Nightcrawler Identification

[Linda Bowers]

Worms for Garter Snakes

I've read only in one article that the only worms safe for garter snakes to eat out of the garden are night crawlers. The article said that other worms (red wigglers and garden worms) are lethal to garter snakes. Does anyone know more about this??

 

[caseyblues]

Garter snake food

Safe foods for gartersnakes include:

Pinky mice or pinky parts ( cut off the feet when feeding baby garters )

thiaminase safe fish or fish pieces (safe species include trout and salmon)

slugs hand collected from organic gardens

nightcrawlers or other earthworms (the RED WIGGLER is not safe, so know your species! Eisenia foetida are poisonous to garters!)

Strips of muscle or organ meat, such as beef heart (cut into strips, freeze, thaw before feeding)

Good garter care also includes dusting one end of the food item with calcium if it is a food that does not contain such (beef heart strips as an example)

Variety is the key to healthy garter feeding!

DO NOT FEED MINNOWS - they are not thiaminase safe! See this link for an example of why! This is what happens when you feed a garter a diet of minnows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFGpH2cZ8uU

 

[froggyman]

i assume nightcrawlers from a bait shop would be ok?

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I've been feeding them (bait shop 'crawlers) to my pacman frog off and on for nearly a year with no apparent ill effects.

As long as the garden variety earthworms are from non-contaminated soil, they should be fine. As far as red wigglers go, I think that I read somewhere that they have a disagreeable taste. But I may be confusing them with another worm, so look it up to make sure.

 

[Jer]

Why are Eisenia foetida toxic to snakes? I have been feeding them to amphibians for years and have never had any problems.