I have heard so many confilcting things about this, some say goldfish, but others say that they have too much oil or something in them and can kill snakes, to use pinkies instead, but OTHERS say that pinkies don't have the right vitamins and to use powdered crickets instead, what do I feed a garter snake??? (I don't have one yet, but I want one, and I want to feed it right)
2007-12-10 14:47:42 · 9 answers · asked by KristyW 5 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
well, the only thing I have a problem feeding is live pinky mice, I can feed dead ones easily, I can feed any fish or insect too, I just don't like seeing baby mice get killed because I used to be a hamster breeder and to see little alive baby rodents eaten is sad to me, but if it was already dead I would have no issues with it.
2007-12-10 15:01:32 · update #1
I am not really into garter snakes myself. I was raised by a dad who's really into the reptiles, so instead of my first snake being a garter, I got a beautiful Sunglow Boa (had to be a bit flashy to keep my little 4 year old mind on it = ]) But a varied diet is nice. Fish in the water bowl for it to fish out if it wants, pinkies and mice when it gets bigger (never, EVER feed live unless you keep a eye on it. Snakes will not attack prey if they are not hungry, and the adult mice and rats can attack your snake, I have had a Diamondback get killed by a rat in the past.) Just give the little dear some variety so you're making sure he gets all the minerals and vitamins he needs.
2007-12-11 04:54:45 · answer #1 · answered by Ugly Angel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I recently rescued a beautiful checkered garter snake. It was a little one. Gartner snakes, I found out, do NOT eat insects such as crickets. A varied diet is the best. I would feed him a combination of goldfish, pinkies and worms or slugs. Every time you feed, which may be only once every week, switch foods. This will give him the best nutrition. If your snake is very small, you can't give him pinkies and even the smallest feeder fish maybe be too big. You can feed wax worms and other worms and it should it those. These should be powdered with a vitamin and mineral supplement made expecially for snakes. So should the pinkies, but you can't powder a fish! LOL!
Here's a pretty decent site to learn from.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/gaston/Pests/reptiles/gsnakecare.pdf
Good luck!
2007-12-10 14:58:07 · answer #2 · answered by The Cat 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If you want to make your garter snake happy then you should attempt to give a diverse diet much like what it would eat in the wild. This would include live fish (minnows and mosquito fish or small goldfish), occasional live pink mice (though some garters will accept thawed out ones). Bullfrog tadpoles and froglets will also be readily taken (bullfrogs are not endangered and in fact are known to threaten other amphibian species so there's nothing wrong with collecting some from a local pond). Crickets are only acceptable for very young garter snakes.
If you have any reservations about feeding live food to your snake than you need to seriously reconsider your choice of pet.
2007-12-10 14:53:14 · answer #3 · answered by Mimik 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put a shallow dish in with your snake and it will 'go fishing' for the minnows. it's really fun to watch!! sometimes they will lay in the water to cool off but make sure it's not deep enough for them to drown. umm, i think it's possible to keep them only on minnows but feeding them something different now and then is good. sometimes i'll feed mine a baby toad i find. crickets are good too. feed the crickets tropical fish food for the vitamins and stuff and these will be awesome for your garter. i think they will eat earthworms too. they're garter snakes and will eat just about any moving thing small enough to swallow. good luck though. =)
2016-05-22 23:23:49 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had many garter snames as a kid and they always ate goldfish. I would put them in a shallow bowl and my snakes would put there little heads under water trying to find them then would swallow them. Its still sad but seeing the mice is worse. Goldfish is easy and I never had a problem feeding my garter snakes them.
2007-12-10 14:51:53 · answer #5 · answered by sharp p 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I noticed that everyone left out the only thing our garter snakes would eat... worms.
Ours never touched a fish.
2007-12-10 14:56:27 · answer #6 · answered by Nature Mother 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here is an excellent website on garter snake care and feeding:
http://www.gartersnake.co.uk/
2007-12-10 14:52:36 · answer #7 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Feed it live crickets... You should be able to get them at most pet stores.
2007-12-10 14:50:56 · answer #8 · answered by Jason 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
They like NERDS (pink or purple) but they really like marshmallows... LOL
2007-12-10 14:58:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