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I have a wild caught Garter. Caught him the Saturday before last. have had him for about 13 days. He's roughly 15-20 inches long Give or take. Tried to get him to eat for a while, but finally took a small earth worm from me and gobbled it. -(Over the past few days, He's gotten much more tolerant with a human, and no longer stays in his hide. (After gentle handling and just making him familiar with my hand in the cage)- I Tried to feed him more, but is back to showing no interest.
Here's my situation:
It's kept in a 10 gallon tank with about 1 1/2- 2inches of Aspen bedding, with a "Hide" and water bowl. Temp is at about 73-75f and humidity is at about 60-70%
What I have noticed is when I put a worm in, He will flick his tongue and go over, But instead of grabbing it, He will push is down into the aspen bedding with the tip of his nose, and lose attention on it. He cant be filled up, the little earth worm he ate about 2 inches long and like half the girth of a pencil.
Would it be easier to house and feed him on newspaper or paper towels? The worms like to go into the bedding, and the garter pushing them in doesn't seem to help.
So, I guess what my questions are when boiled down are:
1.What is he doing when he is pushing the worm down in the bedding?
2.Was it a bad Idea feeding him a small worm at first? Couldn't possibly be full
3.Is newspaper or paper towel substrate better for feeding?
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I ask not for lighter burdens, but for broader shoulders.
Hey mate, I got myself a wild caught garter too he is housed in a ten gal. As well. I'm not keeping him tho, I will release when spring rolls around. As far as feeding, I feed this guy large Canadian nightcrawlers and I dust with calcium powder every couple of feeds. I hold the worm up with tongs until I know he has a good hold of it.As far as pushing the worms into the bedding, I have no idea. For bedding, I use aspen. Paper towels will work fine too. I like the aspen to help him feel more secure. Along with the feeling of security, I put pictures of forests in the back and sides of the tank.
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0.2 Leopard Gecko(Zadna & Allister) | 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake(Ammit) | 0.1 Albino Checkered Garter Snake(Mrs. Buttercup) |1.0 Betta (Alfred) |0.0.1 Green Sunfish| 1.0 Green Terror Cichlid
-Kyle
Drumcrush- Ok good to hear, I like the aspen, but the dang worms stick to it an burrow down.. :P
Infernalis- I read that care sheet last night, Very nice. I will definitely try some fish.
Still wondering what the pushing food down thing was about. He's be locked on to it, and either push it down with his nose, or burrow his head right under it and lift up, but wouldn't eat it. Never seen that before.
Thanks guys!
__________________
I ask not for lighter burdens, but for broader shoulders.
Drumcrush- Ok good to hear, I like the aspen, but the dang worms stick to it an burrow down.. :P
Infernalis- I read that care sheet last night, Very nice. I will definitely try some fish.
Still wondering what the pushing food down thing was about. He's be locked on to it, and either push it down with his nose, or burrow his head right under it and lift up, but wouldn't eat it. Never seen that before.
Thanks guys!
Hmm, maybe try feeding it outside the enclosure, possibly in a tub or something with paper towels. I like doing that with my albino checkered because she always makes a mess haha
__________________
0.2 Leopard Gecko(Zadna & Allister) | 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake(Ammit) | 0.1 Albino Checkered Garter Snake(Mrs. Buttercup) |1.0 Betta (Alfred) |0.0.1 Green Sunfish| 1.0 Green Terror Cichlid
-Kyle
Just went out after our rainstorm today for some worms. Got a Bunch and have them all in a little cooler. None were very big, maybe a Gram.
I tried offering some again today. Reached in, he flicked his tongue, and dropped it by him. Took it right away. I didn't like how the shavings stuck to it so I put a piece of paper down in there. Dropped another on the paper and -Bam!
He took one right from my hand, however I am going to try to avoid that HA!
I wasn't very sure how many to feed him as I didn't find any really good sized worms. (Can I over feed?) I think it was about 6 in total, 5 just now and one last night. Most didn't really register on my scale, and I think one was about .2g. (Heaviest one) Still have a cooler full, but decided to stop.
__________________
I ask not for lighter burdens, but for broader shoulders.
One of the things I like best about garter snakes, they are extremely tolerant of people.
I know a guy who tong feeds wild garters in his yard, and they take the chow.
I do the same thing with wild praying mantises. I just grab a grasshopper, pop the head off and put the grasshopper in the mantis's mouth and they grab it with one arm and eat it.
I wasn't very sure how many to feed him as I didn't find any really good sized worms. (Can I over feed?) I think it was about 6 in total, 5 just now and one last night. Most didn't really register on my scale, and I think one was about .2g. (Heaviest one) Still have a cooler full, but decided to stop.
Just like any snake, you shouldn't overfeed. Garters can eat a lot in the wild but you don't want to overfeed anyways. If the worms are, lets say, 1/3 the length of the snake and 1/2 the thickness, 1 or 2 every 5 days would be what I personally would feed the snake. And I'd keep track to see if it was pooping after five days or not, and if it wasn't, I'd adjust the feeding schedule accordingly.
Have you tried fish like infernalis said? All you need to do is put little feeder minnows (or guppies, or little feeder goldfish) in the water bowl. Must be live.
Just like any snake, you shouldn't overfeed. Garters can eat a lot in the wild but you don't want to overfeed anyways. If the worms are, lets say, 1/3 the length of the snake and 1/2 the thickness, 1 or 2 every 5 days would be what I personally would feed the snake. And I'd keep track to see if it was pooping after five days or not, and if it wasn't, I'd adjust the feeding schedule accordingly.
Have you tried fish like infernalis said? All you need to do is put little feeder minnows (or guppies, or little feeder goldfish) in the water bowl. Must be live.
Don't feed minnows or goldfish. Guppies are fine though
__________________
0.2 Leopard Gecko(Zadna & Allister) | 0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake(Ammit) | 0.1 Albino Checkered Garter Snake(Mrs. Buttercup) |1.0 Betta (Alfred) |0.0.1 Green Sunfish| 1.0 Green Terror Cichlid
-Kyle
he is housed in a ten gal. As well. I'm not keeping him tho, I will release when spring rolls around. As far as feeding, I feed this guy large Canadian nightcrawlers and I dust with calcium powder every couple of feeds. I hold the worm up with tongs until I know he has a good hold of it.As far as pushing the worms into the bedding, I have no idea. For bedding, I use aspen. Paper towels will work fine too. I like the aspen to help him feel more secure. Along with the feeling of security, I put pictures of forests in the back and sides of the tank.
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