Draco, Albino Checkered Garter

[Zincubus]

My checkered is very shy. He'll come out if he thinks no one is around, but the first sight of movement and he's back into his burrows.

My eastern on the other hand, actually seems to be attracted by our movements and loves to watch people.

Also probably a discussion for another thread but I wouldn't feed dog food to a dog let alone a snake. Snakes are carnivores they don't need and can't digest the plant matter in dog food. Even with wet food there's the problem of the meat being cooked and processed with heaps of additives.


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I only tried dog food as one of mine 'attacked' the mountain of dog food ( wet , meaty type not biscuits ) when it was out having a mooch around ..when I mentioned what has happened on other sites if turns out that feeding meaty dog food to Garters is pretty widespread and apparently many Garter breeders swear by it ....

[CloudtheBoa]

They may do it but I feel that the plant matter and processed food is not a good thing to be giving reptiles period. As mentioned, I wouldn't even feed it to my dog. If I had the choice I'd raw feed them, the plant matter really is harmful to their systems. If it's bad for dogs you can bet it's bad for snakes.

With wet food it's not so bad for dogs, but again the meat is cooked and processed, and snakes cannot properly digest cooked meat.

What other people do is their choice but I won't advise people use dog food and I won't give it to my animals.


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[Lady mkrj58]

I didn't know that thanks for the information.

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[Zincubus]

I didn't know that thanks for the information.

Sent from my SGH-T999

Presumably all the Garter snake breeders don't either ...

[CloudtheBoa]

It's actually rather possible. I'm sure there isn't a huge amount of scientists specifically studying the effects of dog food on garters within the breeder community.

The fact is, they are carnivores. Obligate carnivores. Dry dog food is out of the question as it offers them very little to no nutritional benefit being made of 90% plant matter. They are also known to be very susceptible to chemicals, which wet dog food is chalk full of additives.

If it's harmful to animal it's made for, what makes you think it wouldn't be harmful to snakes, which tend to be way more sensitive to such things?


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[Zincubus]

It's actually rather possible. I'm sure there isn't a huge amount of scientists specifically studying the effects of dog food on garters within the breeder community.

The fact is, they are carnivores. Obligate carnivores. Dry dog food is out of the question as it offers them very little to no nutritional benefit being made of 90% plant matter. They are also known to be very susceptible to chemicals, which wet dog food is chalk full of additives.

If it's harmful to animal it's made for, what makes you think it wouldn't be harmful to snakes, which tend to be way more sensitive to such things?


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So you're saying that dog food is actually harmful to dogs !??

I've heard of a few people who swear by the new fad of "raw feeding" but I've never actually come across anyone who actually believes that dog food is harmful to dogs tbh ...

I've no idea why "dry" dog food is being mentioned tbh . There was a bowl of normal " meaty chunky " dog food in the corner of the room and when I let one of my Garters out for a roam and it went straight to the bowl and launched itself at the chunks of meat , devouring one more or less instantly . When I researched the phenomenon I discovered that apparently "some" breeders of Garter snakes raised theirs on dog food ( wet , chunky meaty ) . just thought I'd share the info . I feed mine on mice / worms / fish and very , very occasionally a few chunks of dog food ..l

[CloudtheBoa]

Long term yes dog food is harmful to dogs. It causes pancreatitis, diabetes, and dental issues. Dogs are not meant to live off of plant matter for an extended amount of time, it's incredibly taxing on their pancreas.

Dry dog food is being mentioned because you started out saying dog food, then specified wet dog food.


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[Zincubus]

Long term yes dog food is harmful to dogs. It causes pancreatitis, diabetes, and dental issues. Dogs are not meant to live off of plant matter for an extended amount of time, it's incredibly taxing on their pancreas.

Dry dog food is being mentioned because you started out saying dog food, then specified wet dog food.


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Presumably you're suggesting that 'some' dog foods can be harmful to some dogs .... I'm not sure that there is that much ( if any ) plant matter in the chunky meat dog food we buy tbh ..

[CloudtheBoa]

Both are harmful. Wet dog food has lots of additives and severely encourages plaque build up. Generally feeding dry food with it or brushing/cleaning the teeth helps, but may not stop all dental issues.

There shouldn't be plant matter in wet dog food, unless it's advertised with veggie bits, which is absurd imo. It's not the best for dogs but it's better than dry food, but I think don't think it's appropriate for reptiles.


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[Zincubus]

Oooops so sorry for hijacking the thread . Apologies