That body shape is different for a garter, that's for sure. Perhaps instead of thinking of them as dwarf, "disadvantaged" or "inferior" they might turn out to be nice pets with long lives. Let's not "sell them short"

Maybe they are "robust" , "sturdy" "beefy" instead. Or perhaps they did this to themselves before birth. Maybe they wanted to take the "viper impression" profession to the extreme and include body modification?