you have got to be kidding me!

[Rook]

ok, so back in November my mom (thinkmore) asked about Miami's size..since she was already 33.6" long when she arrived and a month later she shed, and measured at 36.1" long...several of us checking and rechecking the before and after measurments thinking this was not possable..every result being the same..she grew 2 1/2 inches and gained 20 grams after having her for only 1 1/2 months..suprise suprise...its been 1 1/2 months since then...and she is preparing to shed..again. any idea how old she would have to be to be growing so rapidly? and if she is gaining a few inches every month and half and she is already 3 feet long...just how big should I be expecting?! she is just your standard checkered garter.

[guidofatherof5]

Snakes as a rule grow throughout their lives. Growth spurts are common and your snake may still be in one. I think you could see another 6-8 inches, which would put it at a normal length.
Refresh our memories. How are you measuring? What are you feeding? How often are you feeding?
Thanks for the info.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

it is not unheard of for a healthy well fed female garter snake of certain species to reach 4 feet in length. I have seen some HUMONGOUS garter snakes. I am sure a few fellow members have also. She shouldn't get any bigger than 4, but checkered garter snakes do have the tendency to get MASSIVE!!!

[mtolypetsupply]

Snakes as a rule grow throughout their lives.

Does breeding "stunt their growth" like it does in other species?

[guidofatherof5]

Does breeding "stunt their growth" like it does in other species?

Considering how large most of the females grow, I wouldn't think so. I think they are meant to breed as often as they can and to grow as large as they can to produce more offspring.
I worried about letting my largest radix(Speckle) breed again this year since she had some stillborn trouble with her last group. Now, I'm leaning towards allowing her to breed if she wants. I figure if she needs a break from the reproductive cycle her body will know it and she won't ovulate. I would feel a little guilty if I took her out of the breeding cycle and she passed a load of jellies. At least that's my thinking.

[ConcinusMan]

Indeed. The largest garters I've ever seen in the wild were concinnus at close to 4 feet. My pair were far from puny after 15+ yrs in captivity. I must note though, that this is a max size near the end of their lifespan. I'm very impressed by how large marci's get at such a young age.