[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I am trying to send them this following message, but it isnt working for some reason.. if anyone else could do it that would be great.

"Hi there, I happen to be a keeper specializing in keeping thamnophis (garter snakes) and I am very concerned with your food choice for these garters. Checkered garters or any garter for that matter, should not be eating turtle pellets. I have a can of them sitting in front of me, the first ingredient is WHEAT starch. the next is fish meal. after that, besides shrimp meal, there are all vegetable components in these pellets! This is no good for a garter... wheat is not something any snake should be ingesting and they need REAL fish, not fish meal. A checkered garter should be a fed diet consisting of small rodents, amphibians, and any fish found not to contain thiaminase (thats why you don't feed them goldfish). I understand that feeding them pellets appeals to the average consumer, but it wouldn't if they knew the truth about what is healthy for a garter snake to be eating. I am sure that they will live for a good bit on these pellets, but in the long run I forsee illness and younger-than average deaths. Feeding garter snakes is very inexpensive, thawed trout supplemented with vitamins occasionally works just fine. I ask that you please consider the long term health of your animals and switch to a more appropriate food source. And on another note, I am not sure if you bred them yourself or not, but $125 is asking way too much for the most commonly sold garter snake in the pet trade. These snakes are commonly available for $30-$40 each. But it's really not your price I have a problem with, it is the diet. You can visit thamnophis.com for more information on proper garter diet. Please respond to this email, don't brush it off, I am genuinely concerned for your snakes' health and not responding would prove a lack of interest of proper care on your part."