Some concerns with my Garter Snake

[NexXx]

Hi guys, I'm new to this site, love you all :P

I recently got a Garter snake.

I have read almost every possible piece of information there is to its care and things like that.

Well this is what i have seen. Since the Snake is in its growing state, it has eaten lots of stuff, 3 goldfish (yeah she’s a beast) some earthworms and a frog. (its been 2 weeks since i got her).

Well i have only seen her poop once. But now I’ve been noticing some powder (white) like substance in the floor of the cage, with some bones mixed. Don't really know if it was poop or if the snake puked. (That will probably be my main question).

The second one is.

Here is an example of the current Garter Snake specie i got:



For some reason, what’s supposed to be her yellow side of her body have turned rather light brown. i think she might be ready to lose her old skin, but I’m not that sure.

And also, since she has eaten a lot, her scales have kinda separated a bit, so on her yellow strips i can see small spots from between her scales. And on her black stripers i can see some white spots as well.
Should I worry a lot? are those series of events any kind of symptoms to any known disease? I will be checking these website hardcore for the next 2-4 days for an answer.

Want to thank you in advance.

Regards.

Nelson Gomez

P.S: I soke her in water twice a week. Is the water supposed to have any oil on it or somehting? Or am i only supposed to get them wet. (just wondering).

[ssssnakeluvr]

The white stuff is snake poop...I have never seen bones in poop. occasionally fur doesn't digest. The white spots you are seeing is normal coloration on the skin. It's normal for the scales to separate when they eat largte meals. I would stay away from amphibians in their diet....it's normal in the wild, but they can get internal parasites from them. I get mine to eating rodents, a bit better diet, more nutrition. Spots between the scales is common on many types of garters.....the one in the pic looks like an eastern garter.

Also, you don't need to soak her....just leave a water dish in the cage large enough for her to soak in. she will soak as needed. Be careful to keep the cage dry as they can get skin blisters from soaking too much and it can kill them. Keep the cage dry and if she is soaking all the time, put a small amount of water in. They live around water and are in it a lot inthe wild, but they can crawl out and dry off in the sun easy too.

[Cazador]

Ditto Don's comments,
Snake poop has two parts: a dark part, which is the feces, and a white, powdery part, which is the uric acid (it's the reptillian equivalent of urine). You'll often see these two parts side-by-side in the same pile of excrement, or sometimes you see the white part alone. If you're brave enough, pick up some of the white part and see if it crumbles. You might be mistaking this part (the uric acid) for bones.

You see the snake's skin between the scales because the snake has expanded after a large meal. This is normal. It will stay expanded if you continue to feed it often, or it will resume its old shape if you don't feed it for 2-3 days. This is all completely normal.

Rick

[NexXx]

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate it. Well, the Frog i gave to the snake once was a really tiny one, wasn’t found in the wild, just properly fed and **** in a pet store (have lived all their life in a cage, were born that way). And i just wanted to change the diet, i read everything about the monotonous diet of fish being health threatening for the Snake's life.

Anyhow since we got into the Dietary topic. Will the snake be able to take on Crickets? or Silk worms?

My brother also got some vitamin/mineral rich powder he puts in the food of the crickets, he bought 30, and grows them know. I thought the Snake might benefit from it. (He has 2 Anoles).

The Snake is yet too small to take on small mammals or am i overrating its capacity? She’s just 45 cm long. I might be able to buy like baby hamsters or something, But I’m Afraid she will get hurt or even killed by the hamster if bitten hard enough. And because i found her in the while freezing her *** off, its her nature to catch pray that’s alive. She won't eat dead corpses at all. OH! Should is stunned the hamster first?

[ssssnakeluvr]

Garters don't eat insects, they can't digest the exoskeletons. If you got him eating frogs, you can rub pinkie mice on the frogs and feed them to the snake. Frozen thawed pinkie mice are ok for small garters. Live ones don't have teeth to inflict injuries on garters. They can be trained to eat dead pinks. I have had no problems in the past with feeding garters strictly fish. I prefer to feed them rodents now, and use worms to scent pinks on a lot of my snakes. They love the worms, but worms aren't a lot of nutrition... I generally give a variety of fish, worms, and rodents until I get them on only rodents.

[NexXx]

Thx for the Info guys, you are the best

[FitnessFreak]

So they wont eat crickets???

Originally Posted by ssssnakeluvr

Garters don't eat insects, they can't digest the exoskeletons. If you got him eating frogs, you can rub pinkie mice on the frogs and feed them to the snake. Frozen thawed pinkie mice are ok for small garters. Live ones don't have teeth to inflict injuries on garters. They can be trained to eat dead pinks. I have had no problems in the past with feeding garters strictly fish. I prefer to feed them rodents now, and use worms to scent pinks on a lot of my snakes. They love the worms, but worms aren't a lot of nutrition... I generally give a variety of fish, worms, and rodents until I get them on only rodents.

[adamanteus]

No, don't bother trying to feed crickets to your Garter Snakes. Have a look in the feeding section on the forum's care sheets, all will become clear!

[GGarter]

By the way NexXx, feeding your garter goldfish is not a good idea, since they contain thiaminase.

(search the forum for "Thiamin, Thiaminase, and Goldfish", there you can read all about it. Sorry Rick I know that it's you who usually get to say that)

Tore

[Cazador]

I'm glad to share the wealth, Tore! That way I don't sound like I'm "preaching" all the time .

Rick