A question on feeding:

[Ironpriest88]

I have a pretty simple question, but it is one that I have yet to find an answer for. How do you get a stubborn eater to actually eat?

While I don't currently have a garter snake (yet!), I have a pair of dekayi's. My female eats everyday half to a full worm, and today she almost ate a full two worms. My usual rule is as much as they can eat in one sitting per day. (She is rather fat now a days)

But my male on the other hand, is rather picky. When I first got him, he would eat a slug or two a day and thats it, now when I try to feed him worms, he turns his head to it! I really want to get him to start eating worms, because slugs will start becoming rather hard to find for me. With the worms, I was planning on starting a small worm farm this weekend.

Should I rub the worm parts in the slugs? Or just stick them all in a small container and leave him in there for 10-20 minutes with both worm and slugs?

And sorry for not being about garters, I was going to post this over on thamfriends, but this site seems to get more visits. =/

[infernalis]

Let the worms and slugs intermix in a container for a few minutes so the worms pick up slug smell (Scent)

I trained a whole litter of babies to take chopped up pinkies by using slug goo on the pinky parts. It worked awesome.

[Ironpriest88]

Thanks for the tip. Tried it out today, but it seems he still won't go for it. I guess tomorrow I will try 1 or 2 small pieces of worms instead of the entire meal mixed in.

[infernalis]

I did have one small male that demanded slugs.. It was a pain, but I caught 100's of slugs and put them in a huge box of compost in my basement.

It was a pain, but it kept him fed.

[Mommy2many]

My Dekayi wouldn't take anything but slugs either and I had to find as many as I could last fall before winter set in and there were no more. I collected eggs and encouraged breeding. I rationed his slugs as best I could. I got upset earlier this year when his tankmates (a bunch of young garters) started eating his slugs instead of their worms! I was so afraid that the poor thing was being starved to death! Then I watched him slither over to the food dish and gobble up one of their biggest night crawler pieces! He was a convert! YEAH! I still gather slugs (they are his favorite) but at least I know he will eat something else now.

[guidofatherof5]

Then I watched him slither over to the food dish and gobble up one of their biggest night crawler pieces! He was a convert! YEAH! I still gather slugs (they are his favorite) but at least I know he will eat something else now.

A garter snake stealing food from another snake. I've never heard of such a thing.

[infernalis]

A garter snake stealing food from another snake. I've never heard of such a thing.

Far more bizarre is the Dekayi stealing a pinkie from a garter

[guidofatherof5]

Far more bizarre is the Dekayi stealing a pinkie from a garter

That I've never seen.

[infernalis]

That I've never seen.

Yes you have Steve, I took pictures. Remember, that was Xena who did that.

[guidofatherof5]

You are right. My memory isn't what it used to be.
You know what they say............... what were we talking about