Quote Originally Posted by gulpysmom View Post
Wow thank you so much I had no Idea those fish were bad that is what I was told to feed them. I feel so bad now. The littler snake will eat earth worms and does so regularly but the snake that is sick won't touch them. Waht else could you suggest I feed them? I refer to the snake as him or he but honestly I dont know. I brought it to the pet store to find out but they said it was to small or young to tell. The other snake is even smaller so I have no clue though I have always suspected a male female situation because they seem to be really fond of one another. The smaller snake even laid across the sick snake each time I tried to check on it. I know it sounds silly but I took it as a sign of protection. I have seperated them. The sick one is in a 10 gallon for now but the oridginal tank was a 30 gallon they had seperate huts and sticks and water dishes but they always ended up under the same little hut tangled up together. If it is some sort of parrasite from the fish is it something that the snake can recover from? I was thinking an injury of some sort because he is having trouble moving correctly by this I mean if he is crawling to the other side of the tank sometimes he flips to his back and has trouble getting back on his belly. And his head hangs to one side. I'm trying not to handle him to much but I do check on him often. Thank you so so much for the info on the feeder fish now I can stop making that mistake. Is a diet of only earth worms ok? And can they come from the pet store? or can we just get them from outside? And how would I be able to tell the sex on my own? The pet store was not helpful in that area or any area as I'm learning from all of you.
They can also be coaxed into taking appropriately sized pinky mice. These can be scented with salmon, trout or any other type of fish.

You can cut up salmon and trout fillets and dust them with a calcium/multi-vitamin powder every third or fourth feeding. Whole silversides are acceptable.

As to earthworms - occasionally. Just be careful of "red wigglers" which have been reported at worst to be toxic to snakes, at best - distasteful. These should not make up the main part of the diet. Unlike garters, ribbons snakes sometimes cannot be coaxed into eating earthworms. If not, it's not the end of the world........

I would offer rodents and fish 99% of the time with earthworms as an occasional treat or as a means to get him to try other items.

I have a western ribbon snake that loves earthworms. I used them as a way to get him onto pinky mice. I would cut the worms up and place them in a dish with the mice. He got so worked up over the worms he gobbled up the pinky at the same time.

As to his illness, it is not uncommon for ribbons snakes and garters (thamnophis) that have been fed a diet of fish high in thiaminase to develop neurological problems. It is also not uncommon for thamnophis fed a diet of goldfish and rosys to develop internal parasites. Hopefully, this Vet you found will be able to diagnose and treat whatver is afflicting him.