case with individuals of thamnophis. Don't worry if they skip a meal, just try again in a week or so.

[abcat1993]

I was wondering how long a 12 inch garter can go without eating.
PS: I measured it on the computer and it was a lot smaller than I thought

[Gijs & Sabine]

We feed our garters 1 or 2 times a week wether they have to shed or not. Most of them will eat anyway. But when they have blue eyes they don't see very well, so that's funny to see when they make a fool of themselves.
And if they don't eat, like Snaky sayd, it's no big deal.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I don't feed mine when I see blue eyes or dull coloration...like after the eyes clear. It could cause problems with shedding..being fat could possibly affect it. some will eat smaller meals, as long as they aren't too fat from a big meal. a lot depends the snake itself, some will eat, some won't...