Quote Originally Posted by adamanteus View Post
Valid points. But in 'the real world' how many of us can set fish traps or start a frog breeding project? It's unrealistic. We are a group of hobbyists looking for the best way to care for our charges. I think what Ashley is asking for here is good advice on a readily available source of healthy food for her pet Garter Snake.
Breeding guppies in huge numbers is easy, you need a starting colony of Live Bearers that you can get in any mid-range fish store, and an aquarium with a decent filtration system, oh and you need brine shrimp, also obtainable from any mid range aquatics store.

You can also get massive numbers of tadpoles and other feeder organisms in bulk from biological supply companies. I dont know how easy that is in the UK, but there are dozens of Bio Supply companies in the US that ship.

mmm tadpoles

They are even cheaper than pinkies (particularly the xenopus)

As a matter of fact, biological supply companies can make it easier to add certain species to your personal reptile or amphibian collections. Some species because they are not popular on the pet trade cannot easily be found at expos or shops, but they are LOVED in classroom or research settings... But I digress.

Point being, the organisms I suggest as feeders are readily available, one just needs to be willing to take an extra step and know where to look, which in my estimation is no worse than scenting or otherwise trying to trick your snake into eating something it would not otherwise consume.