More questions!
1) How often does a garter poop? I was given the girl-snake just before Thanksgiving vacation (November 20). She hadn't eaten at all for the biology department in a week's time. She's been chowing down twice a week on worms and rosy reds for me and so far, I've only found one mass of poop. Is this normal or a cause for concern? She's otherwise acting as normal as she ever has.
2) Because I move her twice a week to feed her, I have been handling her a little bit. Lately, I've noticed that she seems to want to 'hang out' on my hands when I'm transferring her. I suspect that she's just after the warmth, but she seems completely calm and she's never musked me or made any attempt to bite me. Given the probability that I'm going to keep her in the spring (I spoke with the local park rangers and they strongly suggest that you don't release them even if they were wild in the first place), what's the best way to encourage this calmness so that she gets more used to the handling?
3) I feed her largely rosy reds because they're convenient at this time of the year -- no more earthworms to be found.
I tried a little fish when we had it the other night, but she was completely unconvinced that it was food since it wasn't moving under its own power. I'm hoping that I can do something about that little quirk, but I suspect that it comes from the fact that she's from the wild and they don't exactly have seafood deliveries out there.
If I'm feeding her ~8 twice a week (so 16 a week), does that sound about right? Am I under/over-feeding her? She 'fishes' those out and eats them in ~30 minutes, and she doesn't seem to be looking for more afterward.
I'm pretty excited that she's never musked me or anything. She did musk once in her cage when something fell and thwacked against the side, but since I also jumped out of my skin, I can understand that. Am I correct in assuming that it's a good sign that she hasn't done so?
She's a pleasure -- very calming to watch and not really any trouble at all. The cats are also fascinated with watching her (her tank is cat-safe, yes, but that doesn't stop them from watching 'Snake-TV'.