Quote:
Originally Posted by MesoCorney
The vet seemed pretty convinced that the ball python was over weight. Something about that story does not add up. I would not take one example on a forum as truth.
The only thing you can say about garters is that they are generalist. The diet of garters varies over species, location and age. They certainly do not specialize in "bugs" as they can not properly digest their hard exo-skeleton. I know you did not mean an insect by bugs but I thought it needed to be said to avoid confusion. I agree that many species eat amphibians as adults but there is not a reliable source of these in the industry. There is no arguing that mice offer the most similar and parasite free nutritional feeder.
As for worms, an adult male that is two feet long would need at least five worms to sustain itself. From my experience they digest worms very quickly, a matter of days from eating to pooping. So a garter would need to eat this amount about twice a week to sustain itself. The amount of work that would go into finding ten worms a week is not worth the work it takes to capture them when they can eat an amphibian or baby mouse and be good for at least a week. This is of course an extension of my personal logic, but we are apparently not opposed to such an exercise.
There are plenty examples of breeders being successful feeding mice, but I have yet to hear of one feeding a mainly worm diet to an adult garter. There is more than likely a reason for this.
I am not saying that a varied diet is not best, but a mouse based one has been proven to be the most successful with the most species. I try to vary as much as my little guys allow me. They are certainly picky little generalists.
|
The vet said it was overweight because of the liver, that can only come from too much fat, even if the overall body tone does not indicate so.
I put bugs in quotations because I was not speaking of bugs with exoskeletons, and I wasn't going to list all the types of "bugs" without skeletons. Hence the examples in parentheses, in an attempt to clear up any confusion. I would have included insects if I was speaking of ones with exoskeletons, or simply said insects, not bugs.
Most of the garter keepers I speak with prefer a purely worm diet or a purely fish diet even into adulthood, completely avoiding mice or offering on occasion. But, as you mentioned, worms are not nutritious so I think a varied diet with
LOWER AMOUNTS OF RODENTS is the best way to go. You don't have to get rid of them completely, but offering fish and worms in conjunction with rodents could reduce the fat load they are receiving, making for a healthier snake.
Unless the adult is a large female, it doesn't take as many worms as you seem to think. My ~2' male garter could easily have a good meal on only 2, maybe 3 whole worms. But yes, regardless, they need to be fed multiple times a week (2-3 times) with calcium supplements.
Threaded Mode