If you’ve ever wondered if garter snakes can feast on crunchy crickets, you’re not alone. Many reptile owners and nature lovers ponder what these common snakes eat in the wild and captivity. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about garter snakes and their insectivorous appetites.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Yes, garter snakes can absolutely eat crickets. Crickets make up part of the varied diet of wild garter snakes. They can also be offered as nutritious feeder insects for pet garter snakes.
An Overview of Garter Snake Diet and Hunting Habits
Garter snakes are opportunistic predators that eat a wide variety of small prey
As their name suggests, garter snakes have voracious appetites and are constantly on the hunt for their next meal. These snakes are opportunistic predators, meaning they will eat any prey they can overpower and swallow.
Their diverse diets allow them to thrive in a variety of habitats across North America.
Garter snakes are not picky eaters. They are generalists when it comes to their food sources, feasting on anything from earthworms and leeches to small rodents, amphibians, fish, and insects. This versatility gives them an evolutionary advantage, as they can survive in many different ecosystems by preying upon whatever critters are most abundant.
The bulk of a garter snake’s diet consists of animals with soft bodies that are easy to digest, such as slugs, worms, tadpoles, small frogs and toads, minnows, and salamanders. However, these opportunistic hunters will also eat eggs, carrion, mice, voles, and even baby birds when the chance arises.
In the wild, garter snakes eat amphibians, earthworms, small rodents, fish, leeches, and insects
Garter snakes have catholic diets and feed on a wide variety of small animals. Some of their most common prey in the wild include:
- Amphibians like frogs, toads, salamanders, and tadpoles
- Earthworms
- Small rodents such as mice and voles
- Fish like minnows and goldfish
- Leeches
- Insects including crickets, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and beetles
The availability of prey in their habitat determines what garter snakes eat. For example, snakes living near ponds and streams consume more amphibians and fish. Those in grasslands feast on rodents and insects. Their flexible diets ensure garter snakes can thrive in most environments.
Crickets are one of the many insects garter snakes feed on when available
Crickets are a perfectly normal part of a garter snake’s diet when they are available. These snakes are not picky eaters and will consume most insects they can overpower.
Crickets provide garter snakes with important nutrients like protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Their soft exoskeletons are easy for snakes to digest. Crickets also contain a lot of moisture which helps hydrated snakes.
Garter snakes who live in areas with lots of vegetation like forests, gardens, and grasslands have ample access to crickets. They use their lightning fast reflexes to snatch crickets resting in plants or bushes. The snakes swallow the insects whole.
According to a study, crickets made up 7.5% of the total prey volume in the stomachs of wild garter snakes. This shows they are a routine part of the snake’s nutritious and diverse diet when available.
Benefits of Feeding Crickets to Pet Garter Snakes
Crickets contain nutrients like protein, fat, calcium, and vitamin A essential for garter snakes
Crickets are packed with important nutrients that garter snakes need to stay healthy and thrive. Here are some of the key nutrients crickets provide:
- Protein: Crickets contain high quality protein, which helps build strong muscles and tissues.
- Fat: The fat in crickets provides concentrated energy for garter snakes. Fat also aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
- Calcium: Crickets have a great calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which helps garter snakes maintain strong bones and prevent metabolic bone disease.
- Vitamin A: This vitamin supports good vision, immune function, and cell growth. It’s abundant in cricket carotenoids.
According to reptile experts, a staple diet of appropriately-sized crickets can provide nearly all the nutrition garter snakes need to thrive in captivity. Crickets are like a complete meal!
The crunchy exoskeleton helps wear down snake teeth and stimulate chewing behavior
A cricket’s hard, crunchy exoskeleton provides stimulation and enrichment for a garter snake when eating. The chitinous exoskeleton helps naturally wear down snake teeth as they chew on crickets. This is beneficial since garter snakes don’t stop growing their entire lives!
The crickets encourage more natural hunting and feeding behaviors in garter snakes compared to eating soft, processed foods. The crunchy prey items exercise their jaws and keep their teeth trimmed and healthy. Overall, crickets promote better dental hygiene for pet garter snakes.
Crickets offer mental stimulation and encourage natural predatory behaviors
When kept in captivity, garter snakes risk becoming bored or stressed. However, feeding live crickets helps provide environmental enrichment and mental stimulation. Chasing down live prey allows garter snakes to engage their predatory instincts in a natural way.
Watching your garter snake hunt crickets also provides enjoyment for the owner! It’s exciting to watch them stalk and pounce on unsuspecting prey. This makes feed time more interactive and fun for both pet and owner.
Additionally, the satisfaction of hunting live prey keeps garter snakes active and engaged with their environment. The mental and physical exercise from catching crickets contributes to your snake’s overall wellbeing and quality of life.
Tips for Feeding Crickets to Your Garter Snake
Offer appropriately sized crickets based on your snake’s age and size
A garter snake’s diet should consist primarily of prey items that are about the same width as the thickest part of the snake’s body. This rule of thumb helps the snake swallow the cricket easily without choking or regurgitating.
