snake's age! ....

[snakems]

so how would I go about figuring out how old my garter is? Or is there even a way that I can do this.... even in a "guesstimate" sort of way...
I found her this fall outside so chances are she has never been a captive snake before. I do suppose this isnt really important considering I will be releasing her in the spring BUT I would however be interested in finding out.
She came to me (or should I say I found her) with a lot of different questionable marks and scars. Or at least this is what I thought they were. Not knowing too too much about snake injuries and how they heal I couldnt be positive but she had a lot of black/greyish marks here and there that seemed to be past injuries that has healed a while back. It made me wonder how long she'd have to be out there on here own to acquire so many scars. I guess its possible she just had bad luck though.
Since I had her she's been doing great even with the terribly unfortunate encounter she had with my cat, (that she seems to be healing amazingly from) that I am still feeling so guilty about.
Poor little snake didnt ASK to be caught and here I go putting her in danger with a predator she has no defense against (mind you of course this was a complete ACCIDENT)
To be honest I am not even POSITIVE that she is even a female but I sexed her myself reading the differences between male and female. maybe soon I will post a picture up of her cloaca area to see what you guys think. I could have been calling snakems a SHE all this time when she is really a HE lol
At first I referred to her as a "he" because for whatever reason I just automatically I guess associate snakes with being male. Though I know thats not the case lol but i checked her out and was fairly certain "he" was a she. But i could definitely be wrong.

well.... as with all of my other posts so far this one is no different in the respect that it is getting off course and just becoming a mess of me talking about things with no real connection, or order lol so .... Im going to close with my original question....

"is there a way to tell your snakes age?"

thanks for reading

[adamanteus]

There is no accurate way of judging their age, beyond baby, sub-adult or adult. So many factors influence their grown rate.

[snakems]

There is no accurate way of judging their age, beyond baby, sub-adult or adult. So many factors influence their grown rate.

aww... thats a shame
I wish there was a magical way I could just figure it out lol

how would you differentiate between the three you mentioned?
Im assuming mine is an "adult".

[Stefan-A]

There is no accurate way of judging their age, beyond baby, sub-adult or adult. So many factors influence their grown rate.

Heather L. Waye and Patrick T. Gregory: Determining the age of garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) by means of skeletochronology

[snakems]

Heather L. Waye and Patrick T. Gregory: Determining the age of garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) by means of skeletochronology

was this supposed to be a link?

[snakems]

also I noticed that she doesnt do this anymore.
JUST NOW actually. Lol i hadnt given it much thought before but I am now realizing she has stopped that behavior. I was thinking it was because she's realized there is never anything for her to eat in there and she's getting worms for food.

[adamanteus]

Yes, size alone would indicate whether or not your 'Snakems' in an adult. Have you posted pictures yet, Sayra?

[snakems]

Yes, size alone would indicate whether or not your 'Snakems' in an adult. Have you posted pictures yet, Sayra?

yes I posted some pictures of her healing injuries in the "cat attack injuries" thread down there somewhere lol
since then I have not posted any though.
I have an album if you go to my profile with pictures of her though, I dont know if anyone has really seen those though. It seems to me its hard to find someone who utilizes the picture feature on here.... but then again Im still just learning my way around.

[adamanteus]

yes I posted some pictures of her healing injuries in the "cat attack injuries" thread

Ah, yes, of course! I'd forgotten about those. Yes, you have an adult!

[snakems]

Ah, yes, of course! I'd forgotten about those. Yes, you have an adult!

thanks! lol I appreciate the info.
Im loving this whole shedding thing. Her eyes are so pretty foggy blue/grey right now. I hope she's able to get a little of the shedding going on her own.
Though I dont mind doing the whole humid container "towel" thing, I feel like if she can get some of it done as is it might make me feel better about her condition since the attack =/
she has no bites or punctures for a good couple inches from the start of her head.