Garter poos in water dish--always

[bulrush]

Actually I use clumping cat litter (I know some people don't like the dust it may have) but cleaning the litter is easier than scrubbing and disinfecting the water dish.

So, my other problem was his apparent lack of appetite. I remember I have not had his light on over his cage for about 7-10 days. Do you think that is it? Temperature is about 74-76F for the past 7 days also. Perhaps temp is a bit low?

Icky, nasty, dish pooper.

[anji1971]

So, my other problem was his apparent lack of appetite. I remember I have not had his light on over his cage for about 7-10 days. Do you think that is it? Temperature is about 74-76F for the past 7 days also. Perhaps temp is a bit low?

You could try raising the temps a bit, but I know mine are nearly constantly at the 75/76F range. I just have a heat mat at one end of each tank, which they rarely use, and I've never had an eating issue yet, even with the new babies.
It's always worth a try, though!

[infernalis]

I maintain the whole reptile room at a steady 77-80 and use no heat, they all eat like piggies

A sneaky trick is to try and feed when it is either raining out or a storm is blowing in, Garters have a built in "barometric pressure sensor" since prey is plentiful after a rain.

[bulrush]

You could try raising the temps a bit, but I know mine are nearly constantly at the 75/76F range. I just have a heat mat at one end of each tank, which they rarely use, and I've never had an eating issue yet, even with the new babies.
It's always worth a try, though!

Thanks. When his light is on his tank gets to 80F each day. His light has been on since Monday and each day I offer him one minnow, but no takers yet. I am now leaving one small water dish for pooping, and one for the live minnow.

[anji1971]

Maybe he's just getting tired of minnows. They can be fussy like that sometimes.
Have you tried nightcrawlers? Mine go absolutely bonkers for those!