This is about the right time for your snake to start showing interest in food, assuming that you've been gradually warming it up since you found it on 5 Nov. If it started flicking its tongue more frequently when you introduced the worm, it's a good sign, and she'll probably eat the worm if you leave it in your snake's pen overnight.
In my experience, the two easiest foods to get a garter started eating are worms and fish. If you have a shallow, white bowl (or jar lid) and can only add enough water to cover most of the fish, they will be highly visible and will splash around a lot. You should introduce the food when your snake is actively prowling around her enclosure. It's looking for food and the motion from the fish or worm should excite the snake and put it in predator mode. Guppies and rosie reds (AKA flathead minnows /
Pimephales promelas) are good starter fish
.
By making sure the temperature is right in its basking spot (~85-88 degrees) and providing plenty of hiding spots, she'll eventually eat. She was just preparing for brumation and needs a while to reacclimate to an active lifestyle. She had already undergone physiological changes for brumation and normally wouldn't have eaten for the next few months. If she goes over two - three weeks at higher temperatures without eating, you'll definitely want to revisit this issue.
As a bit of reassurance, look at my post from 5 November (
Last Wild Garter of the Year Contest). I mentioned that it probably wouldn't eat for a week or so because it had already prepared for brumation. I know it's disconcerting, but try not to worry too much for a while longer
. Thanks for keeping us posted on its progress, though. Kind regards,
Rick