Frustration in feeding

[AnnainOK]

I have a 2.5 foot garter snake we rescued from my cat a couple weeks ago. Like so many others, he seems to love fish. Of course, I fed him minnows that were NOT thiaminase-free the first week...I have yet to get him to eat a nightcrawler or a pinkie.

I'm aggravated to no end that Petco sells thousands of feeder fish--all of them on the thiaminase list. Of course, they don't sell common guppies. I haven't seen a common guppy in ages.

Our corn snake eats pinkies with no problem, I just wish I could work the same magic with the garter.

Suggestions? Other than this problem, Stanley is the nicest fish!

[Stefan-A]

Mix the live fish with pieces of thiaminase-free fish or pinkies. With any luck, it'll grab some of them and you'll be able to phase out the live fish. Scenting might also work directly.

[infernalis]

Have you tried some chopped up trout?

also like Stefan said, Scenting the pinkie with fish smell first may cause the garter to immediately just take the pinkie for you.

[AnnainOK]

I think I will try the scenting thing with Stanley (who is, obviously, a nice snake and not a fish at all) this evening. He should be hungry and that may help. Last night he kept sticking his head in his water dish searching for something to eat.

Stories I've read about people having issues with wal-mart frozen fish have turned me away from that option...I live on a lake/river, but it's not exactly easy fishing right now. I may be able to pick up a fresher fish from a market in a town about 45 miles from here. Come spring, things will be much easier and I can begin to accumulate thiaminase-free fish fresh caught.

[ssssnakeluvr]

your snake might also be trying to brumate (hibernate)....lots of adults will go off feed this time of the year. its common. you may need to cool her down for a month or so to simulate the winter cool down and then warm her up, will get her appetite going again

[Mommy2many]

your snake might also be trying to brumate (hibernate)....lots of adults will go off feed this time of the year. its common. you may need to cool her down for a month or so to simulate the winter cool down and then warm her up, will get her appetite going again

If you decide to do this, get as much info as you can. You do not want to harm your snake by brumating improperly or coming out of brumation too quickly.

[ssssnakeluvr]

If you decide to do this, get as much info as you can. You do not want to harm your snake by brumating improperly or coming out of brumation too quickly.

have never had a problem bringing them out too quickly.....

[guidofatherof5]

I give mine 24 hours out of the fridge. They sit in a warmer area. Then it's back into their enclosures or breeding enclosure. So far it has worked well.

[ConcinnusMan]

have never had a problem bringing them out too quickly.....

Well I have darnit! At any rate, it can't do any harm if you can manage to take a few days to bring them up 20 degrees.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, AnnainOK