baby albino checkered garter snake

Question
hi Donna,
In December i bought an baby albino checkered garter snake. hes shed twice and is doing quite well. my parents hate the aspect of feeding mice to snakes and i feed him worms supplemented in calcium 2 4 times a month is this OK? hes in a twenty gallon tank with a 75 watt bulb and a large water dish with aspen snake bedding. hes in a woodland- type set-up as these are more terrestrial in behavior if i'm wrong on that aspect please tell me

Answer
The diet should be fine, but the frequency of feeding is way off.  He should be fed at least two or three times per week, if you are feeding worms, as they aren't as nutritionally dense.  Garter snakes have a higher metabolism than other snakes (though virtually all species of other snakes should be fed once a week, especially as hatchlings.  Garters fed on rodents can be fed once or twice a week as well).  He needs a great deal more nutrition to grow and thrive.

Rather than supplementing the worm with calcium, instead dip only the tail of the worm into a calcium supplement containing vitamin D 3, just once per week.  Worms actually have an excellent calcium/phosphorus ratio, and calcium does not need to be supplemented with them.  However, extra vitamin D is recommended...just take care not to over supplement it, because it is toxic if overdosed.  I recommend using a multi-vitamin powder once a week as well.  Just coat about half of one of his worms in it, that should be plenty.  

One note on the species of worms--chopped nightcrawlers (Terrestris lumbricus) are a good choice (unless he's already big enough to eat whole ones, which is fine), but avoid the small worms known as red wigglers.  The red worms used most often in vermicomposting, these worms have been known to cause toxic reactions in garter snakes.  Their scientific name is Eisenia foetida.  Another Eisenia species is sometimes sold as 'panfish worms'.  Eisenia hortensis are not toxic, but do produce a yellow secretion which most animals find distasteful, so they're not the best choice for garter snake food, either.

The setup sounds fine--just be sure that temperatures under the light is about 85F at snake level, and about 70 to 75F on the cool side of the tank.  If you don't have one, you can pick up an inexepensive indoor/outdoor thermometer with a remote probe from Walmart, to track temperatures.  Also, make sure you have a tightly latching lid, because they can and will get out of anything with a tiny gap in it. ;)

I recommend a vet visit once per year, and have a fecal check for parasites done at that time.  Earthworms pose a risk of transmitting parasites to animals that eat them.  (A yearly vet visit would be a good idea, either way, but is important if you feed mainly worms).  Fish can also be added to his diet, if you wish, but it is not necessary.  Do not feed goldfish or rosy reds.  Guppies are ok. The small minnows sold frozen as food for other fish, called silversides, are fine.  Don't overdo fish feedings as feeder fish can also carry parasites (even more of them), and frozen fish are low in thiamine.  (The goldfish and rosy reds are high in an enzyme called thiaminase, which actually destroys thiamine and disrupts thiamine metabolism, so they shouldn't be fed at all).

Be sure he has 2 small, single-entrance hides, one on the cooler side of the tank, one on the warm side.  That way he doesn't have to choose between security and temperature regulation.  Security is very important to snakes, as they are pretty low on the food chain--in order to feel relaxed, he must be able to hide.