garter snake feeding question.

[jay's reptiles]

They garter snake is coming today (its a checkered garter snake) so i want to get my baby garter snake on to pinky mice as soon as possible. but, if doesn't become an option anymore. like if it doesn't want to take mice ever. I know that goldfish are bad for garters, but can i use minnows?

It will probably be too small for pinky mice and minnows at first, so i'll use calcium dusted worms (NOT RED WORMS) so dont worry about that mistake.

[RAD House]

Garters can be very picky so just be persistent with scenting food. It may take a bit of trial and error to figure what the baby will eat. All of mine have supposedly been on pinky parts when I received them, but only has taken pinky parts right off the bat. My California red sided refused anything but fish and my eastern would only eat worms. They are both now on mice almost exclusively, but I am attempting to add some variety in their diets, via reptilinks but it is not going well. As for minnows stay away from rosy reds and go for the silver sides (or at least I think that is what they were called) even though they are both just fathead minnows. Just remember that red colored fish tend to have higher levels of thiaminase. I would probably recommend a fish like feeder guppies if you have access.