Just a couple of questions from someone new to snakes!

[Jaded815]

I got my first snake a week ago and I just have a couple of questions, I want to give her the best life possible! At the pet store I was told that she'll live off of a diet of 1 feeder fish every 4-5 days. Then when I did some research online I learned that feeder fish don't provide adequate nutrition, and that tuffies contain something that can be harmful to garters. So today I bought her a platy to eat, I read that platies and guppies are better then tuffies and gold fish, but getting her to eat pinkies would be ideal. I don't know if she's big enough to eat a pinky yet, but they don't seem any bigger then the fish she's eaten.

How do I go about trying to convert her onto pinkies? Is live the best or should I do frozen? And how often should I feed her?

How often should I handle her, I want to make sure she's well handled and friendly, but I don't want to stress her by handling her too much! So far she's been pretty friendly, a little nervous when I first pick her up, but she settles down quickly, and hasn't tried to bite yet!

I'm also little worried about my girl, she tends to hide under the substrate and doesn't come out much. She hasn't eaten since Tuesday even though I gave her fish yesterday. I read that garters are usually very active, but she's not, I'm wondering if her tank is too cold. at the petstore they told me the tank only needed to be heated to around 70-72 degrees, but that really seems too cold to me, should it be warmer? I'll go get a new heat lamp and stuff tomorrow...

Also she looks like she's lost a little color, maybe she's going to shed soon? Her eyes are still clear though... She's my first snake, I want to do it right! Thanks for all of the help!

[whoaxmary]

Wayne is deffinetly the guy to answer this one!

You don't want to handle her at all for the first while- you want her to be able to settle in and feel comfortable in her new home before you start getting her used to you. Beyond that, people seem to have different opionions. I try to handle my own snakes enough that they stay used to it, and it doesn't cause as much stress nce you get to know her more, you will more than likely be able to tell what level of handling both she, and you, are comfortable with. She may just be hiding because she is still getting used to the new enviroment- I'll leave it to Wayne to talk about any garter specifics with feeding and temperatures.

[millertime89]

I know the answers to a few of these, Wayne is gonna be your best resource here though.
Temps: 70 is fine, they're indigenous to the northern areas of north america and don't need the higher temps that many other species do.
hiding under the substrate: she's feeling stressed for some reason for some reason and in the substrate is gonna be where she feels safest.
not eating: same as above, safety comes before food.
the other possible explanation is, as you said, she could be going into shed and won't eat while in shed and feels extra vulnerable.
can you post a picture of your enclosure?

[alessia55]

Congratulations on your first snake! Garters are great pets I don't know much about them to help you out, but I'm sure Wayne (infernalis) will chime in soon enough.

[SnakeyJay]

Congrats on your new snake ... It sounds like he may be going into shed. The process starts a while before the eye cloud over so that may be why he's hiding a lot. Have you got plenty of hides in the viv? Honestly tho you sound like your trying your best and it's only a few days since he's eaten so I wouldn't worry too much yet. Good luck.