Offer 1/4 inch crickets for hatchlings, quarter-inch to half-inch for juveniles, and up to one inch for adult garter snakes.
Check your pet store or online cricket provider for a size guide so you can select appropriately sized feeder crickets. Popular cricket sizes include pinheads, smalls, mediums, adults, and jumbos. Larger snakes may be able to handle occasional bigger meals, but regularly err on the conservative side.
Feed pre-killed or stunned crickets to avoid injuring your snake
Although garter snakes are skilled hunters, live crickets could potentially bite or scratch the lining of your snake’s mouth or throat. For risk-free feeding, purchase pre-killed crickets or quickly stun live ones by placing in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before offering them.
Check that the immobilized crickets are still fresh and have not begun decomposing. Discard any dead crickets that give off a foul odor or appear dried out. Only present snakes with recently expired prey to minimize health risks.
Powder crickets with reptile vitamins and calcium for optimal nutrition
Dusting crickets with supplements supports your garter snake’s health by providing essential vitamins, minerals, and calcium. Select a high quality powder formulated specifically for reptiles, and apply it to feeder insects according to package directions.
Good choices like Zoo Med ReptiVite or Rep-Cal Herptivite contain beta carotene, vitamin A, and calcium in ratios tailored to herps’ requirements.
Monitor your snake closely when feeding to prevent regurgitation
Observe attentively as your snake eats to make sure the meal progresses smoothly. Garter snakes sometimes accidentally swallow substrate while striking at food. Ensure the snake finishes swallowing properly without choking.
Handling your snake during or right after eating may also cause regurgitation. According to reptile care sites like Reptile Direct, wait at least 48 hours after feeding before touching your pet again.
Caveats and Precautions When Feeding Crickets
Crickets may bite snakes if not stunned or pre-killed, risking injury
Crickets have strong mandibles that can deliver painful bites, especially to sensitive skin and scales. If fed live to snakes, the crickets may bite and injure the snake, most often around the eyes, mouth, and underside of the jaw where the skin is thinner.
One study on the biting behavior of crickets and locusts found that out of 500 insects total, 37 bites occurred during feeding to various reptiles and amphibians. So while rare, bites can and do happen.
To prevent potential harm, it is strongly recommended to stun or pre-kill crickets before offering them to snakes. This can be done by placing the crickets in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, dropping in hot water for a few seconds, or agitating a sealed container with the crickets inside.
Overfeeding crickets can lead to obesity, regurgitation, and other issues
While crickets offer beneficial nutrients, they should compose only part of a garter snake’s diverse diet. Consuming too many crickets can cause gastrointestinal problems in snakes.
For example, the high chitin content in cricket exoskeletons makes them harder to digest. Over time, excess chitin can accumulate in a snake’s digestive tract, potentially causing impactions.
Additionally, crickets have a high phosphorus to calcium ratio. Too much phosphorus prevents proper calcium absorption, leading to metabolic bone disease. This causes weak, brittle bones prone to fractures and deformities.
On the other hand, too much calcium from supplements can also cause health issues in snakes when fed an imbalanced diet. That’s why variety and moderation are key.
| Ideal prey item ratios for garter snakes | Frequency |
| Crickets | 25% or less |
| Earthworms | 25% |
| Small fish | 25% |
| Frogs, toads, salamanders | 25% or less |
Crickets may harbor parasites or pesticides, buy from a reputable source
As prey animals, crickets are vulnerable hosts to various parasites, such as tapeworms, nematodes, protozoa and more. These can infect snakes if consumed.
Crickets may also contain traces of pesticide residues, depending on how they were raised and what they were fed. This introduces toxins into the snake’s body upon eating.
That’s why purchasing feeder crickets from a reputable, commercial supplier is ideal. These facilities follow stricter sanitation protocols and safety regulations to mitigate contamination risks.
A few top, recommended cricket farms include:
Variety is key – crickets should be part of a balanced, diverse diet
Instead of constantly gorging on crickets, garter snakes thrive best on balanced diets with different prey animals. This grants a wider blend of nutrients and minimizes any individual prey item’s potential downsides.
As covered earlier, overdoing any single feeder can cause intestinal impactions, metabolic issues, toxic buildups and more. But by regularly changing up the buffet, snakes circumvent these problems.
Generally, the recommended diverse diet for garter snakes includes:
- Crickets
- Mealworms
- Earthworms
- Small fish
- Frog and toad tadpoles
- Salamanders
- Small frogs and toads
Following these best practices allows owners to safely incorporate nutritious crickets into their garter snake’s meals. Though with some prudence and planning involved.
Conclusion
While garter snakes eagerly eat crickets in the wild, pet keepers should feed crickets mindfully and as part of a varied diet. When sourcing appropriate sized feeders from trustworthy suppliers and taking precautions like pre-killing, crickets can provide essential nutrition and enrichment for garter snakes.
If fed properly along with other prey items, crickets can be a healthy part of your garter snake’s diet and bring out their natural feeding behaviors. Just be sure not to overdo it, and monitor for signs of distress like regurgitation.
By following best practices, you can feel good about offering your pet garter snake some crunchy, creepy-crawly cricket treats.
