quick question?

[chris87]

can u tell the age of a snaks from its size, mine is about 17 to 18 inches i dont no its age coz i got it from the pet shop , thankx

[adamanteus]

No Chris, you can't really accurately determine the age of a snake from it's size. There are so many factors which effect their growth rate.

[chris87]

ok is there any way to find the age out

[adamanteus]

You could cut it in half and count the rings!!:rolleyes: Joking!

As far as I'm aware there's no way of knowing the age of a snake without knowing something of it's history.

Obviously, you can tell whether or not a snake is mature from it's size, but not it's age.

[chris87]

ok i took it to get probed but it was too small, its about 16-18 inches. any ideas? thanx

[adamanteus]

Ideas about what, Chris? Age? Sex? At 16 inches it is plenty big enough for an experienced person to probe.

[chris87]

i took it to a reptile place in pinxton, dont no if you no of it or not, and they sed thats i gotta take it back when its nearly double what it is now. do you think i should try somewhere else?

[adamanteus]

I don't know Pinxton, I'm a long way away, but if I were you I would ask someone else to sex it for you. 16 inches is big enough.

[chris87]

ok mate will do o can i ask u another question plz

[adamanteus]

Of course, Chris. Ask any question you like, that's what this forum is all about!:)

[chris87]

ok the pet shop told me that if i feed my garter on fish itll die within a year, so i feed in pinkies, which do u think is best, and is that true about the fish?

[adamanteus]

There is a problem with certain fish species, Chris, Goldfish for example. However, there are many types of fish you can safely use. I would recommend that you vary the diet as much as you can...fish, pinkies, worms. Have a read through this link, it's all about the problems associated with feeding certain fish to Garter Snakes.

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Thiamin,#THIAMIN.2C_THIAMINASE.2C_ .26_GOLDFISH
I would also recommend this;
http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Garter_Snake_Care_Sheet
as a bit of general reading.

[chris87]

ok i will read thru them latter yh thankx.

[ssssnakeluvr]

they can be probed at any size, depending on the experience of the prober....newborns can be injured easily if you don't know what you are doing...