Anyone kept snakes in general? I'm trying to figure something out.

[Allthingsterrarium]

So I've had my snake for maybe 3 weeks now. Being a garter snake he's a pretty common captive species but falls very far behind the pythons, corn snakes, rat snakes and king snakes in popularity so on the internet at least information about caring for them is surprisingly limited and even on sites devoted to garter snakes or even snakes period fails to answer this question but since it pretty much applies to any snake I was hoping someone here could answer this for me since most of us have kept a number of different terrarium animals. I even joined a forum dedicated to garter snakes but I'm having so many technical problems with it that I'm unable to post anything and I might as well have never joined at all so that leaves here. Now for those of you that don't know, garter snakes are very special in their feeding requirements as they can eat a diet of mostly nightcrawlers but it will still benefit them a great deal if you give them an occasional guppy or pinky mouse. Every few feedings I'll calcium dust the nightcrawlers and that's absolutely what you should do but here's what has confused me forever. When I give him guppies or pinkies should I sprinkle some calcium powder on them? I don't feel like it's necessary since unlike invertebrates mice and fish of course have bones and bones are largely calcium. I don't know if they digest the bones and I refuse to search through the droppings to find out lol. So basically will the bones of these animals provide enough calcium to satisfy the needs of whatever you feed them too or should I supplement them? Also how much should I feed the snake? I guess it depends on what your feeding him at the time but I imagine they have really long stomachs. Thanks so much guys! Anybody who has kept snakes that can answer this will help me out a great deal

 

[The_Genesis_Purge]

Hey you're in luck - I have kept exactly 1 garter with good luck before selling it on 3 years later. Their diet definitely makes them a little harder to look after compared to the more common snakes like kings and corns etc.

But their diversity also gives them a uniqueness even down to their personalities.

As for your question - I would not dust food items at all with calcium powder especially not the fish and pinky mice, They will digest pretty much everything on the animal including fur - as with all reptiles just make sure they are hydrated, they have good underbelly heat and are not too stressed. Garters come in 2 variations extremely finnicky and difficult to feed and then complete garbage cans who will eat pretty much anything you put infront of them. The calcium requirement with snakes is a lot less compared to lizards and geckos with moving limbs. Their stomachs are quite long and given the chance Garters can gorge feed

Also, you can try this website: www.redtailboa.net for more info on garters. A lot of the users are from america and have kept the odd garter and can help you a lot with specific care and food requirements what you can and should not feed. It's quite easy to use as well.

Here's a funny pic for you if you haven't already seen it

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hey you're in luck - I have kept exactly 1 garter with good luck before selling it on 3 years later. Their diet definitely makes them a little harder to look after compared to the more common snakes like kings and corns etc.

But their diversity also gives them a uniqueness even down to their personalities.

As for your question - I would not dust food items at all with calcium powder especially not the fish and pinky mice, They will digest pretty much everything on the animal including fur - as with all reptiles just make sure they are hydrated, they have good underbelly heat and are not too stressed. Garters come in 2 variations extremely finnicky and difficult to feed and then complete garbage cans who will eat pretty much anything you put infront of them. The calcium requirement with snakes is a lot less compared to lizards and geckos with moving limbs. Their stomachs are quite long and given the chance Garters can gorge feed

Also, you can try this website: www.redtailboa.net for more info on garters. A lot of the users are from america and have kept the odd garter and can help you a lot with specific care and food requirements what you can and should not feed. It's quite easy to use as well.

Here's a funny pic for you if you haven't already seen it

Thanks so much! Yeah that certainly makes sense. He should do just fine without the calcium. He even shed for the first time since I've had him and that's a sign he's doing well as for how he eats I'd for sure say he's under the garbage can category