How much to feed?

[rtcphoto]

Hello all,

I received a Thamnophis elegans vagrans 2 weeks ago and have a question on feeding. The snake seems to eat everything I put in front of it!

He or she is 32" long and lives in a 20 long aquarium. It's typical diet is approximatley 12 goldfish a week and 3 to 4 fuzzy mice a week.

Is this adequate or should I feed it more?

Also, by including the mice in the diet, does that eliminate the need for supplements.

Thank you in advance......Bob

[GarterGuy]

Wow! That's a lot for a snake in a single week....even one that's as active as a garter. They can be total pigs and will just gorge themselves. For a 32in. snake I'd think that a nice sized mouse (say a small adult) or two good sized fuzzies are enough OR say four nice sized goldfish (or other fish of approx. 2+in.) twice a week should be enough. The thing with mice is since they tend to have more "fat" to them, you don't need to feed quite as much. My 24in. male T.s.concinnus eats on good sized fuzzy once a week and is in very good health and shape. As far as supplements, yeh, the mice will do it, especially if they been raised well on a good diet. Only if the snakes are somehow going to be "stressed", like before breeding or something, will I supplement even with mice and even then it's only once a month.

[Cazador]

Yep, I'll second that. I'd suggest two fuzzies a week, and you can supplement with 1-2 goldfish per week, but I would never rely on goldfish as a primary food source. Treat them like candy and give them out sparingly.

You might want to feed more about 1.5 months through 2 weeks before brumation; just after brumation, or if you're preparing a female for reproduction, but not on a regular basis.

[ClosedCasket88]

all these people worryed about overfeeding and i cant even get mine to eat anything other than worms

[GarterGuy]

Originally Posted by ClosedCasket88

all these people worryed about overfeeding and i cant even get mine to eat anything other than worms

Hah! When I had my first garter (many moons ago), I used to feed it dozens of minnows I would catch in the creek near by. One day he stopped eating and I thought something was wrong. So I took him to a vet and he said that he stopped eating, because he couldn't FIT anymore minnows in him!! That's when I first found out that garters can be total gluttons! Hey, try taking a VERY small pinky (thawed frozen one), wash it off under the tap and then rub worm slime onto it and offer it to the garter. Each time rub a little less slime on, 'til he starts just taking them clean. Had to do this with my big kingsnake when she was just a little thing. Had a gecko tail in my freezer that I'd rub on pinkies, 'til she'd take them with out scenting. Got really expensive feeding her lizards all the time!