Quote Originally Posted by Lori P View Post
I've finally realized that it's all just a head game our snakes play with us... they convince us they loooooooooove something and then the next time you offer it, they won't go near it. And they snicker about it to their pals. Then, two months later, they devour it again as if they'd never stopped....
Ha ha Lori. Yeah, some snakes are like that.

Personally, once I get snakes to take rodents, thats generally all I offer them- for the very reasons described in this thread. I have not seen any adverse effects to a rodent-only diet, although I guess it takes a snake lifetime to know for sure(my oldest garters are going on 5-6 years in my care), also, I dont breed them.
I do use scenting often to get them started- primarily treefrogs and guppies, although it sounds like worms work well too(I have never actually fed a worm to a garter).
At first, I rinse the pinky off good and scent it heavily, then over time, with each feeding, rinse less and scent only the front half, to allow them to slowly accept the mouse-taste as food.