Food for Garter Snakes

Garter snakes are one of the easiest snakes to care for in captivity. Their feeding habits are especially easy to accommodate, as they eat a variety of foods from worms to fish to snails. Depending on your garter snake's age, you may feed it several times a week or only once. It is important to understand this snake's nutritional needs to keep your pet happy and healthy.

  1. Worms

    • At different life stages, garter snakes can eat a variety of worms, which can easily make up the majority of their diet. Older garter snakes may eat earthworms while young snakes can eat grubs, or white worms. Worms are one of the easiest foods to feed garters in captivity as you can simply collect them from your garden or yard, or pick them up from sidewalks and driveways after a rain. You can also breed your own worms by placing damp, shredded newspaper or cardboard in a 2-by-3-foot untreated wood box or container. Drill several 1-inch holes in the bottom of the container and add 1 gallon of garden soil and 2 lbs. of worms. Feed the worms plant-based garbage such as vegetable peelings or lettuce. If you collect worms on your own, it is important to dig them from areas that have not been affected by pesticides or herbicides. Before you feed worms to your garter snake, rinse them off. Grubs for young snakes can also be purchased at most pet stores.

    Fish

    • Garter snakes, especially the aquatic varieties, love fish. Feed your snakes fresh, whole fillets if possible or frozen fish that is supplemented with thiamin. Live sand eels, guppies or lance fish can be placed in bowls of water or in the pool with aquatic garter snakes; they will hunt and eat the fish as prey. It is important not to feed garter snakes solely fish as this can cause thiamin deficiencies. Fish can be used as a treat or fed along with a balanced diet that includes worms and other food sources.

    Other Foods and Supplements

    • Garter snakes can be fed a variety of other foods and supplements in addition to fish and worms. Leeches, slugs, dead rodents and frogs will all be eaten by garters. Just make sure they are free of disease and pesticides. If your snake likes rodents, you can purchase them at a pet shop alive or frozen. To make sure garters receive proper nutrition, add a processed snake food to its diet or add a vitamin supplement a few times per week or as recommended on the product.

    Considerations

    • Depending on the type of garter snake you have, it may enjoy eating fish, birds, mammals or amphibians. For example, aquatic species love leeches and snails, whereas larger species may prefer mice or other rodents. Feed your garter snake what it would eat in its natural environment, if possible.