Triggering mating in garters?

[Cruciform]

I didn't cool my garters down for the winter, and they weren't showing any courtship behavior at all until I picked up some worms the other day and gave them to them for a treat.

Within 24 hours they were doing the wrigglin'-nasty.

Would the availability of certain foods in the spring act as a trigger to the mating instinct?

[Vanan]

You might be on to something about certain foods triggering courtship. There's a species of salamander which seems to require the presence of termite prey to "turn on" the females of the species. Another thing which may trigger courtship is the presence of several males. The amount of pheromones in the air seem enough to trigger then into action.

[Andy_G]

It is a definite possibility, seeing as worms surface and start moving around a wee bit at around the same time that breeding season starts for garters.

[Jonathan Crowe]

Interesting observation. My male red-sided garter is insane and insisted on breeding in July or October, and all breeders have been cooled in any event, so I can't contribute much to your hypothesis one way or the other. But I have noticed that my corns started foolin' around after feeding. At the time, I was wondering whether the meal itself could be a trigger.

[Vanan]

I almost wonder if the stretched skin due to a recent feeding allows more pheromonal release due to more exposed interstitial skin. I have had similar experiences too. Nowadays, I either wait for a shed or after a feed.

[Cruciform]

I wish I had more garters to test the theory on. I emailed Alan Francis to see if his collection has any behaviour changes related to diet. He should have enough for empirical evidence :)