I am new...how to get started?

[beanb142002]

Hi, I am new to keeping garter snakes. I like this species because it is not required to feed them rodents. I purchase my cousin and I a garter snake each (I'll get better with the specific latin name later on), you know the common black with yellow lateral stripes. I have had it for four days now. It has yet to be fed.

Should I start out with some rosy red minnows? What about earthworms?
I heard earthworms can be toxic if the soil they were harvested from contains toxins. And for further notice I absolutely refuse to feed it pinkies, fuzzies, mice, etc.
I also have knowledge of vitamin supplements. And I bought some at Petsmart. (Snakes are from Petco).

.......I completely understand why garter snakes love fish. After all, who can resist a fish fry now and then?.......

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard.

Rosy reds (and goldfish, for that matter) aren't terribly good for them, because they contain an enzyme called thiaminase, which breaks down vitamin B1. Whether or not problems caused by the enzyme can be prevented by the use of vitamin supplements is debatable. Salmon is relatively safe, but it contains a lot of fat. Tilapia should be okay, too. Just remember to add calcium if you don't feed it whole fish.

You're right about the earthworms, they may well be toxic if they live in a polluted area and some of the worms belong to the genus Eisenia (often sold under the name "red wrigglers", if I remember correctly), which produce a toxin of their own, which can be deadly as well, especially to neonates.

Don't worry about the snake not eating for a few days, it's not a long time, especially if it's just settling in.

It's also advisable to at least try to get over feeding the snake frozen/thawed mice.

[infernalis]

Welcome to the forum.

Can you take a picture of your snake with a digital camera?

Petco is notorious for selling striped keelbacks under the name of "garter snake."

Stefan has a very valid point, most of us feed frozen pinkies (Baby mice) By thawing them out to room temperature and then serving them to our snakes.

It eliminates the need to see the snakes kill anything for food.

Depending on weather or not your snake is truly a garter (Thamnophis) it is generally safe to feed store purchased night crawlers, as they are most likely "farmed" .

Please stay away from rosy reds, gold fish or fathead minnows, See Stefan's statement above

Feel free to post as many questions as you would like, we never tire of helping folks to attain the best possible experience with the scaly pets we all love so much.

[Snake lover 3-25]

welcome to the forum

[jitami]

Welcome

[count dewclaw]

Welcome, welcome!

[NikkiSixx]

welcome to the AMAZING garter snake forum!!!

[mtolypetsupply]

Welcome! You'll love it here!

[reptile3]

Hello & Welcome...

you can get nightcawlers from wal mart in the sports section, they are safe to feed. pinkies/pinky parts are good for them too. For fish Guppies would be best bet to get.

I didn't think I would cut up pinkies & worms, but since I am doing this for my snakes, I have no issues.

[adamanteus]

Hi Benjamin, and welcome to the forum.
As already stated, Goldfish and Rosy Reds are not good food for your Garter. I also think it would be wise if you could try to overcome your aversion to feeding frozen/thawed pinky mice. Their use, at least as part of your snakes' diet, will help to prevent problems both with health and availability of food further down the line.