How flatworms get into a garter snake

[guidofatherof5]

All these years, I always have Never had any problems though. But earlier this spring I had a WC ordinoides that wouldn't eat and was losing weight. It passed a dead tape worm into it's water dish.

I'm sure many if not most wild garter snakes have some kind of parasite/s.
They may live a long life with them as long as the load isn't to heavy and their health stays good. They may never show any signs that they are infected.
I have also seen how these parasites will quickly bring an older snake to its death.
Richard,
I've read a few post from you and I felt you were implying it's OK to feed w/c snakes frogs and other wild food items but that those food items shouldn't be fed to c/b snakes.
Whether a snake is possibly carrying a parasite shouldn't matter. Introducing any possible parasite harboring food should be avoided.