What do you feed and how often

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol

okay thanks!!!!

[Zephyr]

I've kept nightcrawlers in potting soil for around 3 months with no problems.

[Snake lover 3-25]

ok

[Sid]

I feed mainly pinkies or sub adult mice ( depending on the size of the Garter) , some minnows, and some night crawlers. Adults are fed weekly and babies are fed twice per week.

[Kurly1]

Uh-Oh... After reading all your responses I don't think we are feeding my son's garter snake enough. We feed him one pinky once a week. Have had him about a year now and he has shed three times. When my son caught him, he was very small. He is about 16 inches long now so I guess we should be feeding him more often and more of a variety?

[el lobo]

I would say more variety, yes. I dunno about frequency though...

[adamanteus]

I would suggest greaty variety and greater quantity.

[Kurly1]

When you say greater quantity do you mean feeding him two pinkies instead of one at the same feeding? My son used to cut the pinky into pieces before feeding him but the snake is now able to eat it whole.

My husband goes fishing a lot during the summer so I'll have him get an extra box of nightcrawlers or minnows the next time he goes to the bait store. I guess I was just afraid that the snake wouldn't eat the pinkies if we started giving him nightcrawlers and minnows again.

I saw this video of a garter snake catching his own minnows from a bowl in his tank on YouTube. Of course the minnows were live and swimming around in the bowl. It was pretty interesting to watch the snake hunting his own prey so to speak. Does anyone else's snake do that?

[KITKAT]

snip ... so I'll have him get an extra box of nightcrawlers or minnows the next time he goes to the bait store. I guess I was just afraid that the snake wouldn't eat the pinkies if we started giving him nightcrawlers and minnows again.

I saw this video of a garter snake catching his own minnows from a bowl in his tank on YouTube. Of course the minnows were live and swimming around in the bowl. It was pretty interesting to watch the snake hunting his own prey so to speak. Does anyone else's snake do that?

That was probably one of MY four videos titled "garter snake hunting style", and along with them there is a video response, as well as several comments written by me, showing what happens to a garter that eats a steady diet of minnows. PLEASE DON'T FEED YOUR GARTER MINNOWS ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!!

YouTube - Thiamin deficiency



Regarding the cruelty of filming this snake instead of euthanizing it immediately... 1. The snake had been treated with vitamin B complex and we were waiting to see if it would help her. 2. Providing education about this nutritional disease will help many other gartersnakes avoid the same suffering.

Guide to feeding garter snakes: VARIETY, VARIETY, VARIETY.

Un-safe foods for garter snakes: Minnows (live or frozen), Goldfish (live or frozen), frogs or tadpoles (live contains parasites, frozen MAY be safe), crickets (garter snakes cannot digest insects).

Safe foods for garter snakes: Raw frozen and thawed trout and salmon cut into strips, nightcrawlers, slugs, scented beef organ meat strips, scented venison strips.

[Scaley.Jade]

wow interesting to see all the different views will bear it in mind when i eventually get some garters of my own
so basically variety is key to them being healthy