Quote:
Originally Posted by Chickenman
Thanks a lot guys. Now I'm just having trouble finding worms in my backyard. It's weird, they used to be all over the place. How long do you think they can go without food?
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Welcome, Chickenman!
We had a very dry spring here in the great lakes region. Not sure where you live, but if you experienced the drought in early summer and then things got wetter (as it did here) you will find worms difficult to find, as they went dormant and have not re-emerged yet (at least here in Ohio).
You can find nightcrawlers available at your local bait store. Make sure they are nightcrawlers and NOT "Trout worms", "Dug worms", or "red wigglers"... these are all names under which a different species of worm are sold, and they can be toxic to your snakes.
Petsmart also carries nightcrawlers.
Nightcrawlers that are too large for baby snakes can be cut up. If you find it inhumane to cut up a living worm, you can place them in a baggie in the freezer for ten minutes, then cut them into small pieces upon retrieving them. Warm them for about 15 minutes after cutting them up, and then offer them to your babies on a flat plate.
It is best to remove momma snake, so she won't mistake a baby for a worm and accidentally ingest her offspring. You should also watch the babies eat, because believe it or not, once they get eating well, they can also hurt each other by getting too excited and grabbing each other.
Feeding worms to your garters will produce a wetter fecal deposit. My own preference is to feed "Thiaminase safe fish".
Feeding fish to baby garters can involve going to the pet store and buying 12 feeder guppies. Put the guppies and a bit of their water, in a small container such as a rubbermaid dish. The water should be a third of an inch deep. This causes the guppies to swim around alot, as the shallow water makes them more active.
As your baby snakes grow, you can graduate them to small rosey reds, also sold in many pet stores (Petsmart usually has them).
There is a thread in this forum that lists what fish are thiaminase safe... but I do not know its location... maybe another forum member has that link?
You can also click on the ARTICLES tab at the top of the forum, and select the article on thiaminase and fish, to see what the issue is, and which fish species are safe to feed.
Have fun with your baby garters! Don't panic if it take them a week to start eating.