This is a very interesting discussion. I try to feed my Wandering Garter snake as varied a diet as I can, but I still worry about thiaminase and thiamine deficency.

Sometimes I feed thawed cut up bits of frozen Bluegill. The Bluegill has been in the freezer so long that it is rather freezer-burned, almost like freeze-dried. When reconstituted with water, is this safe to feed? Or should I just throw the Bluegill out.

Surprisingly, I have found that my snake prefers rat pinkies, that are less than 1 day old, over mouse pinkies, even fish scented mouse pinkies.

Sometimes I feed a few (not many, and not often) bites of Tuna that cling to the can when we make Tuna-salad, is that ok?

Three times I have fed about a half-dozen bites of canned cat food cut in half, after our cat has lapped up the liquid and rejected the solids. Is this safe?

In the past this snake has also eaten bits of beef, beef-heart, chicken, frozen-thawed jack-rabbit, and partially canibalized mouse fuzzies.

The stores that sell goldfish and rosy reds are well over one-hundred miles away, so I do not feed those very often, and worry the whole time about thiaminase. Maybe stores should consider selling bluegill, crappie, pumpkinseed, or other sunfish fry as safer feeders.

I saw on the list that Anchovies contain thiaminease; but what about the canned variety from the grocery store? Presumably, they were cooked during the canning process. One can of Anchovies and one can of Sardines have been sitting in the refridgerator since before my father passed on, three years ago (no one else in the family eats them). Could I offer them to my garter, or should I just throw them out?