New garter

[poissonguppy]

Hey everyone. I am really inexperienced in this snake business; i just got into it because of my friend. Anyway, my friend gave me this garter snake that is about a foot, foot and a half. I have him/her in a ten gallon tank with paper on the bottom, a bowl of water, and some rocks and leaves to hide under. I got him yesterday. I've tried feeding my snake worms from the garden, but it won't eat. Or, at least I think. I put the worms in there but since they crawl around so much, I can't be sure if they are gone. I don't want to buy a pack of frozen pinkies (the store doesn't allow me to buy one or two) and waste the money. I am also afraid to buy any fish because of the talk about parasites.

Does anyone have any tips on how to make sure my snake is eating? Thanks.

[adamanteus]

I wouldn't panic just yet about him eating if you only got him yesterday..It will take him a couple of days to settle in, so he may not eat straight away. I don't see why you would be wasting your money buying the pinkies...you need not thaw them all at once. There is a list in the "Articles" section on this forum of which fish are safe to eat and which to avoid. I'm sure Cazador will give you a link to it! Anyway, welcome to the forum. You'll love it here!

[Cazador]

Hi Bibi,

Welcome to the forum. An 18" long snake in good condition can easily go for a month at room temperature without eating, so don't worry about too much for now. People with new snakes often have the same experience as you're having. Make sure the snake feels secure by giving it a good hiding spot.

Next time, try offering the worms in a small bowl with wet sides, so the worm can't escape too easily. Also, move the leaves away from the bowl. Then back off about 10 or 15' and see what happens. Some snakes get "stage fright" when they're just settling in, so it may not eat in front of you. If you're curious, you could remove the paper towels and leaves. They will also slow down their defecation rate when they're not eating, and there won't be a brown part (the actual feces).

Eventually, you'll want to move away from a worm-only diet, since they lack bones/much calcium. I know all the talk about parasites can be intimidating, but the fact is that this world is full of things that aren't good for us. There are even roundworms (nematodes) in earthworms (annelids). I'd just freeze any fish that you're planning to offer for at least three days. Then thaw them out under warm water, and feed away. Just make sure you're not feeding goldfish or other thiaminase-containing fish (http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...?title=Thiamin,). Cheers,

Rick

[drache]

hi
welcome to the forum
congratulations on your new garter
give it some days to settle in
this is a great place to learn

[abcat1993]

And as usual Cazador (Rick) writes a novel on how to do something.

[Nova89]

dont worry, when i got my garter, it took him two weeks to start eating. after that, he ate non stop to this day

[poissonguppy]

Thanks everyone. It's really comforting; i was worried for a second.

[Cazador]

Originally Posted by abcat1993

And as usual Cazador (Rick) writes a novel on how to do something.

Short & sweet

[zirliz]

It took my first one a month to start eating needed live first to encourage it to eat,

[poissonguppy]

Thanks everyone.

The snake is doing really funny things. He will curl in his water bowl with his head under water. It really frightens me. I timed him holding his breath at three minutes, then pulled him out because it really freaked me out. What could he be doing?