"Goldfish are better than mice".

[infernalis]

I don't totally agree with you....I do give a variety but they do just fine on a diet of rodents. Wandering garters do take a lot of rodents in the wild. A lot of the areas I find them in have lots of field mice and not much else.

I'm with Don on that issue. My biggest monster eastern (W/C) that I just got certainly did not reach the size she is by eating night crawlers.

She refuses anything BUT mice.

I found her in a big open meadow far from any fish.

I'm sure toads were also part of her diet, but I won't be feeding her any toads.

[Spankenstyne]

I'm with Don on that issue. My biggest monster eastern (W/C) that I just got certainly did not reach the size she is by eating night crawlers.

She refuses anything BUT mice.

I found her in a big open meadow far from any fish.

I'm sure toads were also part of her diet, but I won't be feeding her any toads.

Again, fair enough but you also don't believe she has only eaten mice her whole life. It's possible there have been baby birds, slugs, worms, amphibians, or who knows where she's travelled since birth etc.
I think we're mostly on the same page here. I probably mis-stated the case with the "bulk of the diet" comment which kinda lost my intent. Basically what I mean is that there doesn't seem to be only one thing that is the perfect solution.

Let me ask this, if we believe that mice are the perfect food item for garters then why aren't we all feeding only mice from birth?

[infernalis]

Again, fair enough but you also don't believe she has only eaten mice her whole life. It's possible there have been baby birds, slugs, worms, amphibians, or who knows where she's travelled since birth etc.
I think we're mostly on the same page here. I probably mis-stated the case with the "bulk of the diet" comment which kinda lost my intent. Basically what I mean is that there doesn't seem to be only one thing that is the perfect solution.

Let me ask this, if we believe that mice are the perfect food item for garters then why aren't we all feeding only mice from birth?

One thing I do believe is that we all have different beliefs.

I start giving my snakes chopped up bits of pinkie mouse as soon as I can.

at first I mix it with chopped up fish, then wean them off the fish as soon as I can.

Personally I notice far more rapid growth once they start eating the pinks.

However, due to the sheer number of snakes I own, it is more convenient and economical to feed them the mice.

However, I do not wish to argue with anyone, some folks like to offer variety, some folks stick with fish, some people feed lots of worms.

My own personal preference is the mice.

As for my w/c I'm sure she started out on much smaller items, and worked her way up.