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Re: Rodent diet
I am sure everyone will come across fussy eaters. Individual species, ssp., CB's or WC's all may have slightly different preferences.
I can only speak for NW California WC's: The two ssp. of sirtalis in our area (CA Red-sided and Valley Garter) are somewhat opportunistic (frogs, tadpoles [some are immune to toad and newt toxins as well] as well as fish, small mammals and rarely small birds. Many young garters of most species take worms and leeches. T. ordinoides (Northwestern Garter) prefers slugs, earthworms, tadpoles, froglets, small terrestrial salamanders (Aneides) and occasionally small fish. T. atratus hydrophilus (Oregon Garter) has an exclusively aquatic diet: Most larval amphibians (larval Dicamptodon are "highly prized"), frogs, [immunity to toads and newts in some cases], and fish; they are the best swimmers of all Thamnophis, and I have seen adults take down trout, sculpin, or suckerfish up to 10 inches long! The T. elegans clade (elegans, terrestris, and vagrans [Mtn, Coast, and Wandering]) is known for being one of the most opportunistic groups: amphibians and fish will be taken, but these terrestrial garters are ALL famous for hunting small rodents, lizards, and smaller snakes (even cannibalism), and perhaps small birds.
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