Neonate Food???

[OregonHerpaholic]

HI ALL.. I am to adopt a freshly caught, Northwestern Garter neonate..(solid black in color) And I need to know, other than feeder guppies, what can I feed it??? I have in the past, successfully raised a baby on just guppies, but I would like to give a better diet.. I know red-wigglers are bad news, but what about natural earthworms?? Anything else???

Any Advice??

Billie

[rwgsnakes]

rosie red minnows, earthworms are good, if you are harvesting them yourself make sure the area you are taking them from has never been fertilized-ones from a bait shop work great to-, small salamanders, possibly pinkies, depending on how small it is...any other questions please ask

[rwgsnakes]

Just wondering, if you dont mind answering, did you catch it? if not who did? because i am looking into getting a mel

[GarterGuy]

Regular "earthworms" and not composting worms or red wigglers will do fine. You can also try pinky parts.....legs and such that have been scented with fish to see if they'll go over to eating pinks. Also Northwesterns (T.ordinoides) are well known slug eaters, so you might want to try them or try the canned snails that various reptile food manufacturers are selling. You can also try finely diced fish, like trout or another thiaminase free fish, so you don't have to be running out getting guppies all the time. If you do use diced fish, it's best to supplement it as well. Some times though, there's nothing like a flopping guppy to get a problem garter to eat.

Good luck....Roy

PS...You'll have to post some pics when you get it.

[Cazador]

Hi Billie,

Looks like you've gotten some good advise. I just wanted to add that those Northwesterns are awesome little snakes with a lot of personality. Congratulations and enjoy your new addition .

Rick

[abcat1993]

Or, you could try using meat. Mine ate that very easily (except that the first one was wet and stuck to the substrate, so I went and got another one, thawed it, and dried it off) and he/she loved it, and it wasn't even scented. Plus it's pretty cheap when it's on sale.

[rwgsnakes]

what kind of meat?

some people will use fish fillets

[OregonHerpaholic]

Originally Posted by rwgsnakes

Just wondering, if you dont mind answering, did you catch it? if not who did? because i am looking into getting a mel

No, sorry, I did not catch it. I have a neurotic herp friend that keeps catching all these babies.. most of them end up with a ringneck snake.. the odd looking ones are keepers, but this Idiot (that's a nice word) can't keep new babies alive.. so I will head start it, and if he does not want it after the colors start to show.. I will KEEP THE BUGGER...

The little guy is said to be nearly patternless.. pure black with just a hint of dorsal stripe.. I should be getting it this week. will post a pic pc willing..

Billie

[adamanteus]

I'll look forward to seeing that pic Billie.

[Cazador]

Hi Justin,

Just about any meat would do. I primarily feed mine strips of caribou meat, but beef works just as well. I'd stay away from hamburger, and be sure to trim as much fat off the strips as possible, particularily if you're using beef. There's plenty of fat within the tissues (intracellular lipids). You'll also need to add calcium and vitamin supplements once in a while (about every three weeks for a non-gravid adult). No matter which diet you choose, it's always good to offer a bit of variety because different species offer different amounts of vitamins and minerals, and food from a single source could be deficient in a particular nutrient, which would lead to long-term problems.

Rick