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In a message dated 7/21/00 2:59:12 PM Central Daylight Time,
hearthen@... writes:

<<
Hi all, we have a snake in need. A tiny baby garter anake, less than a
quarter inch in diameter, doesn't seem interested in insects - we got it from
a friend, it's been captive for about two weeks now. Does anyone know how we
can get the little guy to eat? His
skin is getting flacid, we're worried about the little guy! Thanks in
advance. Logan

>>
Garter snakes eat mainly fish, and can eat earthworms . Also, you should
change it's water every day. I have never had a snake, but I read they can
eat live fish, and that you could give it goldfish. ~Karen

Vicki A. Dennis

How long is it? Diameter doesn't give that much to go on for age.
Have you tried small worms?

I am asking my son for information but his main response is that garter
snakes are "hard captives"

Vicki


-----Original Message-----
From: Jaye Hearthenwood <hearthen@...>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Friday, July 21, 2000 2:56 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] feeding baby snake?


>Hi all, we have a snake in need. A tiny baby garter anake, less than a
quarter inch in diameter, doesn't seem interested in insects - we got it
from a friend, it's been captive for about two weeks now. Does anyone know
how we can get the little guy to eat? His
>skin is getting flacid, we're worried about the little guy! Thanks in
advance. Logan
>
>
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D Klement

Jaye Hearthenwood wrote:
>
> Hi all, we have a snake in need. A tiny baby garter anake, less than a quarter inch in diameter, doesn't seem interested in insects - we got it from a friend, it's been captive for about two weeks now. Does anyone know how we can get the little guy to eat? His
> skin is getting flacid, we're worried about the little guy! Thanks in advance. Logan

If you're worried then little the poor little thing go!
Garters are born ready to survive on their own.

Why let the poor thing suffer if he's not thriving.
I'd release him.

Buzz
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Klement Family "Education is what survives when
Darryl, Debbie, what has been learned has been
Kathleen, Nathan & forgotten"
Samantha B.F. Skinner in "New Scientist".
e-mail- klement@...
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Ont. Federation of Teaching Parents: http:\\www.flora.org/oftp/
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Vicki A. Dennis

My son the herper says wild caught garter snakes just don't do well at all
in captivity. Babies are about 3 inches long and eat worms. Adults and
even juveniles may eat fish or frogs but it all depends on where it came
from. They have a very wide range where they are found in the wild.
So you have to worry not only about finding the right size but whether it
will even be attracted to it in its very stressed state.

Really the best thing is to release it. It you know what kind of
terrain it was originally captured from, it would be good to try to
release it somewhere similar and preferably in a place without a lot of
human traffic. . But if you have a garden, that would probably be fine
too and you could hope to see it again :-). It is probably not
starving yet. Reptiles can go long periods without food. It is the stress
which is harming it.

Evening a good time to turn it loose---especially if you are in a part of
the country with sizzling afternoons. Good luck.

Vicki

P.S.: When my children were much younger they were usually very receptive
to the idea that an animal needed to go find its mama or that the mama
needed to get back to her babies! Stretching the science a bit does
not seem to have harmed them or made them distrustful of me:-). It was
a means for them to understand "humane" treatment.